Hello brothers and sisters in Christ.
As it was promised in the previous video, this is the first video of the series about human life (procreation, offspring, marriage, the effects of contraceptives, STDs, surrogacy, adoption...).
I'm going to talk many things related to the proliferation of human life. In this video I'm going to address the regulation of birth based on an encyclical that many, unfortunately, don't know it (including Catholics).
This is a very important document in the Church written in the '60s by Pope Paul VI. I selected a few very important excerpts.
There's a few misconceptions about Church teaching on procreation... Some think the Church says that every couple should have the most number of children biologically possible.
Some think to have children is optional or is not that important; some think you can go into [catholic] marriage with the intention of not having children ever.
I'm going to try to address these issues in this video. Lets dive in so that the video doesn't become too long. The excerpts taken from the papal encyclical are not too short.
I'll leave you in the description box below this video the link to this document, it's very important for you to read it completely, specially those who are engaged or married.
Lets jump into paragraph #9. It states:
"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."
I've mentioned this in previous videos: everything has their proper order. Notice how the paragraph states "Marriage and conjugal love are by their nature ORDAINED toward the procreation (...)".
Human sexuality has its own proper order. This means that not everything performed sexually is good (i.e., morally acceptable).
Marriage and conjugal love are by their nature ordained toward the procreation and, obviously, to raise and educate well the children
Everything I just said is actually mentioned in this encyclical, if I'm not mistaken in paragraph #12 or #13.
Sex is ordered towards procreation and unity of the spouses. When a couple make love, there's a great exchange of emotions, a great intimacy feeling, a great expression of love. It's something extraordinary!
Sex is ordered towards this reality: the act have to be open to life (procreation) and to be favorable of fostering the love between the spouses.
Some people, probably ignorant or misinformed, think that Catholics must ONLY have sex if it is to generate a child. That's not totally true, we'll see through this encyclical.
It is licit for a couple to have sex even if the physical circumstances won't provide a chance of life generation [example: sex during pregnancy]. I'm talking inside the marriage, not outside (which is fornication, never licit).
Sex fosters and renews the love of the spouses, hence you can have sex with your spouse even when there's no possibility of generating life.
Mind yourselves that the sexual act have to be ALWAYS open to life. Lets dive in more into the encyclical...
Still in paragraph #9, there's a curious phrase... It is stated that "children are really the supreme gift of marriage". Many couple don't see this, they don't see children as true blessings.
They see them as a burden, to the point that some don't really want any kids at all. I assure you it is one of the most marvellous things you can have in your marriage.
I can testify to that, I'm a father of a 5-year-old, it's something so wonderful! I wouldn't trade this gift for anything of this world!
Children contributes for the parents' welfare. We sometimes tend to see thing from "top-to-bottom"... Parents here up top, then the children... And we say the children are the ones who receive advantages from the parents
but in reality the parents receives great things from the children. This is what "Humanae Vitae, 9" is telling us. There's a link to this idea that leads us to a Vatican II document called
"Gaudium et Spes" (check paragraph #50) and a 1930 encyclical wrote by Pope Pius XI called "Casti Connubii". The latter is also an important document, I'll leave the link below this video
so you can it too (it's longer than "Humanae Vitae" but you should definitely read it).
Paragraph #10 of Humanae Vitae: "With regard to physical, economic, psychological and social conditions, responsible parenthood is exercised by those who prudently and generously decide to have more children,
and by those who, for serious reasons and with due respect to moral precepts, decide not to have additional children for either a certain or an indefinite period of time."
What is this telling us? Well, the Church doesn't teach that you have to have the most number of children as biologically possible, one after the other. External factors influence the couples' offspring.
The paragraph names serious reasons such as physical, economic, psychological and social conditions. For example, it would be better not to bring forth a child into an extreme poverty (starvation) environment.
It would be better to postpone procreation to a future time, when the environments are more favorable. Another example: your spouse suffers a serious mental crisis / psychological distress
that will affect negatively the upbringing of a new child. Any serious financial or social crisis can affect the upbringing of children.
Notice, the encyclical talks about "responsible parenthood", we have to be responsible over this issue. As you can see, external factors can licitly influence the size of the family.
This is why, through the exercise of responsible parenthood, the decision of not to have additional children for either a certain or an indefinite period of time can be made.
We know, for example, that it's not too healthy for a woman to conceive a baby in her womb right after the birth of one. Thus it is reasonable to decide to uphold procreation for a period of time.
I also want to point out something we tend to do, to justify ourselves: we like to describe ourselves as being "poor", of not having a lot of financial possibilities... BUT, if we pay attention,
we have always money to spend on new clothes, new cars, house decorations, pets, to travel every year (maybe 2 or 3 times).
The problem is that we don't know how to manage our finances, and then we say we are "poor".
There's something that should make us think: 50 years ago, in the days our grandparents were young, everyone was poor.
I'm referring more to the Azores, my homeland. Fifty years ago everyone was poor but every family was big. How come back then couples could afford to have lots of kids and today,
the age where we have access to so much, it's impossible for us to have a big family?
Folks, if you trust in God, He will provide, don't worry too much.
In fact, in a catholic marriage ceremony, it is expected that spouses are open to the will of God concerning the number of children to be brought forth (cf. "The Order of Celebrating Matrimony").
The offspring from us should not be planned according to our will/plans, but according to God's. We need to trust in Him. And when it's impossible for you to raise kids, it's OK don't have them.
