A colleague just emailed this "letter to the editor" to me. You gotta see it.

[Maddy McCall]

Evidently, the newspaper takes comments, but those have to be
approved by the editor before they appear on the newspaper's
website...so if you would like to respond, please copy/paste
the link below into your browser to read the article at the
newspaper and to respond.

http://www.enterprise-journal.com/articles/2008/07/28/opinion/03.txt

******************************

Forty years ago this month Pope Paul VI released his
encyclical letter entitled Humana Vitae. Though it simply
supported the 2,000-year history of Christian teaching
regarding marriage and the marital act, its release during a
time of sexual license in the developed world has made it both
controversial and, in the end, prophetic.  
While emphasizing the fact that marriage requires a man and
woman to give of each other freely, totally and faithfully, it
also pointed out the likely consequences of a society that
embraced contraception: a general lowering of moral standards;
a rise in infidelity; a lessening of respect for women by men;
and the coercive use of reproductive technologies by
governments.

Though proponents of contraception promised a virtual paradise
on earth due to happier marriages, less unwanted children and
female independence, the actual results have been quite the
opposite: A dramatic increase in divorce, not incidentally
related to marital infidelity resulting from a decreased fear
of out-of-wedlock pregnancies; a significant increase in
abortion with at least half of all women entering an abortion
clinic claiming contraceptive failure; and a
pornography-drenched society where women are marketed as sex
objects created simply for the gratification of men. Some
paradise.

Unfortunately, the Christian community has fallen under the
spell of this contraceptive mentality ever since the early
20th century.

Despite this collapse into modernism, the Catholic Church has
continued to promote the sanctity of the marriage act. With
the release of Humana Vitae and subsequent letters by Pope
John Paul II — especially his Theology of the Body — and the
U.S Conference of Catholic Bishops, the importance of
preserving both the unitive and procreative aspect of marital
love continues to be promoted.

Modern methods of Natural Family Planning are effective for
both avoiding and achieving pregnancy, and most couples using
the method express greater satisfaction with the level of
intimacy in their marriage when compared with contracepting
couples. Most importantly, however, as opposed to
contraceptives and sterilization, NFP promotes a healthy
attitude toward both children and God’s gift of fertility.
This leads to happier, more secure marriages and a philosophy
of prayerful discernment of what God wants in our lives.  For
more information regarding NFP go to the web at
www.boma-usa.org (the method we teach), www.ccli.org or call
us at 601-684-1230.

Dr. Mike Artigues
Trisha Artigues


 

 
 
 

[Mz Pip]

1. So basically there are a bunch

of old men who have never been married telling me how I am supposed to feel about marital love. Give me a break.

"Collapse into modernism" Geez, they make it seem like abad thing. :eyes:

[Maddy McCall]

2. You really should leave the comment...

about old unmarried men telling you how to feel.

Excellent response. :thumbsup:

[Mz Pip]

4. Hehe

I did. :evilgrin:

[islandmkl]

3. did the pope mention the church's efforts to halt, or even slow down,

worldwide overpopulation? I guess the pope and the boys just say 'trust the god you do not understand' to cover that part of their theology.

I have always had a curious fascination with the RCC...contraception, not allowed; enslaving & exterminating indigenous people, OK...

spreading the good teachings of jesus throughout the world; vatican-assisted and enabled nazi 'escape routes' at the end of WW2 with riches and plunder from all over europe, not minimally from the extermination of jews, gypsies, etc....

[bdf]

5. It's perfectly obvious

People who live in poverty turn to religion. They pray that their crops won't fail. They pray so that they go to Heaven when they die, where things are supposed o be better. People who don't use contraception have more children, which puts them into deeper poverty, so they give even more money they cannot spare to the church.

[Nobody]

6. A lessening of respect for women?!!?!?!?!?

As in when has the Roman Catholic church ever had any respect for women other than as brood mares? As if we're in danger of extinction from failure to breed. As if women had not been considered "the gateway to hell"*.

As for the Roman Catholic Church's respect for women: How low can it go?

*Augustine (and no I won't put a "St." in front of anyone's name who disrespects me that much. I am not the gateway to hell, even if it existed.)

[knitter4democracy]

7. Wow. That reads exactly like one of the early Church Fathers.

They had contraception then, too, and all sorts of wild living that the Church tried to turn people away from. How the hell is it different today than it was 1700 years ago?

[mrreowwr_kittty]

8. Why is Mike promoting NFP when every sperm is sacred?

He is openly advocating the men squander millions of potential little lives by ejaculating into their spouses during non-fertile time. Tsk.

[Nobody]

9. According to a class at my Catholic high school

Natural Family Planning is deemed acceptable because families can use it to only have sex during the fertile period of a woman's cycle.

At least that's what the celibate males who think they run things tell themselves. Not that anyone really does that.

The teacher mentioned this astounding bit of information, saw the gaping, incredulous looks on most of the class, and explained that in reality Natural Family Planning is used to prevent pregnancy. And then she went into exactly how you did it.

It works best if you are so regular that people could design a calendar around your cycle and you don't mind the bookkeeping that you have to do. For me, it wouldn't work. I have irregular periods that last anywhere from 8 to 30 days (and I'm just talking about the bleeding) and a full cycle that lasts from 14 days to 40 days. Not including the times I've missed periods for no good reason.