In 1968, Paul VI issued his landmark encyclical letter Humanae Vitae
(Latin for "Human Life") which reemphasized the Church’s constant teaching that it is always intrinsically evil to use contraception to prevent new human beings from coming into existence. Simply put, artificial contraception is contrary to the will of God.Contraception is "any action which, either in anticipation of the conjugal act [sexual intercourse], or in its accomplishment, or in the development of its natural consequences, proposes, whether as an end or as a means, to render procreation impossible" (Humanae Vitae 14
). This includes sterilization, condoms and other barrier methods, spermicides, coitus interruptus (withdrawal method), the Pill, and all other such methods.Artificial contraception is wrong because it is opposed to the natural law of God. Some argue we need contraception to cut down on unwanted pregnancy and abortion. But, there should be no sex outside of marriage - fornication - because it is a mortal sin. Even looking at a woman/man lustfully is a sin (Matthew 5:29). Sex outside of marriage is mortally sinful. Only sexual activity between a husband and wife is permissible, and a husband and wife must be open to the transmission of human life. Artificial contraception destroys marital bonds.
Some forms of contraception (such as the morning after pill) can even produce an abortion. These forms of contraception kill upwards of 12 million lives in the US each year. (Source)
St. Thomas Aquinas, who is considered the greatest theologian in the history of the Church, ranks the evil of contraception immediately after that of homicide, in that the first destroys human nature and the second prevents it from coming into being. (Source: Contra Gentes 1.3, c. 122)
Scripture also condemns contraception:
Gen 1:28, 9:1,7; 35:11 - from the beginning, the Lord commands us to be fruitful ("fertile") and multiply. A husband and wife fulfill God's plan for marriage in the bringing forth of new life, for God is life itself.
Gen. 28:3 - Isaac's prayer over Jacob shows that fertility and procreation are considered blessings from God.
(See More examples)
What about using condoms to stop AIDS?
We still must not use artificial contraception like condoms.
Artificial contraception damages the gift of self. It destroys marital bonds because it prevents the transmission of life. For those who argue condoms should be supported because they will save lives in the fight against AIDS, condoms will not save lives. What is needed is education to change the lifestyles of these people. They must be taught that chastity is to be valued and sexual relations outside of marriage are wrong. This is a must and if we can teach this we can save more lives.
If condoms are allowed then many countries will begin to support sex outside of marriage and I guarantee that AIDS will skyrocket. People do not realize that the AIDS virus is so small that it can be transmitted through a condom. Condoms are not effective.
From a comment in Catholic News Agency article:
We can see from results in Africa that the use of condoms spreads AIDS rather than stopping it. Tanzia went from 3 cases to over 2 million with condom use, while Uganda went from a 30% AIDS rate to only 6%, after it stopped condom use. Clearly condoms spread rather than stop AIDS transmission. The Church is right in rejecting them.And again it comes down to our faith in the True Church of Jesus Christ. We should seek to understand everything and we must never go against the Church's teachings on faith and morals. As Paul VI proclaimed in his encyclical, Humanae Vitae
, artificial contraception is contrary to the will of God.
3 comment(s):
Besides those reasons already stated by Moneybags, contraception destroys the marital act in two additional concrete ways:
1) One of the most beautiful aspects of sex is fertility--the ability to create life with your spouse through the marital act of love. Contraception would eliminate procreation, holding back the fertility and therefore making the act an incomplete gift of self--a lie. No, the "l" in "love" does not stand for "latex." By holding back fertility, one attempts to diminish the act of love that God created for us--he insults God. He also insults his partner because he is telling her he loves her with all of himself, when in fact he is holding back the most beautiful aspect.
2) The second reason is that contraception is most responsible for making premarital sex as commonplace as it is today. Without the fear of having a pregnancy, or getting sexually transmitted diseases, couples (particularly teenage couples) can have sex any day of the week with little or no pressure and all of the pleasure. And none of the comittment, I might add. After contraception was widely legalized, divorce rates skyrocketed:
"Basically, there are two reasons. Contraception allows for marriage to become less child-centered and more focused on the emotional side of marriage. Therefore, people don’t stick together for the child. They stop seeing marriage as intrinsically linked to kids. When problems arise, people think it’s better to divorce — even if they do have kids — because they see marriage in primarily emotional terms.
Second, the introduction of the pill allowed more women to stay in the workforce after they married in ways that they would not have before. Prior to the pill, women typically would have married, had children and stopped working. Thus, after the contraceptive revolution, married women became more career-focused and economically independent. Women thus felt freer to divorce because they had more economic and social resources."
(source: http://ccli.org/nfp/morality/socialscientist.php)
"Studies also show that those who have premarital sex are most likely not to get married and if they do get married; they are more likely to divorce than those who have not had premarital sex."
(source: http://www.marriageromance.com/stories/10802697703.htm)
These are both quite alarming statements--are marriages in society taking a bow to sex? The uprise in teen pregnancy seems to suggest this, as does the legalization of contraception, abortion, and same-sex unions (in some countries). Celebrity marriages don't seem to boost the popularity of marriage, either. Let's face it--seuxal prudence is unpopular. But it is necessary if we are to have stable societies and maintain the institution of marriage as it needs to be maintained.
Premarital sex is a knife in your future spouse's back. I would know--I've felt this knife. It hurts. And contraception puts this knife in everyone's hands. That's a dangerous thought.
~ AleX
Alex, very good response. I'm going to write it into a post article for you because it is such a good comment it should be a post all to itself
Church is not opposed to all forms of contraception but rather artificial contraception.
I have to disagree with the semantics of this statement. The Church is against ALL forms of contraception, including natural contraception, as it is against the act of pulling-out (Genesis 38).
Natural Family Planning is allowed precisely because it is NOT contraception. Contraception is an act that manipulates sexual intercourse in order to prevent conception. NFP does nothing to manipulate the sexual act in itself. NFP is a way for couples to work with the natural processes of their fertility to plan/space their children when necessary.
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