Living Humanae Vitae

[somepersonhere]

Is something I want to do… but I am finding it difficult. I agree that contraception is bad and have been fine with a recently long period of abstinence (mainly for stress/health reasons)

But going forward… my wife is non-Catholic so it is difficult to explain. Also, we really don’t want any more children. My worry is that without the intimacy of marriage, we will just drift apart and become just a couple of house mates. I can already see and feel this happening.

Anyone with any advice/experience?

Natural family planning is also not really an option as it is essentially contraception unless used in a serious situation (this is not just my own interpretation)

Thanks!

 

[1ke]

Natural family planning is also not really an option as it is essentially contraception unless used in a serious situation (this is not just my own interpretation)

Read Humanae Vitae again. This is an erroneous understanding of HV and NFP. If you’ve determined that due to age and other factors your family is complete, it is NOT immoral or contraception to use NFP to indefinitely space children.

 

[somepersonhere]

Thanks.

But among my sources is a sermon by Fr Ripperger who clearly says that as long as you are not open to the possibility of conceiving then whatever you do is lustful, therefore sinful.

The key thing in my situation is that I feel it may be wrong to force abstainence on my wife forever / force more conception on her / force her into NFP.

The word ‘force’ shouldn’t really be used when talking about negotiating marital relationships…

 

[1ke]

But among my sources is a sermon by Fr Ripperger who clearly says that as long as you are not open to the possibility of conceiving then whatever you do is lustful, therefore sinful.

This is an in accurate representation of what the church teaches.

Each act of intercourse must be per se order to both unity and procreation. You do not have to actively try to procreate. Natural family planning allows you to use the infertile time. You are taking no action to disorder the act of marital intercourse. This is not sinful.

 

[1ke]

From HV:

If therefore there are well-grounded reasons for spacing births, arising from the physical or psychological condition of husband or wife, or from external circumstances, the Church teaches that married people may then take advantage of the natural cycles immanent in the reproductive system and engage in marital intercourse only during those times that are infertile, thus controlling birth in a way which does not in the least offend the moral principles which We have just explained.

 

[AdamP88]

But among my sources is a sermon by Fr Ripperger

Fr. Ripperger is someone, who, in my opinion, has cultivated a cult of personality around his own interpretation of Catholic Teaching.

He is right on some points, but he’s often misrepresenting bits and pieces. By distorting Humane Vitae, he is putting an unnecessary burden on the faithful who listen to him.

The specific wording in HV that talks about reasons for using NFP is that one must have “just reason”. Not serious or grave reason. There was an attempt to re-interpret this as “grave reason” but the Latin translation is “just”. This is a much less onerous requirement.

The only mention of contraception in relation to this, is that a couple should not fall into a “contraceptive mentality” where kids are avoided for convenience rather than a just reason.