Health Benefits or Population Control???

Cosmopolitan "6 reasons to have sex TONIGHT"



"From this it follows that they are not free to act as they choose in the service of transmitting life, as if it were wholly up to them to decide what is the right course to follow. On the contrary, they are bound to ensure that what they do corresponds to the will of God the Creator. The very nature of marriage and its use makes His will clear, while the constant teaching of the Church spells it out"

This comes from claim #10, in which the Pope defines Responsible Parenthood and the nature of marriage. I take issue with this final paragraph in which the Pope claims that two married partners are not free to act of their own accord in choosing right from wrong. The Pope claims that the couple should be serving God in every action, and in this case it means choosing not to have sex unless life is meant to be created.

I find this VERY troubling, as a distant memory of mine reminds me that God made man with free will, and this is a central teaching in the Catholic religion. As a woman of faith, I feel unhappy to know that my God doesn't trust me to use personal discretion in my actions. In the very first paragraph of the document, the Pope briefly asserts several relevant issues with population density. To manage these, the Pope simply claims that men and women should be competent enough to control their own "natural urges". Aka, choose not to fornicate.

However, one issue I believe that the Pope did not discuss is the multitude of health benefits of a healthy sex life. There is vast research explaining physical, physiological, psychological, and emotional benefits. I just heard a statistic two nights ago that women who orgasm three times per week add three years onto their life! Stress management, physical therapy, and household stability can be results of this habitual participation in this act. Is a person meant to sacrifice their bodily and family health unnecessarily to manage population when there are countless safe and effective methods to all BOTH??

Marriage vs. Divorce

Sect. 9: Married Love // Married love is also faithful and exclusive of all other, and this until death. This is how husband and wife understood it on the day on which, fully aware of what they were doing, they freely vowed themselves to one another in marriage. Though this fidelity of husband and wife sometimes presents difficulties, no one has the right to assert that it is impossible; it is, on the contrary, always honorable and meritorious. The example of countless married couples proves not only that fidelity is in accord with the nature of marriage, but also that it is the source of profound and enduring happiness.

In this section, the pope is challenging the issue of divorce. The church clearly defines marriage as a lifelong commitment, only broken by death. The pope recognizes that life "presents difficulties," but that no matter what, the husband and wife can work through it. Divorce - or any type of separation between two married people - is unacceptable in the eyes of the Church and the pope. 


This issue can be clearly identified by the rising percentage of marriages that end in divorce. Roughly half of all marriages end in divorce in today's American culture. Although this statistic may not be 100% accurate, it still proves a point - tons of people are getting divorced. Additionally, a study from the University of Iowa found that there is a correlation between loss of virginity before age 18 and a greater occurrences of divorce within the first 10 years of marriage. Americans today have a very different view on marriage and divorce than the pope. 


In my opinion, the issue lies not with the rate of divorce but with the rate of marriage. Couples in today's culture will get married after a few months - then after a year or two, discover that things aren't so great. Then comes divorce, to save the day! 


I think the pope was hinting at this in the quoted statement. "This is how husband and wife understood it on the day on which, fully aware of what they were doing, they freely vowed themselves to one another in marriage." Herein lies the issue - a majority of couples that get married don't understand, and are not fully aware of what they are doing. Marriage is the "right" thing to do - it's a cultural norm and the proverbial "next step" in many relationships. 


The introduction of divorce to the legal system represents the first opposition to the "lifelong marriage" concept put forth by the church. It's subsequent popularity and acceptance into American culture caused the importance of marriage to be severely diminished. What makes a commitment so serious if it can easily be undone and negated? With an easy exit strategy, many couples will get married to "see if it works," and move on to the next partner when it doesn't. 


It's my belief that marriage is intended to be between two people, and for life. I agree with the pope on this topic. However, the American culture-opinion of marriage is vastly different than the pope's version. I think couples should get to know eachother for a few years before getting married - you can't choose to spend the rest of your life with someone without knowing who they truly are. You also must really know someone in order to work through issues that arise during marriage. 


Divorce will always be a big issue - it will most likely never go away, and will only increase in popularity. Popularity doesn't equal righteousness, and therefore it is my opinion that the Church and the pope are correct in their beliefs on the topic of marriage and divorce. 

what exactly is responsible parenthood?

