No I am not. I was simply answering the question about “infertile time of post-menopause” - that is how one is to live the marital life at that time. As with the rest of life!
Right - not an encyclical but more of a talk given.
No I am not. I was simply answering the question about “infertile time of post-menopause” - that is how one is to live the marital life at that time. As with the rest of life!
Do you know what the context was?
Age, per se, may not be a good reason, but factors which are a function of age may well be. One of these is the heightened risks associated with pregnancy at an older age. This issue does not cause some women great concern, so for them, it is not a good reason to be avoiding. For others, it is a great concern, and hence a valid reason.
I can understand moderation in a matter such as alcohol consumption. I fear however I have not yet been sufficiently infused with virtue to know what is an immoderate married sex life. I speak here only of quantity, not improper acts.
To live well is nothing other than to love God with all one's heart, with all one's soul and with all one's efforts; from this it comes about that love is kept whole and uncorrupted (through temperance). No misfortune can disturb it (and this is fortitude). It obeys only [God] (and this is justice), and is careful in discerning things, so as not to be surprised by deceit or trickery (and this is prudence).:sad_yes:
To give a bit more on virtue:
So does this extend to other situations. Since African descendants are prone to sickle cell should that be part of a African American Catholic couple’s serious reasons to not have a child? How about in places where the infant mortality rate is high like Afghanistan? Not to mention the persecution and poverty that the living children will endure. There are situations where the statistics bear worse than premenopausal statistics. So why can one Catholic one place and one in another place have different interpretations of the value and quality of human life.
Hoosier Daddy,
From the Compendium of Social Doctrine:
I don’t know?
Like you I struggle with this issue and topic logically. If you put a gun to my head I would say that most “Americans” have a distorted view of the subject. But honestly I do not know. NFP is the single hardest thing I reconcile to my faith. So many threads about topics where people don’t understand why masturbation etc is a sin and we all talk about obey and trust the Church. So that is what I do here. But it is hard. When my american mind reads something a Pope said about “responsible parenthood and education” I get why NFP is practiced morally. But then that same statement seems not to apply to a majority of the World’s Catholics. How can a couple in the US take those words and decide that College is a reason to not have more children or age but an Iraqi couple can have 6 kids and know that half of them may not see their 18th birthday. That couple is bound by the same Church as I am. Those words were not even spoken in english by the Pope so the argument that it is meant only for Americans or westerners cannot be made. But what I know of faith, what I know of God and his Church do not make me think that the poor should be denied the right to procreate. Not only that but it is in these poor places that the Church is growing. Where more Catholics are being churned out than in our culture of death. So really, which culture is the poorer one? I don’t know. I do know that the moral rules that bind them, bind me. The Command from God to multiply applies to them as much as it does me. Those bishops in poor countries, of which bergoglio was one, marry couples all the time that will not be able to give their children anything close to what we deem and “education” or ability to provide for them. Yet they are married, and promised to accept children. While the UN ships pounds and pounds of condoms to Africa as the answer the Church seems to take a more “life” positive approach. Rejoicing as babies are born with retardations, diseases, and syndromes and marriages are celebrated and at the same time mourning with the mother who lost another baby to extreme poverty or war. This is not a new dilemma. Babies were born in the worst epidemics, persecutions, and times in all of human history. And it is seen as a good thing. A promise of life (God) ultimately winning. Now, we use our technology to calculate what sex of child we want. When and how to embrace life giving the best statistical chance and avoiding any statistical risk.Just the kind of help I needed. Thank you!
And this I find confusing. We are to judge. Will we be held accountable for our judgements? Why can couples arrive at two different decisions? And could one of them be wrong. And if so what is the recourse to right that wrong? Confession? What do you confess?
Yes, it is the only situation that I can think of that is so relative. We might arrive at different decisions with the same facts, and both be right. I don’t think that is so bad. My wife and I form a completely different unit than you and your wife. We have a different temperament, different goals, different strengths.