Is Using Contraception a Mortal Sin?

[jinc1019]

I suppose it is not a sin to avoid having children, according to the posters here, if I am incapable of caring for the child in some way, but that is a relative distinction and I am sure many of you would find we have the ability to do that financially, etc…even if it would be exceptionally dfficult. Financially, yes, it could be done…but not done like it should be.

 

[jinc1019]

NFP is information. You can use it to avoid pregnancy or achieve pregnancy.

Regarding how it is different from contraception-- well, how is robbery different from working? Both obtain money. Of course there is a difference.

This comparison is completely illogical…because the INTENT behind robbery is to STEAL what is not yours. The intent behind WORKING and earning a paycheck is RADICALLY different. The intent behind NFP is avoid having children and the intent behind usign a condom is also to avoid having a child. It’s the same intent.

 

[Bookcat]

Basically

Get that book

 

[Bookcat]

This has to do with the “means”.

The intention to avoid children for a period of time…can be either good or not good…

One could have the same “good intention” of avoiding a new conception (say one can not afford another child at the moment) and use a gravely intrinsically evil means such as contraception-- or a good means such as NFP.

The intention does not just need to be good…but the means too must be good.

The good end does not “justify” an evil means.

 

[jinc1019]

What so many of you are saying is that the intent behind NFP must also be valid, and according to Church teachings, that may be true. But what is considered a good intent for two people not having a child if they are biologically able to?

 

[jhigh]

What so many of you are saying is that the intent behind NFP must also be valid, and according to Church teachings, that may be true. But what is considered a good intent for two people not having a child if they are biologically able to?

This all goes back to my original advice: spend some time in prayer and consult with your priest. The “rules” regarding contraception are very clear: artificial means are always sinful, and NFP may or may not be depending on your motives.

Pray about it, consult with your priest, and realize above everything else that you are not alone in this struggle. Whether you’re talking about contraception, masturbation, just plain old lust, my experience is that these struggles are very common. Heck, just search these boards and see how many posts you find related to matters of sexuality.

 

[Safia]

I think it is also important to point out that…

My wife would never support using Natural Family Planning, and that I wouldn’t either, mainly because it would be irresponsible at this point in our lives together to have a child, and NFP presents a greater risk than other birth control methods. Also, my wife is in medical school and I am in law school, so our lives are extremely busy and having sex on a schedule would be virtually impossible. It also is not fair to say to my wife, “Sorry, you are going to have to risk having a child right now and potentially put medical school on hold.” And if I did do that, and she did get pregnant, we don’t have the money to pay for childcare or to properly cloth/feed a child. So not only would my wife have to give up on medical school while she is pregnant, she would likely have to wait several years before starting up again.

I know the Catholic response demands we either not have sex or use natural family planning, but the logic behind these two methods seem nearly identical to that of birth control and Humanae Vitae does not, in my opinion, show a valid difference between the two. Additionally, for how long should my wife and I not have sex? For seven years of medical school and residency? It seems to me that my wife’s potential for saving lives a doctor who wants to serve impoverished communities should outweigh having a child at this point in our relationship. Our ability to help the world would be GREATLY diminished by having a child now, and asking a married couple to abstain from sex for seven years doesn’t seem right either.

I guess I just don’t understand the entire teaching, even if it is a mortal sin, and it remains a huge roadblock for me and my faith. I know this second post is not quite on topic with the original, but it is all interconnected.

I know the Catholic Church has the authority to make any determinations it sees fit on issues of faith and morals, but does it really have the authority to say absolutely, without a single doubt, that issues like contraception and natural family planning, which are not essential Christian doctrines, are infallible? I think the Church has overstepped its bounds in making that distinction. It’s one of the few areas I feel that way about, maybe the only one.

The distinction between contraception and NFP is easy – contraception puts a man-made object, something not gifted by God, in the midst of a God-given act, in a way that explicitly and meaningfully limits one critical aspect of the sexual act within marriage (procreative) by preferring, unequally/selfishly/etc., another (unitive); NFP, if done with a sound conscience and thus “correctly,” asks for abstinence for a short period of days (women are actually 100% fertile for a very, very short time – a few hours, if not less), in order to help families meaningfully arrange their lives. There is a line that can be crossed via NFP, too. You seem to have a very secular view of marriage and family life . . . You can’t ever choose to deny one aspect of the marital union within the space of the act itself, which is why contraception is gravely immoral, and which is how it’s different from NFP.

NFP isn’t an excuse to never have children. You’ll have to read further into it, if you don’t understand the difference. NFP remains open to life physically; doesn’t deny it.

