Why do most people ignore the Church's teaching on contraception?

[ALoveDivine]

At the end of the day, the majority of us are going to plan our families efficiently, we are not going to leave it to chance and we are not going to risk having more kids than we can afford. We will also not be celibate. If we had that gift we’d be priests or monastics.

The Catholic Church hierarchy can scream at the people all day long, and the majority of us are going to turn a deaf ear. This my friends is the real answer to the original question of this thread.

 

[Rau]

At the end of the day, the majority of us are going to plan our families efficiently, we are not going to leave it to chance and we are not going to risk having more kids than we can afford. We will also not be celibate. If we had that gift we’d be priests or monastics.

The Catholic Church hierarchy can scream at the people all day long, and the majority of us are going to turn a deaf ear. This my friends is the real answer to the original question of this thread.

The Church does not scream. It merely continues Christ’s teaching mission, as it was established (and commanded) by Christ to do.

 

[Little_Sheep]

At the end of the day, the majority of us are going to plan our families efficiently, we are not going to leave it to chance and we are not going to risk having more kids than we can afford. We will also not be celibate. If we had that gift we’d be priests or monastics.

The Catholic Church hierarchy can scream at the people all day long, and the majority of us are going to turn a deaf ear. This my friends is the real answer to the original question of this thread.

Amen.

 

[Abu]

Thorolfr #999
Unfortunately, the verse in Genesis does not state whether God killed Onan for spilling his seed or for depriving his brother of offspring.

It is obvious that such confused, dissenters and cafeteria Catholics, haven’t a clue, and never learn to accept truth but wallow in error.

ALoveDivine #1002
The Catholic Church hierarchy can scream at the people all day long, and the majority of us are going to turn a deaf ear. This my friends is the real answer to the original question of this thread.

Thus is Christ denied by rejecting His Church – “I shall not serve”. That is the REAL answer.

The universal understanding and condemnation, including from Luther, shows clearly how feelings have been warped to suit exigencies requiring a “fix”, resulting in a contrived denial.

rtforum.org/lt/lt67.html
“That Onan’s unnatural act as such is condemned as sinful in Gen. 38: 9-10 was an interpretation held by the Fathers and Doctors of the Catholic Church, by the Protestant Reformers, and by nearly all celibate and married theologians of all Christian denominations until the early years of this century, when some exegetes began to approach the text with preconceptions deriving from the sexual decadence of modern Western culture and its exaggerated concern for ‘over-population.’ ” [Pope Pius XI, *Encyclical on Christian Marriage, *Casti Connubii *(31 December 1930)].

 

[loumeland]

TMC - IMHO, your assessment is very similar to mine. That some on this forum really believe that 90% of Catholics do not understand the teaching on contraceptive usage is ridiculous. The point being that Catholics using ABC is just like any other set of people living in 2016, they certainly understand that it is far more accurate than NFP for planning family size and find that in their well formed consciences, it is not a venial sin, much less a mortal sin. Those who use NFP successfully and with no stress should be congratulated, but it is not the method that most adults choose to use. I understand that some adherents to NFP think they are not contracepting but semantics is semantics. If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, then it is a duck, not a chicken. If you are truly following Church teaching on being fully open to conceiving with every act of love making, then why would you need charts and thermometers? Obviously you would not need to worry about any of that.

Exactly. Justifying NFP while condemning non-abortifacent hormonal or barrier contraception is not only hypocritical, but an outstanding feat of mental gymnastics.

“We are open to procreation, but we just happen to use charts, thermometers, and expensive training materials to do this more effectively.” I mean, really.

If you said that this was a natural means vs. non-natural means debate, fine. But most people who condemn non-abortifacent contraception do so on the basis of “separating the procreative from the unitive purpose.” This kind of non-consistent thinking will affect other areas of your life.

 

[LongingSoul]

Exactly. Justifying NFP while condemning non-abortifacent hormonal or barrier contraception is not only hypocritical, but an outstanding feat of mental gymnastics.

