I think it is critcizing those who want children and then** telling them** this has to be done through artificial means and then criticizng limiting the number of children when done for by artifical birth control methods.
Either way this is about eliminating children so yes it does contradict Church teaching.
No, it absolutely does not say that. Here is the relevant section that I’m assuming you are talking about:
Population Growth*
- There is no denying that the accelerated rate of population growth brings many added difficulties to the problems of development where the size of the population grows more rapidly than the quantity of available resources to such a degree that things seem to have reached an impasse**. In such circumstances people are inclined to apply drastic remedies to reduce the birth rate***.
Remember, prior to writing this, the Pope had just recently visited the countries of India, Africa, Palestine and Latin America. I’ve been to India myself (in the late 1970’s), where the density of the population is staggering. Drastic measures to reduce birth rate include artifical birth control, sterilization, abortion and even infanticide – all things that occur even to this day in these countries.
There is no doubt that public authorities can intervene in this matter, within the bounds of their competence. They can instruct citizens on this subject and adopt appropriate measures, so long as these are in conformity with the dictates of the moral law and the rightful freedom of married couples is preserved completely intact. When the inalienable right of marriage and of procreation is taken away, so is human dignity.
The pope is stating that any measure taken by the state must be moral and respect the freedom of the married couple. Therefore, forced sterilization or abortion (such as occurs today in China) is absolutely wrong. State sponsored instruction on NFP would be fine, as long as it left the choice up to the married couple.
Finally**, it is for parents** to take a thorough look at the matter and decide upon the number of their children. This is an obligation they take upon themselves, before their children already born, and before the community to which they belong—following the dictates of their own consciences informed by God’s law authentically interpreted, and bolstered by their trust in Him. (39)
A couple absolutely has the right to choose to limit or space their children, if done in accordance with Church teaching. In 1930 Pope Pius XI wrote in
Casti Connubii: “Nor are those considered as acting against nature who in the married state use their right in the proper manner, although on account of natural reasons either of time or of certain defects, new life cannot be brought forth.”
In his Address to the Midwives in 1952, Pius XII also reiterates that “Serious motives, such as those which not rarely arise from medical, eugenic,
economic and social [emphasis mine] so-called “indications,” may exempt husband and wife from the obligatory, positive debt for a long period or even for the entire period of matrimonial life. From this it follows that the observance of the natural sterile periods may be lawful, from the moral viewpoint: and it is lawful in the conditions mentioned.”
NFP, or period continence, or the “rhythm method” - however you want to describe it - has been known and in use since 1930. I deliberately didn’t include quotes from
Humanae Vitae since it was written after
Progressio Populorum, but all it did was reiterate Church teaching.
I really don’t get where you are finding that the pope is telling people they must use artificial birth control, and then criticizing them for using it???