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Responsible Parenthood

10. Married love, therefore, requires of husband and wife the full awareness of their obligations in the matter of responsible parenthood, which today, rightly enough, is much insisted upon, but which at the same time should be rightly understood. Thus, we do well to consider responsible parenthood in the light of its varied legitimate and interrelated aspects.

[...]

From this it follows that they are not free to act as they choose in the service of transmitting life, as if it were wholly up to them to decide what is the right course to follow. On the contrary, they are bound to ensure that what they do corresponds to the will of God the Creator. The very nature of marriage and its use makes His will clear, while the constant teaching of the Church spells it out. (10)

I chose to highlight the end of part 10 because of what exactly i thought it meant. It seems to spell out that we do not have the right to act freely when dealing with the creation of our own children, it entails that we have responsibilities and that we are bound to certain religious guidelines. It ends with addressing the nature of marriage and basically summarizing that when it comes to children, the catholic church knows best. It seems to me that it is speaking out against abortion and birth control and trying to assert an amount of control over the very private action of childbearing.

I feel that this has bad economic, political, social, relationship, and identity consequences which run both deep and are far reaching within our society. To begin with though i would like to first say that i am a christian, but i also think that "the will of God the Creator" does not always translate to benefiting the economy, politics, society, and so on. The pill and abortion have had a huge benefit for the economy as well for crime control. To begin with they have sprouted a multi-million dollar market which ranges from contraceptives to plan b. At the same time a decrease in crime has been accredited to abortion... wait what? Yep that's right, experts believe that abortion has lessened crime because the majority of abortions occur in low income, high crime areas, with mothers who are unable/unwilling to care for there child, if a child is born into these circumstances there likely hood of becoming involved in criminal activities is multiplied drastically, having obvious positive implications for our society. I also believe that birth control and other non catholic sanctioned sexual practices are healthy for relationships as well as ones individual identity. A relationship that one is forced into based on a shared child/pregnancy in my opinion would be a very unhappy one. Just because the Church seems to believe that sex can only happen in marriage it does not mean this is the case, if there was no way of dealing with unplanned pregnancy's and all pregnancy's were only sanctioned within marriage i can almost guarantee that our already massive divorce rate would increase. I also believe that our personal identity should be our own to shape (as much as that is possible in the culture we are raised with) and i personally don't think i would want all of mine tied to a child. But as Andrea Tone said "the outcomes are not always what we expect", so keep in mind this could all be a rant from a guy who will never have to experience the full effect, both emotional and physical that come with children. As always i want to acknowledge that i am obviously shaped by me own cultural upbringing and in no way mean to insult anyone's faith or beliefs.

From a efficient/ McWorld perspective which is so common in our culture i have to say that i view what the pope said in this particular part as "nonsense". I feel that he lacks to account for anything more than old catholic tradition and a one sided christian view of morality, completely ignoring social, economic, and psychological consequences that can accompany it.

Birth Control: Is it Really Intrinsically Wrong?

Pope Paul VI argues that any form of birth control is intrinsically wrong in paragraph 14 of Humanae Vitae. Below are some specific excerpts that I found to be particularly interesting.

14. Equally to be condemned, as the magisterium of the Church has affirmed on many occasions, is direct sterilization, whether of the man or of the woman, whether permanent or temporary. (15)

Similarly excluded is any action which either before, at the moment of, or after sexual intercourse, is specifically intended to prevent procreation—whether as an end or as a means. (16)

" it is never lawful, even for the gravest reasons, to do evil that good may come of it (18)—in other words, to intend directly something which of its very nature contradicts the moral order, and which must therefore be judged unworthy of man, even though the intention is to protect or promote the welfare of an individual, of a family or of society in general. Consequently, it is a serious error to think that a whole married life of otherwise normal relations can justify sexual intercourse which is deliberately contraceptive and so intrinsically wrong.

Clearly it is the argument of the Pope that any form of contraception, be it before, during, or after intercourse is never lawful and contradicts the moral order. He even condemns contraception that is used in good intention because "its very nature contradicts moral order...and thus must be judged unworthy of man".