“We are open to procreation, but we just happen to use charts, thermometers, and expensive training materials to do this more effectively.” I mean, really.

If you said that this was a natural means vs. non-natural means debate, fine. But most people who condemn non-abortifacent contraception do so on the basis of “separating the procreative from the unitive purpose.” This kind of non-consistent thinking will affect other areas of your life.

No it is not a feat of mental gymnastics. Where you are being gravely, gravely misled are by supposed Catholics who promote the belief that the intrinsically evil sin of contraception is the avoiding of pregnancy. They should be shot down on the spot for promoting that in the interests of their own distorted non Catholic beliefs.

The intrinsically evil thing about contraception is that it distorts the actual act that is ritually ordained by nature and God to pay reverent honour to mans role in Gods creation. So any act or action that separates the creative aspects of intercourse from the pleasurable aspects. This includes chemical sterilisation, surgical sterilization, barrier methods and the most detestable crime of onanism such as withdrawal or mutual masturbation.

Abstinence ie the non event of sex itself is not the sabotaging of the actual act. It simply avoids doing it if pregnancy is not desired.

 

[loumeland]

Is it any wonder that the ranks of protestant churches are swelling up? The Catholic Church seems to think it a horrible thing for anyone to ever think for themselves. Its quite exhausting being told that my God-given reason means nothing if I happen to disagree with a minority celibate male hierarchy.

Threads like this, ladies and gentlemen, is why loads of people are leaving the church.

Unfortunately, this is how most of the world views us. All because of a discipline, not even doctrine! In order to grow as a Church in the 21st centuries, some disciplines will have to be understood in their rightful place…

 

[Maille1417]

Most of the young Catholics I know are taking the church seriously, and are faithful to her teachings. I sympathize with the woman who has medical issues and is exhausted. I have 4 kids. I have extreme sickness when I’m pregnant (I lost 20% of my pre pregnancy weight with my 4th). When I had my third, my pubic bones pulled apart and I couldn’t walk (a condition called spd) That was 4 years ago and I now have chronic pain, had to do physical therapy, and constantly fear slipping, tripping, or falling. It’s so so so scary to put my trust in Jesus that nfp is going to work, that I’ll be ok. But the truth is, I’ve been ok. I have been blessed with a great support team, and amazing doctors. I have to practice nfp, until I can relax about becoming preggo, and it’s helped me discover ovarian cysts, so I’m really glad I’m doing it. Just my two cents

 

[Rau]

Exactly. Justifying NFP while condemning non-abortifacent hormonal or barrier contraception is not only hypocritical, but an outstanding feat of mental gymnastics.

“We are open to procreation, but we just happen to use charts, thermometers, and expensive training materials to do this more effectively.” I mean, really.

If you said that this was a natural means vs. non-natural means debate, fine. But most people who condemn non-abortifacent contraception do so on the basis of “separating the procreative from the unitive purpose.” This kind of non-consistent thinking will affect other areas of your life.

See post #975 which makes clear the erroneous understanding that you are supporting here. There is no wrong in avoiding pregnancy. “Open to life” does not prevent one avoiding pregnancy. It is only the “means” that are at issue.

 

[loumeland]

At the end of the day, the majority of us are going to plan our families efficiently, we are not going to leave it to chance and we are not going to risk having more kids than we can afford. We will also not be celibate. If we had that gift we’d be priests or monastics.

The Catholic Church hierarchy can scream at the people all day long, and the majority of us are going to turn a deaf ear. This my friends is the real answer to the original question of this thread.

Married couples like us have been endowed with the formidable responsibility to plan a family and have been commanded to do so intelligently, in light of our times (external factors), as well as our financial, physical, emotional, and psychological realities (internal factors). Most families in the Church- really, 9 out of 10 of the people in front of you in the Communion line, and 9 out of 10 people you shake hands with during the passing of the peace do not feel comfortable leaving a 5 or 10% of this responsibility to chance. This is the Church we are talking about! Either we realize that or we will inevitably polarize ourselves and form ourselves into an elite- rendering ourselves Pharisees!

