Church's View on Infertility

[LabChick]

While driving to work yesterday, I heard the guest on Catholic Answers Live (Kyle or Carl ?? something) tell a caller who asked about infertility that women who aren’t able to have children are not as valuable in the eyes of the Catholic Church as women who reproduce multiple times.

Further, another caller was told that adoption is only a last resort and not really a “natural” way to create a family.

Is this really what the Church believes??

I ask because I was with a friend who had abdmoninal surgery following an auto accident at the age of 15 and it left her sterile. She’s preparing for RCIA in the fall, but had serious doubts after

 

[Fr.Vincent_Serpa]

Dear Labchick,

I looked up the program on our website archive and listened to the whole thing. While Karl did speak on this topic with the third caller, he did not say anything about women who are unable to have children being inferior to those who are able. Nor did I hear him speak in a derogatory way concerning those who adopt. You can listen to the program yourself. Simply log on to our main website, “catholic.com” and click on to radio and then archives.

The Church certainly values adoption and sees infertility as a cross that can bring people closer to the Lord. This why the Lord give us crosses. Tell your friend that she is in my prayers and write again if we can be of help.

Fr. Vincent Serpa, O.P.