Can a married Catholic in good conscience use contraception?

[Texas_Roofer]

I ask this since statistically contraception is the common practice amongst the majority of couples who consider themselves as Catholic.

The Church claimed scripture revealed the earth was the center of the universe yet some knew this was not correct. So were they destined to hell, for lacking in the Church binding on the matter?

 

[jmcrae]

The Church claimed scripture revealed the earth was the center of the universe yet some knew this was not correct. So were they destined to hell, for lacking in the Church binding on the matter?

“The Church” never officially taught such a thing. It was a widely held opinion at the time. Some people (like Copernicus) disagreed. Some people (like Galileo) made pests of themselves while disagreeing. They weren’t censured for disagreeing (since nothing bad ever happened to Copernicus) but rather, for making pests of themselves.

Just as the idea of divinely-guided evolution, with regard to the Creation, is not an official Church teaching today, but rather it is a commonly-held opinion among many Catholics today, and is considered by many to be the most reasonable explanation among those available. There are those who disagree with it peacefully while offering equal time to all sides, and those who make pests of themselves and suddenly find themselves without employment in the Church. (I am thinking of someone whose initials are RS.)

 

[LJN21]

The Church claimed scripture revealed the earth was the center of the universe yet some knew this was not correct. So were they destined to hell, for lacking in the Church binding on the matter?

This is a matter of Science not faith and morals. The Church can’t make binding statements on it.

Contraception is a matter of morals which the Church can make binding statements about.

 

[Texas_Roofer]

“The Church” never officially taught such a thing. It was a widely held opinion at the time. Some people (like Copernicus) disagreed. Some people (like Galileo) made pests of themselves while disagreeing. They weren’t censured for disagreeing (since nothing bad ever happened to Copernicus) but rather, for making pests of themselves.

Just as the idea of divinely-guided evolution, with regard to the Creation, is not an official Church teaching today, but rather it is a commonly-held opinion among many Catholics today, and is considered by many to be the most reasonable explanation among those available. There are those who disagree with it peacefully while offering equal time to all sides, and those who make pests of themselves and suddenly find themselves without employment in the Church. (I am thinking of someone whose initials are RS.)

This is a matter of Science not faith and morals. The Church can’t make binding statements on it.

Contraception is a matter of morals which the Church can make binding statements about.

umh, your assertion is the Church lacked authority for any such trial? ( and that would not in itself be a moral issue) Or the church interpretation of scriptures was incorrect?

 

[jmcrae]

umh, your assertion is the Church lacked authority for any such trial?

What trial are you talking about? This thread is about the morality of contraception. The Church has ruled (Humanae Vitae) that artificial and unnatural means of contraception are forbidden.

While it wasn’t technically an infallible ruling, it was near enough as makes no practical difference, and it does happen to be the law of the Church at present, and thus must be obeyed at least as a discipline.

 

[estesbob]

But I have had more than one parsih priest say that one can in good conscience choose to contracept given the psecifics of my marital situation. Am I to believe a forum poster, or any lay Catholicv for that matter, over an ordained priest?

Are you to beleive the cathecism over an ordianed Priest? Are Priests infallible?

 

[estesbob]

The Church claimed scripture revealed the earth was the center of the universe yet some knew this was not correct. So were they destined to hell, for lacking in the Church binding on the matter?

Geocentrism was never Dogma of the Church. Recall that Copernicus was a Catholic Priest.

 

[Julianna]

So, the majority of Catholics who contracept should be educated and directed to abstain during fertile times if they have serious reason to postpone/limit pregnancy? …The statistics alone would indicate that something is missing or grossly asunder.

I think Catholics are educated and directed to abstain during fertile times. If you haven’t heard about NFP by now and you’re a Catholic something is amiss. I will say it was not discussed in my pre-cana class back in 1981. I do know about the ol’ “rhythm method” aka Vatican Roulette. Nonetheless, look around your parish, how many Walton families are there? Very scant few. Five children is considered a large family.

What in your line of thinking would be a “serious reason” to postpone/limit pregnancy?

IMHO, it’s the economy. The average median price 3 br 2ba home in this country is well close to $300,000. If the DH or DW wants to be the major breadwinner, he/she better go to college and work at Trump Tower or for Bill Gates. That is the reality. My kids were born in the early 1980’s. College is very, very expensive. Catholic school is very very expensive. Heating and cooling costs for homes are way up. Gasoline is through the roof! When gas goes up so does everything else, food, clothing, transportation (public), just about everything in our economy we consume that has to be made from and transported using any petroleum product will go up. Only thing not going up, are wages. Do you have adquate health insurance to cover medical costs for all the labor and delivery, vaccines the children will require and their medical and dental care?

A lot of that weighed heavily on our decision to have 2 or more children.

Asking a question on this forum, you should have known how you will be answered. If I helped you financially with your everyday expenses would that help you and your wife consider having more children? hmmmmm maybe. Don’t see a show of hands…thought not. Sometimes it’s better not to ask the question, and this topic always seems to be the one to keep your p’s and q’s to yourself.

 

[estesbob]

The Church claimed scripture revealed the earth was the center of the universe yet some knew this was not correct. So were they destined to hell, for lacking in the Church binding on the matter?

Geocentrism was never Dogma of the Church. Recall that Copernicus was a Catholic Priest.

 

[Randy_Carson]

Okay …but what if a Catholic is convinced that they are acting in good conscience, virtuous and exercising prudence in their decision to use contraception …because they have ample and serious reason to do so and in heart of heart have no qualms with using contraception based on their specific circumstances. Does this not constitute “good” conscience?

Still no.