And I agree with another poster who directed you to prayer. Pray very much about this, and speak with a priest if you can. I also sense a bit of selfishness, but more than anything, fear – fear of the unknown. You have to put this in God’s hands. And you cannot allow yourself to become morally relativistic. Your life isn’t about how many lives you save. Your life is about how much you love, period – how much you love God, how much you love your wife (and using contraception is a denial of the function of the marital union, which does carry with it emotional baggage you might not perceive – there’s also a lot written about this within the Catholic Church), how much you love your child (both potential and real – you must always be open to life within the space of marriage, even if you choose to wait via NFP), and how much you love others. To make life a calculus takes God out of the equation. What is His will shall be done. God is necessary for conception and ensoulment – so if your wife conceives before she’s done with med school, then God has had this in His divine plan for your lives through all time.

I’ll pray for you. God bless.

 

[Bookcat]

What so many of you are saying is that the intent behind NFP must also be valid, and according to Church teachings, that may be true. But what is considered a good intent for two people not having a child if they are biologically able to?

Various reasons come up in life …financial reasons, psychological reasons, health reasons, etc etc (and once one gets into the contingent aspects of life -I imagine a new “example” appears daily)

Compendium on Social Doctrine issue by Pope (BL) John Paul II

“232. The family contributes to the social good in an eminent fashion through responsible motherhood and fatherhood, the spouses’ special participation in God’s work of creation[519]. The weight of this responsibility must not be used as a justification for being selfishly closed but must guide the decisions of the spouses in a generous acceptance of life. “In relation to physical, economic, psychological and social conditions, responsible parenthood is exercised both in the duly pondered and generous decision to have a large family, and in the decision, made for serious reasons and in respect of the moral law, to avoid for a time or even indeterminately a new birth”[520]. The motivations that should guide the couple in exercising responsible motherhood and fatherhood originate in the full recognition of their duties towards God, towards themselves, towards the family and towards society in a proper hierarchy of values.”

“234. The judgment concerning the interval of time between births, and that regarding the number of children, belongs to the spouses alone. This is one of their inalienable rights, to be exercised before God with due consideration of their obligations towards themselves, their children already born, the family and society [528]. The intervention of public authorities within the limits of their competence to provide information and enact suitable measures in the area of demographics must be made in a way that fully respects the persons and the freedom of the couple. Such intervention may never become a substitute for their decisions[529]. All the more must various organizations active in this area refrain from doing the same.”

vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/justpeace/documents/rc_pc_justpeace_doc_20060526_compendio-dott-soc_en.html#The%20family%20is%20the%20sanctuary%20of%20life

 

[jinc1019]

This all goes back to my original advice: spend some time in prayer and consult with your priest. The “rules” regarding contraception are very clear: artificial means are always sinful, and NFP may or may not be depending on your motives.

Pray about it, consult with your priest, and realize above everything else that you are not alone in this struggle. Whether you’re talking about contraception, masturbation, just plain old lust, my experience is that these struggles are very common. Heck, just search these boards and see how many posts you find related to matters of sexuality.

I will, thank you.

 

[onmyknees]

The distinction between contraception and NFP is easy – contraception puts a man-made object, something not gifted by God, in the midst of a God-given act, in a way that explicitly and meaningfully limits one critical aspect of the sexual act within marriage (procreative) by preferring, unequally/selfishly/etc., another (unitive); NFP, if done with a sound conscience and thus “correctly,” asks for abstinence for a short period of days (women are actually 100% fertile for a very, very short time – a few hours, if not less), in order to help families meaningfully arrange their lives. There is a line that can be crossed via NFP, too. You seem to have a very secular view of marriage and family life . . . You can’t ever choose to deny one aspect of the marital union within the space of the act itself, which is why contraception is gravely immoral, and which is how it’s different from NFP.

NFP isn’t an excuse to never have children. You’ll have to read further into it, if you don’t understand the difference. NFP remains open to life physically; doesn’t deny it.

And I agree with another poster who directed you to prayer. Pray very much about this, and speak with a priest if you can. I also sense a bit of selfishness, but more than anything, fear – fear of the unknown. You have to put this in God’s hands. And you cannot allow yourself to become morally relativistic. Your life isn’t about how many lives you save. Your life is about how much you love, period – how much you love God, how much you love your wife (and using contraception is a denial of the function of the marital union, which does carry with it emotional baggage you might not perceive – there’s also a lot written about this within the Catholic Church), how much you love your child (both potential and real – you must always be open to life within the space of marriage, even if you choose to wait via NFP), and how much you love others. To make life a calculus takes God out of the equation. What is His will shall be done. God is necessary for conception and ensoulment – so if your wife conceives before she’s done with med school, then God has had this in His divine plan for your lives through all time.

I’ll pray for you. God bless.

This!!! When you use a condom or any contraceptive you are taking God out of the act. When you abstain during the fertile periods you are still open to life.