 

[Xantippe]

Most families in the Church- really, 9 out of 10 of the people in front of you in the Communion line, and 9 out of 10 people you shake hands with during the passing of the peace do not feel comfortable leaving a 5 or 10% of this responsibility to chance.

How do you know this?

 

[loumeland]

How do you know this?

That’s what the polls tell us.

 

[TMC]

That’s what the polls tell us.

Not only polls, but lived experience, and communication with Catholics of all stripes. I think the polls are accurate. I wonder what an accurate and honest poll of the clergy would tell us? Or Catholic theologians?

 

[LongingSoul]

Married couples like us have been endowed with the formidable responsibility to plan a family and have been commanded to do so intelligently, in light of our times (external factors), as well as our financial, physical, emotional, and psychological realities (internal factors). Most families in the Church- really, 9 out of 10 of the people in front of you in the Communion line, and 9 out of 10 people you shake hands with during the passing of the peace do not feel comfortable leaving a 5 or 10% of this responsibility to chance. This is the Church we are talking about! Either we realize that or we will inevitably polarize ourselves and form ourselves into an elite- rendering ourselves Pharisees!

That 5 or 10% chance of getting pregnant is only relevant to the rate at which you ‘fly close to the edge’ of the fertile period. When it comes down to a serious need to avoid pregnancy as with those who are menopausal… you cover the risk with a more committed abstinence. Only taking the most cautious opportunities.

 

[Abu]

Loumeland #1006
Justifying NFP while condemning non-abortifacent hormonal or barrier contraception is not only hypocritical, but an outstanding feat of mental gymnastics.

A prime example of the cafeteria Catholic who condemns Christ for giving us His One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church for in Mt 28:19-20, after His Resurrection, Jesus commands Peter and the Apostles to preach the good news and promised the Holy Spirit to “guide you into all truth.” [Jn 16:13].

Christ’s Magisterium has warned us, through a Saint, precisely against such bombast:
There has never been, and is no, “licit dissent” as St John Paul II has confirmed: “It is sometimes claimed that dissent from the Magisterium is totally compatible with being a ‘good Catholic’ and poses no obstacle to the reception of the sacraments. This is a grave error that challenges the teaching office of the bishops of the United States and elsewhere.” [Meeting with US Bishops at Our Lady Queen of Angels Minor Seminary, Los Angeles, Sept 16, 1987].

But most people who condemn non-abortifacent contraception do so on the basis of “separating the procreative from the unitive purpose.” This kind of non-consistent thinking will affect other areas of your life.

Really? “Many who think they are thinking are merely rearranging their prejudices” – iconoclast William James

Which is why the People of God have to be guided by the sacred teaching authority (Magisterium), and obey it – to possess the sensus fidei. As Msgr George A Kelly, explains: “The *sensus fidei *of the Catholic Church calls for Catholics to be trained ‘to think with the mind of the Church’…” Battle for the American Church (Revisited), Ignatius, 1995, p 33].

Answer by Fr.Stephen F. Torraco on June 19, 2006 (EWTN):
“If you want an objective reason as to why contraception is a serious evil and NFP is not only morally justifiable but also praiseworthy, that objective reason is this: with contraception, there is the deliberate rupture of the intimate link between the unitive and procreative meanings of the marital act. With NFP, there is no such rupture.

“The argument to which you refer (the results are the same with NFP and contraception) is purely utilitarian and does not take into consideration the entire human act. Furthermore, as I have pointed out several times, the condoning of contraception quite logically is also the condoning of genital activity with anyone or anything, as well as of in vitro fertilization and cloning. The Church’s teaching on contraception does not at all depend on faith. It is a clear and rational defense of the very essence of civilization.”

In reality the dissenters make up their own immorality to declare independence from the Magisterium, with the logical result that each one poses as pope, and “represents the crux of the confusion in the minds of believers about the meaning of their religion in the modern world.” Fr James V Schall, S.J., concludes: “The result of no real orthodoxy is skepticism and usually counter-orthodoxy.” Distinctiveness of Christianity, Ignatius Press, p 176].

