Contraception and Catholics

[Nurse4God]

I have read numerous times that a great many practicing Catholics are using contraceptives at a very high rate. Do you think this is true? Are any of you among this group?

In my life, I know of several Catholic families who are using forms of birth control:

Two young married couples who are clearly using contraceptives as they have only one child each and are NOT the kind who would ever consider NFP.

An older couple with 4 grown kids, but the husband got a vasectomy after the birth of the 4th (before that, they used NFP)… and that husband is a Eucharistic minister.

Another VERY Catholic married couple who have two young children in Catholic school who openly say that they are not going to have more kids… I suspect vasectomy, but I would never actually ask.

As far as I can tell, it seems that on Forums or EWTN or other “official” Catholic information sources, artificial birth control is considered a sin… and yet it also seems that in daily life, there are lots of Catholics who do not follow the Church’s teaching on birth control and that they are all right with it and are still practicing Catholics.

Just so you know, I’m married, and I am raising my husband’s two children from a previous marriage (they got an annulment and we have full custody; my husband and I were married in the Church). He is a cradle Catholic, but has a vasectomy that he got after the birth of his second child. I have never used contraceptives myself, never had an abortion, never been pregnant.

You know, it seems that most Catholics who use birth control don’t give it a second thought…

What do you all think, and do any of you use artificial birth control (including sterilization)?

God Bless You

 

[turtle18]

I think tons of Catholics use birth control. That doesn’t make it right. So many Catholics are in a state of mortal sin–it wounds the body of Christ. That is why the Church is so weak right now.

Even if you know or suspect someone has had a vasectomy or sterilization, you should give them the benefit of the doubt–they may have gone to Confession & God has forgiven them of their sin.

 

[Nurse4God]

Turtle18 ~

That is a really good point! They may well have gone to confession. That said, even in my first post, I’m not really condemning them, just observing the behavior. I’m curious about how many Catholics part ways with the Church’s teaching on ABC. The way I look at it, it’s between them and God, and it’s not my place to judge. My own husband has a vasectomy (I don’t think he’s confessed that, but really I have no idea… again, between him and God).

Thank you for your insightful reply, you brought up a really good point.

God Bless

 

[BillP]

I’m sorry, I was going to just scroll past this, but your presumption just really rubs me the wrong way.

In my life, I know of several Catholic families who are using forms of birth control:

In point of fact, if your post is accurate you know of only ONE family using birth control, and can’t even be sure of that family’s status since the Eucharistic minister may well have repented, made a valid confession and done penance.

For the rest:

Two young married couples who are clearly using contraceptives as they have only one child each and are NOT the kind who would ever consider NFP.

Another VERY Catholic married couple who have two young children in Catholic school who openly say that they are not going to have more kids… I suspect vasectomy, but I would never actually ask.

This is just gossip. You have no idea why either of those three families don’t have kids. The young couples could very well be infertile and suffering greatly from their inability to conceive

The older couple may suffer from some malady that has rendered either or both of them infertile. Their open assertions about not having more kids could be their way of “making the best of a bad situation” of “whistling past the graveyard” to hide their heartbreak.

You don’t know.

Instead you choose to come here and, assuming you know their situation, malign them
by accusing them of sinning.

Yes, by all accounts, a large percentage of Catholics do ignore the Church’s teaching on ABC, but that certainly doesn’t give us license to presumptuous assume that everyone who doesn’t have what we consider an appropriate number of kids is one of those people.

How about a little charity?

 

[lil_flower_luv]

Nurse4God, thank you for making this thread!! I have heard people say there would be many more abortions without BC…and they’re glad to have it. This is not a very good pro-life answer to abortion, is it? I wish more catholics knew what the Vatican has to say about it (and follow it)…either that or stop calling themselves Catholic!

My sister will soon be a “nurse4God”, as well so please pray for her!

God Bless you!

 

[1ke]

Yes, it is a sad fact that many Catholic couples use contraception, which is gravely disordered.

Remember, the Church doesn’t “consider” contraception a sin. It IS a sin. It is intrinsically disordered. We must proclaim this. We must not phrase these things tentatively, which implies that while the Catholic Church “considers” it a sin, it is perfectly legitimate to “consider” it in another way.

This, in fact, is the root of why so many Catholics use it. They have come to believe that the Church’s teachings on faith and morals (mostly morals) are negotiable. Moral relativism pervades our culture, shapes their thinking, and the Protestant example of shifting teachings and church hopping also contributes.

There is a rampant denial of objective truth in our culture, and many Catholics are convinced by this way of thinking that it really is their decision whether to consider contraception sinful or not.

There are also a great many Catholics who are ignorant of the Church’s teaching due to poor catechesis. You’ll meet many contracpeting Catholics who have never been told it’s wrong. Really.

 

[Nurse4God]

BillP ~

I know all the families well, since they are ALL members of my own family. It is NOT gossip, they are NOT infertile and suffering from it, and it is common knowledge that they are using ABC until they are ready to have another child (the only thing I don’t know for sure what form of contraception they are using… however I do know that it is not NFP as they don’t believe it is effective nor necessary since there are other ways to prevent pregnancy that they prefer).

As for the older couple, they are also very open about their decision regarding the man’s vasectomy – he wanted it, got it, loved it. He and my husband talked about their vasectomies together, and both regarded it as a great idea since neither wanted more kids.

This man, who is the Eucharistic minister, may well have confessed and been forgiven, which I already admitted to Turtle18 was an excellent point.

In addition to all of this – I openly said that I was not judging and that I was just curious about how many Catholics use ABC. I am not maligning them by accusing them of sinning.

I do NOT believe there is an “appropriate number of kids” necessary to be Catholic, and to be really, really honest, I think that the two kids I’m raising from my husband’s previous marriage are plenty enough and I am fairly relieved that I do not have to deal with the possibility of more since my husband has the vasectomy (a sinful thought, really).

That said, I am also not against large families, as my sister has 4 children and does not use ABC and I live in a near constant state of anticipation for my next little niece or nephew.

Not to be rude, but your post was quite annoying to me. The point was not “look at these awful people who use ABC – SINNERS!”, but to express curiosity regarding how common such families are and wondering how many Catholic’s worry about these things and how many are okay with it. I only brought up those examples to illustrate the fact that I know such people in my own life in addition to having read about high numbers of Catholics using ABC.

Thanks for your post even though it wasn’t accurate or pleasant… still nice to communicate with other Catholics, even if they are misunderstanding me.

God Bless You

 

[budgie2]

There are all sorts of Catholics in the Church. Some Catholics use birth control through choice, but some Catholics are forced to use birth control in mixed marriages or if their husband or wife is non-practising. Some Catholics are new converts and may have used contraception in the past. There are also cradle Catholics that are fuzzy about their beliefs or may have come from parents who used contraception and were brought up pro-contraception. There are also infertile couples and couples who adopted. Me, I’m not using any contraception.

 

[pyro_alchemist]

This is a very complicated issue. Can a Catholic have a sterilization procedure done knowing that it is a sin later go to confession and confess that sin be forgiven? If you are told by a doctor that you will likely die the next time you give birth is a sin to have your tubes tied? Isn’t contraception better than abortion?

Lots of complicated questions and I have never herd thoughtful answers. Just the blithering of well meaning but obviously ignorant people.

 

[pyro_alchemist]

Lots of complicated questions and I have never herd thoughtful answers. Just the blithering of well meaning but obviously ignorant people.

Sorry, I should have said “I rarely hear thoughtful answers. Usually just the blithering of well meaning but obviously ignorant people.” Guess I should take my own advise from an earlier post