Please trust in God on this. He knows what will give us peace and joy. I will pray for you and your wife also.

 

[jinc1019]

The distinction between contraception and NFP is easy – contraception puts a man-made object, something not gifted by God, in the midst of a God-given act, in a way that explicitly and meaningfully limits one critical aspect of the sexual act within marriage (procreative) by preferring, unequally/selfishly/etc., another (unitive); NFP, if done with a sound conscience and thus “correctly,” asks for abstinence for a short period of days (women are actually 100% fertile for a very, very short time – a few hours, if not less), in order to help families meaningfully arrange their lives. There is a line that can be crossed via NFP, too. You seem to have a very secular view of marriage and family life . . . You can’t ever choose to deny one aspect of the marital union within the space of the act itself, which is why contraception is gravely immoral, and which is how it’s different from NFP.

NFP isn’t an excuse to never have children. You’ll have to read further into it, if you don’t understand the difference. NFP remains open to life physically; doesn’t deny it.

And I agree with another poster who directed you to prayer. Pray very much about this, and speak with a priest if you can. I also sense a bit of selfishness, but more than anything, fear – fear of the unknown. You have to put this in God’s hands. And you cannot allow yourself to become morally relativistic. Your life isn’t about how many lives you save. Your life is about how much you love, period – how much you love God, how much you love your wife (and using contraception is a denial of the function of the marital union, which does carry with it emotional baggage you might not perceive – there’s also a lot written about this within the Catholic Church), how much you love your child (both potential and real – you must always be open to life within the space of marriage, even if you choose to wait via NFP), and how much you love others. To make life a calculus takes God out of the equation. What is His will shall be done. God is necessary for conception and ensoulment – so if your wife conceives before she’s done with med school, then God has had this in His divine plan for your lives through all time.

I’ll pray for you. God bless.

Thank you for the prayers and the advice. I will, of course, continue to pray and seek guidance.

However, I should point out that I have a completely UNSECULAR view of marriage. I don’t even believe the government should have legal marriage…so it is actually the complete opposite.

 

[jinc1019]

This!!! When you use a condom or any contraceptive you are taking God out of the act. When you abstain during the fertile periods you are still open to life.

Please trust in God on this. He knows what will give us peace and joy. I will pray for you and your wife also.

I appreciate that very much. Prayers are always welcome. I do disagree with you that God is being taken out of the act when using contraceptives, however. I realize the Church teaches this, but I don’t believe that to be true for a variety of reasons I won’t get into right now.

 

[PeterJohn]

I posted the previous post without knowing others have posted on my question. I appreciate the responses, I really do. This forum is wonderful and has been a great aid for me in my journey, not so much back to the Church, but to it for the first REAL time (even though I was always “catholic,” I was never truly Catholic).

With that said, I just don’t know what I am supposed to do about this. Obviously receiving communion is becoming an essential part of my life but I just CANNOT avoid using contraception. My wife would NEVER allow it, and the strain it would put on my marriage over the course of years would be incredible…not to mention I just cannot comprehend the difference between NFP and contraception, even though I have read Church teachings on it…It just doesn’t seem to make sense to me.

The number one goal of a Christian is oneness with God by means of Jesus Christ. This means abandoning our earthly human logic and accepting, blindly if we must, His Devine logic. No man can understand all, if anypart of Gods logic, or His plans for our salvation. For your wife to save people from death is a noble profession but to risk her own and your salvation is not what God intends exactly IMO. Death is not the end of life for many of us, it changes little in Gods scheme, because we spend about 85 years on earth, we spend eternity with God. This is hard to accept, but think of the holiest saints and popes and think how much they cared about their own life and how Many died in refusal to just speak WORDS against God. Marriage is a vow like a priest takes, and sex is the consummation of the vow. God intends sex to be for procreation. So if your not ready for a baby, you weren’t realy ready for marriage. Now that your married, your saying your careers are more important then Gods plan in a lot of words. I’ll pray for the Holy Spirit to strengthen your resolve and reveal Gods individual plan for you and your wife. Try praying in front the tabrinacle. God bless.

 

[Bookcat]

" In the conjugal act it is not licit to separate the unitive aspect from the procreative aspect, because both the one and the other pertain to the intimate truth of the conjugal act. The one is activated together with the other and in a certain sense the one by means of the other. Therefore, in such a case the conjugal act, deprived of its interior truth because it is artificially deprived of its procreative capacity, ceases also to be an act of love."

~ Bl. Pope John Paul II General Audience, August 22, 1984

 

[jmcrae]

Is using contraception a mortal sin in a valid Catholic marriage? I understand the Catholic teaching on the subject, I have read Humane Vitae and I have posed questions on this forum about it as well and I can’t bring myself to believe it. If it is a mortal sin, then doesn’t that mean I cannot receive communion?