The Catechism defines contraception as “intrinsically evil”. The only other time the Catechism uses that phrase is in condemning rape.

Get the picture?

Hope this helps. :tiphat:

 

[mark_a]

I ask this since statistically contraception is the common practice amongst the majority of couples who consider themselves as Catholic.

Not according to what the Church is teaching.

 

[setter]

Did your priest ask you about NFP?

NFP as our only method of family planning was summarily dismissed as not a viable option by each of the three priests consulted. It received the same endorsement as playing Russian Roulette with my wife’s life given the assessed serious health risk that a future pregnancy would pose. They made the appeal to be “reasonable”, and as a couple we have already fulfilled our procreative potential to be fruitful, and that the law is made for man, not man made for the law.

 

[LilyM]

NFP as our only method of family planning was summarily dismissed as not a viable option by each of the three priests consulted. It received the same endorsement as playing Russian Roulette with my wife’s life given the assessed serious health risk that a future pregnancy would pose. They made the appeal to be “reasonable”, and as a couple we have already fulfilled our procreative potential to be fruitful, and that the law is made for man, not man made for the law.

Both man and law are made for God, though. And by him. Maybe NFP is indeed too risky. That leaves one option - abstinence.

 

[setter]

You have the responsibility to know your Catholic faith. If anyone regardless of who it is tells you something contrary to what the Church teaches, you are to believe the traditional teaching of the Church. Priest and Bishop do not have the authority to contract the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

If your priest told you it was okay to go kill someone you dislike does that make it okay?

Again, these priests, who represent the voice of the Church, instructed and coached me that marriage involves sacrifice and compromise to come to a reasonable solution which incudes contraceptive intercourse. One priest held up the CCC and openly questioned the infallible and binding authority therein in all mateers of faith and morals, and how one person (the Pope) went against the recommendation of an entire Commission to uphold the prohibition of contracpetion in Humanae Vitae. The other priest explained that encyclicals and Church teaching in matters of morality is universal and “generic” in scope and that each circumstance needs to be individually considered to determine how Church teaching is meant to be applied. Pretty convincing stuff coming from an ordained clergy. If I can’t trust priests, then who can I trust?

 

[MilesXpisti]

Again, these priests, who represent the voice of the Church, instructed and coached me that marriage involves sacrifice and compromise to come to a reasonable solution which incudes contraceptive intercourse. One priest held up the CCC and openly questioned the infallible and binding authority therein in all mateers of faith and morals, and how one person (the Pope) went against the recommendation of an entire Commission to uphold the prohibition of contracpetion in Humanae Vitae. The other priest explained that encyclicals and Church teaching in matters of morality is universal and “generic” in scope and that each circumstance needs to be individually considered to determine how Church teaching is meant to be applied. Pretty convincing stuff coming from an ordained clergy. If I can’t trust priests, then who can I trust?

You can trust the Vicar of Christ, men who through the ages have consistently and unswervingly condemn contraception. Priests do not enjoy the charism of infallibility. Even the bishops don’t have it, unless they are teaching in unity, of spirit and orthodoxy, with the Holy Father. Humanae Vitae is both infallible through ordinary magisterium, as it is the consistent teaching of the Universal Church, and extraordinary as it very clearly meets the requirements of ex cathedra infallibility as set down in Vatican I. There is no wiggle room, no matter what any Catholic, lay or religious, has to say about it. Rome has spoken, the cause is ended.

 

[setter]

You should become TRANSFORMED!

Romans 12 - give it a read, it is the passage that begins:

Maybe you should read this first before judging me:

“Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, `Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye.” Luke 6: 41-42

 

[estesbob]

Maybe you should read this first before judging me:

“Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, `Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye.” Luke 6: 41-42

Where in this passaage does it approve of the use of contraception? Is a log a new form of contraception we havent heard about? And if so why would you put it in you eye?

OR are you implying unitl everyone in the world lives a perfect life its OK to sin?

 

[MilesXpisti]

Maybe you should read this first before judging me:

“Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, `Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye.” Luke 6: 41-42

Since you’re so fond of them (and seem to think that you’re being persecuted), I have another verse for you:

15 But if thy brother shall offend against thee, go, and rebuke him between thee and him alone. If he shall hear thee, thou shalt gain thy brother.

16 And if he will not hear thee, take with thee one or two more: that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may stand. 17 And if he will not hear them: tell the church. And if he will not hear the church, let him be to thee as the heathen and publican.

Gospel of St. Matthew 18:15-17​

We’re not saying these things because we want to attack you, but because it is our duty, as Christians to correct our brothers when they do wrong.

 

[estesbob]

NFP as our only method of family planning was summarily dismissed as not a viable option by each of the three priests consulted. It received the same endorsement as playing Russian Roulette with my wife’s life given the assessed serious health risk that a future pregnancy would pose. They made the appeal to be “reasonable”, and as a couple we have already fulfilled our procreative potential to be fruitful, and that the law is made for man, not man made for the law.

Of course there is no way to debate you on any of this. We post the teachigs of the Church and link to the source and you dismiss it by saying “oh well a Priest told me otherwise”.

Quite a debating tactic-you never really have to justify your views, you dont have to reconcile them with Church teaching-you just dismiss them by quoting some “priest” you supposedly talked to you that told you the Church didnt know what they were talking about.

 

[setter]

Are you to beleive the cathecism over an ordianed Priest? Are Priests infallible?

According to the priests that I consulted, the prohibition against contraception and not everything in the Catechism is infallible teaching. Who am I to believe or trust? Why would any priest lead me astray? Thay are there to teach and guide the flock, are they not? Btw – What are your credentials?