 

[PaulinVA]

After following the various tangents on this thread, I come to the conclusion that some people follow the Church’s teaching because it makes sense and some follow the Church’s teaching because it’s the Church’s teaching

Others are expecting the Church’s teaching to make sense and convince them, and it does not. Since it doesn’t make sense to them, they don’t follow it. Frankly, you have to take a lot of the Church’s teaching “on faith”, if you will. When you add to that the diminishment of the clergy’s moral authority in the past few decades, there you go.

 

[Memaw]

I skipped over your other personal attacks on priests and other religious, but I wonder if this is another one? If a priest told you contraception is ok to contracept, is he “faithful”?

Some folks seem to have an agenda. God Bless, Memaw

 

[loumeland]

A prime example of the cafeteria Catholic who condemns Christ for giving us His One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church for in Mt 28:19-20, after His Resurrection, Jesus commands Peter and the Apostles to preach the good news and promised the Holy Spirit to “guide you into all truth.” [Jn 16:13].

Cafeteria, schafeteria. We are all in the cafeteria, brother.

I have found that most people who ardently promote certain Catholic teachings have built their own makeshift fan club of Pope Pius (pick a number), Pope St. John Paul II, or Pope Benedict XVI. Now, when it comes to Pope Francis, the nicest thing I’ve heard from them is that he is “confusing.” I have heard the most incredible insults hurled at the Successor of Peter. And let’s talk about Laudato Si… it’s more like Laudato No for these folks. That’s where **dissent **really starts happening. And by the way, the Pope elevated ecological responsibility to the level of faith and moral, but these folks would have none of it.

So, welcome to the Cafeteria, Abu.

 

[LongingSoul]

Cafeteria, schafeteria. We are all in the cafeteria, brother.

I have found that most people who ardently promote certain Catholic teachings have built their own makeshift fan club of Pope Pius (pick a number), Pope St. John Paul II, or Pope Benedict XVI. Now, when it comes to Pope Francis, the nicest thing I’ve heard from them is that he is “confusing.” I have heard the most incredible insults hurled at the Successor of Peter. And let’s talk about Laudato Si… it’s more like Laudato No for these folks. That’s where **dissent **really starts happening. And by the way, the Pope elevated ecological responsibility to the level of faith and moral, but these folks would have none of it.

So, welcome to the Cafeteria, Abu.

Well I have to agree with you on that point.

 

[Maximilan_Kolbe]

Cafeteria, schafeteria. We are all in the cafeteria, brother.

I have found that most people who ardently promote certain Catholic teachings have built their own makeshift fan club of Pope Pius (pick a number), Pope St. John Paul II, or Pope Benedict XVI. Now, when it comes to Pope Francis, the nicest thing I’ve heard from them is that he is “confusing.” I have heard the most incredible insults hurled at the Successor of Peter. And let’s talk about Laudato Si… it’s more like Laudato No for these folks. That’s where **dissent **really starts happening. And by the way, the Pope elevated ecological responsibility to the level of faith and moral, but these folks would have none of it.

So, welcome to the Cafeteria, Abu.

Calling Pope Francis confusing doesn’t mean you are picking and choosing which tenets to adhere to. Above all things, we are called to obedience. Great Saints under bad Bishops showed us that.

Coming onto a public message board for Catholics and proclaiming you dissent on the teaching regarding contraception, using the fact that a majority of others may agree (so what?) as support, in an effort to potentially sway others to your position of dissension most definitely is what most colloquially call being a Cafeteria Catholic.

Don’t try and stain others who support and obey what the Church says (even if they don’t “get it”) with your own dissent in an effort to make yourself feel better.

The fact is all the justification for this or that is irrelevant to what the Church actually says, and what we have to do as Catholics. The Church isn’t interested on my thoughts on what the Holy Spirit has said about contraception. My job is to bow my head and say “I will obey, and do my best to align my heart with my actions too.”

The discussion went from “why is a teaching ignored?” to “why I think the teaching and our Church is wrong.”