This position that the pope is taking, if strictly followed by society, would result in negative consequences. Sure it may be believable and in some cases supported that contraception may, or already has, changed man's view of women (making them more materialistic and degrading their value), but the idea that contraception in any situation is unlawful is unrealistic. This is because society has constructed conscious politics in which "the greater good" path or option is typically followed. For instance, the two child rule in China. They implemented the law to control the population in order to increase the well being of the existing population. If the population grew or became to large there would not be sufficient resources (food, water, space, money) to provide a "humane" existence. There would be a portion of that population that would die due things such as disease and starvation.

Society is constantly in conflict with the 'natural law' because human intelligence has created a means for us to engage in such acts, because of natural instinct (desire to mate), without consequence(no pregnancy). Despite what the pope preaches about contraception the U.S education system constantly teaches various contraception methods. The American society has a view that forms of contraception are means of "safe sex". These views go against what the pope believes in a "fixed" human nature when in fact human nature is very much shaped by society and its constructions. The political, economical, and psychological constructs of society argue against a fixed human nature. We as humans are much different after the invention of birth control and in a good way. We can control when we have offspring to ensure that we are ready to provide for them, to give them every advantage possible, to protect the stability of society. Without contraception society would be strained by unplanned pregnancies, further spread of STDS's, and overpopulation.

Ehh What's up, Doc?

To Doctors and Medical Personnel

27. We hold those physicians and medical personnel in the highest esteem who, in the exercise of their profession, value above every human interest the superior demands of their Christian vocation. Let them persevere, therefore, in promoting on every occasion the discovery of solutions inspired by faith and right reason, let them strive to arouse this conviction and this respect in their associates. Let them also consider as their proper professional duty the task of acquiring all the knowledge needed in this delicate sector, so as to be able to give to those married persons who consult them wise counsel and healthy direction, such as they have a right to expect.

To me, this sounds like the Catholic Church is giving Doctors and Medical Personnel the freedom to make their own decisions. The Catholic Church wants Doctors and Medical Personnel to keep their faith in mind but isn't necessarily restricting them on their actions. Which is very interesting. The Catholic Church is VERY Pro-Life. There are not many Priests or other religious figures that are Pro-Choice in the Catholic Church. So why didn't Pope Paul VI make a stronger statement against abortion regarding those who perform them?

Regions Hospital, a large hospital in St. Paul, MN, has been dealing with many protesters over abortion. Well, starting December 9th, 2011, Regions Hospital will close the GYN Special Services clinic. Regions Hospital noted that 'it was part of the clinic's overall approach as of late, moving certain medical care services to non-hospital settings'. There are many community based providers that women seeking abortions can go to.

Linnea House, the executive director for NARAL Pro-Choice Minnesota said "I respect the decision made by Regions, I do not think it highlights the need for making sure that women have access to safe care." If Pro-Choice is semi-happy and Pro-Life is happy, then everybody wins. Right? I mean it will be harder to get an abortion but you can still get one. Also, abortion is being taken out of big hospitals all across the nation.

Lets look at the good the Catholic Church has cause with being Pro-Life: Many babies lives have been saved. Lets look at all of the bad the Catholic Church has caused with being Pro-Life: Many rape victims are reminded every day of what happened to them.

In the 50's, if a young girl got pregnant, she was sent off to 'camp' until the baby was born. This way no one outside of the family knew about the 'mistake' she made. Now, women have the option to kill their baby. I know I do not understand the connection a Mother makes with her child but I feel it would be difficult to know that you are killing something inside of you. Abortion is a very large factor in politics in the US. Many candidates either make or break their campaign with their opinions on abortion (and gay marriage but that's a whole different blog).

The United States of America was a place that started as a place one can go for religious freedom. Today's staticists shows that people are moving farther away from the idea of religion. This makes room for science to come in. Science fills many of the theories of religion. Science and Religion conflict on many topics while also giving reasoning to similar topics.
This comes back to a question of standards. Do we let Doctors and Medical Personnel make their own decisions? or do we hold all Doctors and Medical Personnel a set line of standards and guide lines? I think people should be able to make their own decisions when it comes to their morals. Hopefully people stand up for what the believe in and have a strong back bone to stand firm. But this conflicts in my mind because I am Pro-Life. Interesting how on one topic we want people to do what they believe is right but on another we want people to listen to us. Damn this has caused a headache...

