**EDITED** Getting married but waiting to have first child?

[MD1]

Hi everyone, I realized that it might be helpful if I edited my question to clarify it a little more. I appreciate any help you can give.
I was told by a priest that the teaching of the Catholic Church is that a married couple must be open to life/not try to prevent becoming pregnant with their first child (unless a grave reason such as severe health issues or a severe financial situation befalls them), but they may use NFP to space their other children after the first one is born. Basically that married couples weren’t supposed to prevent having their first child on the basis that they “just didn’t want to have kids right away.” And if such was the case, the couple should wait to get married until they were ready to have children.
I know I had also seen this in a book, “Following Christ in the World” by Anne Carroll. Now I am having trouble finding anything about this particular teaching online. I have a family member asking about this so I was wondering if anyone might be able to help me out with finding it in canon law/an encyclical? Thank you so much. May God bless you all.

 

[TheLittleLady]

You vowed to lovingly accept children from God.

This does not mean that you cannot have serious, good reasons to delay pregnancy through moral means.

You will have a chorus of people who are “more Catholic than the pope” tell you that unless you are living in a cardboard shack with an invading army camped on the lawn there is not a just reason to delay children.

Remember, the only requirement is a just, a good reason to delay.

 

[1ke]

I was told by a priest that the teaching of the Catholic Church is that a married couple must be open to life/not try to prevent their first child (unless a grave reason befalls them), but they may use NFP to space their other children after the first one is born

Just reasons, not grave reasons, are necessary for spacing. And there is NOTHING in church teaching that would preclude using NFP prior to a first child.

 

[Hoosier-Daddy]

While I’m admittedly on the conservative extreme here, regarding nfp. I will say, that really this is between your marital partner and you in union with God’s will. Ask clarification and further instruction from the priest and read and learn about it but when you postpone and why is up to you and you will be accountable for it as with anything. It’s not our business.

 

[Hoosier-Daddy]

If only there some kind of universal language the Church could use that cut down on verbiage confusion.
Wait I know!
Seriis causis

Translate at will into multiple languages!