Why is the church against the artificial method of family planning?

Answer 1

Throughout most of the history of the people of God, Jews and Christians believed that men and women should honor the design and purpose present in the gifts God has given to us. So, for example, if a father gives his 16-year-old son a brand new car, and says, "Son, I got you this new car so that you could become more independent during the school year - get yourself to and from school and practice and enjoy going places with your friends. Enjoy your new car and take good care of it." Now suppose in the middle of his junion year, the son decides he wanted to go on a really great Surfing trip to Hawaii with some friends. He wants an airline ticket, a hotel, and a new surfboard, and cash for meals and extras. So he sells the car, takes the cash he receives for it, and goes on the trip. That would be disrespectful of the purpose for which the father had given his son the car, which was for him to be independent throughout the school year. People actually used to think this way about the gifts God gave us. They thought not only about how to get the most out of this life; they also thought about why and for what purpose these gifts were bestowed on us, and how our use of them fit into all of creation. Jews and Christians revered not only God, but God's designs and purposes for His gifts. Among these gifts is that of sexuality. Jews and Christians from time immemorial revered sexuality as a gift from God designed by Him as the way to perpetuate the human race. (People used to value large families, too, and were very eager to have lots of children. Large families - many children - was considered a wonderful thing.) Sex and children went together, and plenty of both was a good thing. Over time, people became less concerned about using God's gifts in the way He intended us to do, and became more concerned about using them in the way that pleased them. Like the son in the story about the car. After all, you might say, it was his car. He was free to do with it as he likes. Sell it and go to Hawaii, if he wants to. But a son who values his relationship with his father more than the car, more than surfing in Hawaii, more than anything in the world, will use his father's gift in the way the father intended. He won't use it in any other way. Mindful of this way of regarding things, the Catholic Church has simply maintained the perspective that Jews and Christians have always had, down through the centuries. God's designs come first. Other faith communities have gradually accomodated to the viewpoint that sex really isn't about families and children, but about self-fulfillment for each of the partners. The Catholic Church points out that the fulfillment of each partner is important, but no more important than procreation, which Jews and Christians historically believed was God's primary purpose in creating sex. In enjoying the good things God gave us, our relationship to Him still must come first. Comment The above is a statement from a Catholic believer. What the Pope believes is God's will, I don't agree with. I don't believe there is any objective evidence that sex is solely for procreation. Sex can also be a way to bond and express love. There is no shortage of people in the world, and not everyone is responsible enough to commit to parenthood. I don't believe that any one person knows what God's will is, and the consequences of banning "safe sex" should be examined objectively before imposing one person's beliefs on women especially, who have no say in Catholic doctrine.