You certainly should not be receiving Holy Communion if you are using any form of contraception for the purpose of avoiding pregnancy.

There can be other medical uses for these treatments, with loss of fertility as an undesirable and unintended side effect - in such a case, it is not a sin - but if there are no medical issues, and the purpose is solely or primarily to avoid pregnancy, then yes, it is a mortal sin.

 

[Bookcat]

Since this thread was moved…I will post for new readers in terms of the question:

Is Using Contraception a Mortal Sin?

Yes.

“The Church has always taught the intrinsic evil of contraception, that is, of every marital act intentionally rendered unfruitful. This teaching is to be held as definitive and irreformable. Contraception is** gravely** opposed to marital chastity; it is contrary to the good of the transmission of life (the procreative aspect of matrimony), and to the reciprocal self-giving of the spouses (the unitive aspect of matrimony); it harms true love and denies the sovereign role of God in the transmission of human life.33”
(see longer quote above from the document)

 

[Leegal]

I am sorry but this is incorrect. If I only have sex using a condom during “infertile times,” which is impossible to perfectly figure out by the way, then that would still be against Church teachings…even though the principle is the same.

And according to other posters, giving up the act is ALSO a sin…so I cannot do that either. Basically, it is a sin for me not to have a child unless I am biologically incapable of doing so, according to many posting here.

Sorry, I don’t understand this. The way NFP works (basically) is that you chart the fertile times of the month and use abstinence during the fertile times, but remain open to the possibily of life and the unitive act at other times. There are many methods, but the effect is to try and pin down the days of the month when the wife is fertile.

I never said that the purpose of a condom is for fertile times of the month, but the objective of a condom is not to get pregnant during those fertile times when one uses a condom, even when one does not know if one is fertile or not. The objective is to prevent pregnancy and is not open to life – therefore God is removed from the marital act. Condom usage is not allowed by the Church, so I did not mean to suggest that it’s okay to use condoms during infertile times of the month. If you took my statement to mean that, it was not intended. Speak with a priest – but condoms are not allowed – fertile or not.

Marital abstinence may be necessary at times, and the Church recognizes it.

 

[Bookcat]

Since this thread was moved…I will post for new readers in terms of the question:

Is Using Contraception a Mortal Sin?

Yes.

“The Church has always taught the intrinsic evil of contraception, that is, of every marital act intentionally rendered unfruitful. This teaching is to be held as definitive and irreformable. Contraception is** gravely** opposed to marital chastity; it is contrary to the good of the transmission of life (the procreative aspect of matrimony), and to the reciprocal self-giving of the spouses (the unitive aspect of matrimony); it harms true love and denies the sovereign role of God in the transmission of human life.33”
(see longer quote above from the document)

 

[jinc1019]

Sorry, I don’t understand this. The way NFP works (basically) is that you chart the fertile times of the month and use abstinence during the fertile times, but remain open to the possibily of life and the unitive act at other times. There are many methods, but the effect is to try and pin down the days of the month when the wife is fertile.

I never said that the purpose of a condom is for fertile times of the month, but the objective of a condom is not to get pregnant during those fertile times when one uses a condom, even when one does not know if one is fertile or not. The objective is to prevent pregnancy and is not open to life – therefore God is removed from the marital act. Condom usage is not allowed by the Church, so I did not mean to suggest that it’s okay to use condoms during infertile times of the month. If you took my statement to mean that, it was not intended. Speak with a priest – but condoms are not allowed – fertile or not.

Marital abstinence may be necessary at times, and the Church recognizes it.

I know exactly what you meant. The response you cited was in response to the argument you made that condoms are wrong because they prevent prenancy during “fertile” times…my point was to show that this particular argument is wrong, because condom use is considered wrong by the Church regardless of whether a woman is fertile or not. Just a misunderstanding!

 

[jinc1019]

Since this thread was moved…I will post for new readers in terms of the question:

Is Using Contraception a Mortal Sin?

Yes.

“The Church has always taught the intrinsic evil of contraception, that is, of every marital act intentionally rendered unfruitful. This teaching is to be held as definitive and irreformable. Contraception is** gravely** opposed to marital chastity; it is contrary to the good of the transmission of life (the procreative aspect of matrimony), and to the reciprocal self-giving of the spouses (the unitive aspect of matrimony); it harms true love and denies the sovereign role of God in the transmission of human life.33”
(see longer quote above from the document)

But this is precisely my point…choosing to have sex ONLY when a woman is infertile IS a marital act intentionally rending sex unfruitful, just as you say…yet this is not an inherently evil act? It’s a contradiction.