Till Death Do Us Part

9. Married Love. The Pope explains the design of marriage and the outcomes that it should yield:

“Married love is also faithful and exclusive of all other, and this until death. This is how husband and wife understood it on the day on which, fully aware of what they were doing, they freely vowed themselves to one another in marriage. Though this fidelity of husband and wife sometimes presents difficulties, no one has the right to assert that it is impossible; it is, on the contrary, always honorable and meritorious. The example of countless married couples proves not only that fidelity is in accord with the nature of marriage, but also that it is the source of profound and enduring happiness.

Finally, this love is fecund. It is not confined wholly to the loving interchange of husband and wife; it also contrives to go beyond this to bring new life into being. "Marriage and conjugal love are by their nature ordained toward the procreation and education of children. Children are really the supreme gift of marriage and contribute in the highest degree to their parents' welfare."

The Issue: Marriages are failing, and in the United States the divorce rate is at 51%. Many people today are incapable of being “faithful and exclusive” to just one person and for that reason, people aren’t even getting married! Physiologically we can’t be satisfied with just one person anymore because most people don’t even understand what marriage is anymore. When a couple is married their goal is obviously to be enduringly happy, but lets be real what marriage is like this all the time? The Pope is stating that procreation is a necessity and that all married couple need to strive to have children. Lets face it, we are in the technology age where our generation is so consumed by their own wants and needs they don’t want to think about having children and concerning themselves with having the responsibility of raising another human being. Children will never lose their charm or cuteness, but the desire for conceiving children is not on the top of everyone’s to-do list.

Taking a Position: Where to begin? Marriage is a beautiful thing but it can be very ugly when done the wrong way. When one is married they are saying they will forever stay faithful to that one person. Referring back to a historical text from the Bible, “Can a man scoop fire into his lap without his clothes being burned? Can a man walk on hot coals without his feet being scorched? So is he who sleeps with another man's wife; no one who touches her will go unpunished.” Proverbs 5:27-29. God also designed men and women so they could be together in marriage, Matthew 19:4-6 States, Haven't you read," he replied, "that at the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female,' and said, 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh'? So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate." As far as procreation God wants us to reproduce, “And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Genesis 1:28.

My historical beliefs have carried on since the life of Christ and I have adopted these beliefs for myself and I believe the Bible and its claims. When most other cultures are telling me not to think this way, I stay firm in God’s word. 

"Married" Love

Paragraph 8 begins with the phrase "married love" which to Pope Paul VI means a man and a woman marry to have children and start a family. It is natural, it is right, it is fixed-all because God has a well thought-out plan. God made man in his image so it is our duty to him as humans if we marry (and only to the opposite sex) start popping out kids.

"husband and wife, through that mutual gift of themselves, which is specific and exclusive to them alone, develop that union of two persons in which they perfect one another, cooperating with God in the generation and rearing of new lives."

Fact: the Pope does not have a wife and the pope does not have sex. I believe that because he has no experience with "married love" he does not have the authority to speak to this issue. Even after typing this, my Catholic guilt kicked in. Pope comes from the Latin word papa, and Catholics look to him as the father of the church. So much like with my own father's rules about curfew, what that father of the church says, goes. And just like with my own biological parents, I don't have to believe what the pope believes, but I have to respect him.

The Pope believes God's plan had led him away from married life and into the priesthood. We as Catholics were raised to believe in the "Divine Plan" which means we were taught that there is an order in the universe already created by God, as he knows each man and woman and their divine plan before they are even born. He foresees each person in their invidulaity and interrelationship and how they will serve their purpose according to God's will. So before you were born, you were chosen to marry or not and if you do find a husband or wife, guess what? You're having babies.

To the average American, this may seem absurd but this is a perfect example of Catholic Romance. It encompasses fate and destiny, your one true soul mate. Your partner is exclusive to you and your sex life is a "mutual gift" to each other.

But there is separation of church and state. And Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont, New Hampshire, New York, and DC.

Politics of a legal marriage threaten the church's power and ideal of "marriage" and consequently, "married love". If two men or two women marry they are incapable of reproducing naturally with each other. The consequences of believing in a fixed marriage of one man and one woman, which results in offspring, deeply excludes many of God's children, whom he has known before they were born. It is not only gay and lesbian couples which Humanae Vitae isolates, but any couple who chooses that marriage and children are not a package deal.