But I think if we truly looked closer to the way we live, I think the majority of couples could afford to have a bigger family.
Paragraph #14: "We are obliged once more to declare that the direct interruption of the generative process already begun"... What does this means?
As example, we have people that to really avoid pregnancy without the use of contraceptives, the ejaculation is done outside the vagina/uterus.
This is what the paragraph is talking about: a direct interruption of an initiated generative process, and this is not good (i.e., morally illicit).
If you don't believe me, check Genesis 38:9. This particular situation was done by someone and I invite you to see how God reacted.
[continuation of the paragraph]: "and, above all, all direct abortion, even for therapeutic reasons, are to be absolutely excluded as lawful means of regulating the number of children."
Direct abortion, even for therapeutic reasons, is wrong. For example, an ectopic pregnancy where the embryo is implanted unto the wall of the woman's fallopian tube instead of her uterus...
Well, that embryo needs to be removed. If not, the woman will suffer a lot or even die. The big question is: how do we solve this problem?
Should we directly abort that human being? No. According to Church teaching, every direct abortion is condemnable.
We're dealing with a human life here. I've made a video on this topic. The beginning of human life starts at conception. I'll leave the link to that video below so you can check it out later.
So, to solve the ectopic pregnancy situation, doctors should try to remove that human being and implant it unto the uterus.
Another problematic situation that I've heard is cases of women who discovers they have cancer during her pregnancy and the doctors urges them to immediately get treatment.
Maybe some of you might ask "Is it licit for a woman, in this case, to receive chemotherapy? That treatment will kill the baby."
Yes because she's not doing a direct abortion. If her baby dies, that death was just a secondary effect of the treatment she needs to be alive.
Depending how grave her cancer is, she has a few options:
a) she can choose to receive treatment after the birth;
b) she can choose to induce labor before the baby is full term and hen receive treatment right away. After 6 months of development, the baby have a higher chance of survival when there's proper care.
Or, like I said, she can choose, if the treatment can wait a while, to get to full term.
When a woman resorts to immediate treatment, she's not (hopefully and truly) pursuing to kill her baby, to perform an abortion. Her only and true intention is to improve her health, her physical well-being.
Chances are that baby will die, and if that baby dies, it was not from a result of direct abortion but as an indirect factor (i.e., consequence of treatment). The result is not linked to the original intention.
We're not going to dive in Moral Theology but basically what I said is correct. Notice the key term "DIRECT abortion"... an indirect fatality is not intrinsically evil.
Paragraph #15 - "The Church does not consider at all illicit the use of those therapeutic means necessary to cure bodily diseases, even if a foreseeable impediment to procreation should result there from — provided such impediment is not directly intended for any motive whatsoever."
This is what I just said seconds ago.
I skipped paragraph #16 because I'll be reading it in the next video.
Lets go to paragraph #17... Here we have prophetic words! Pope Paul VI wrote this encyclical 8 years after the creation and use of birth control pill as a contraceptive. Its mass production and distribution happened in 1960.
Eight years later, the Pope already was envisioning future consequences in society from such use and easy access of contraceptives.
Listen to the Pope's prophetic words in paragraph #17:
"On the consequences of methods and plans for artificial birth control. Let them first consider how easily this course of action could open wide the way for marital infidelity and a general lowering of moral standards."
"Another effect that gives cause for alarm is that a man who grows accustomed to the use of contraceptive methods may forget the reverence due to a woman, and, disregarding her physical and emotional equilibrium,
reduce her to being a mere instrument for the satisfaction of his own desires, no longer considering her as his partner whom he should surround with care and affection."
Paul VI envisioned that through the highly use of contraceptives (the pill, condoms, etc) immorality will increase, including marital infidelity; there will be a lower reverence due to women.
When women are taking contraceptives, men look at them and think "I can sleep with that one, there's no risk of impregnating her, there's no consequences."
The result: more fornication and, to quote the Pope, more marital infidelity (adulteries). We can observe this today: high rate of divorces, highly sexualized marketing, corrupted youth...
Respect to one another has been lost. A married woman is no longer seen as a partner in life, a single woman as a potential wife. Now they're seen as an object, like the Pope said, she's a "mere instrument for the satisfaction of men's desires".
The Pope saw a dangerous world on the horizon and he got it right, look at us now...
Continuing: "Finally, careful consideration should be given to the danger of this power passing into the hands of those public authorities who care little for the precepts of the moral law."
The Pope was warning about the danger of putting contraceptives in the hands of the government because usually public authorities care little for the moral law,
they don't care if this is immoral or not, if goes against God or not. Continuing:
"Who will blame a government which in its attempt to resolve the problems affecting an entire country resorts to the same measures as are regarded as lawful by married people in the solution of a particular family difficulty?
Who will prevent public authorities from favoring those contraceptive methods which they consider more effective? Should they regard this as necessary, they may even impose their use on everyone.
This can be observed in many countries already. There are governments who are trying to enforce women to take contraceptives. Continuing:
"It could well happen, therefore, that when people, either individually or in family or social life, experience the inherent difficulties of the divine law and are determined to avoid them, they may give into the hands of public authorities the power to intervene in the most personal and intimate responsibility of husband and wife."
Paragraph #18: "It is to be anticipated that perhaps not everyone will easily accept this particular teaching."
The Pope is referring to what he's teaching through the encyclical, plus the conception of Christian marriage, contraceptives, procreation. Paul VI knew many would reject the Church teaching.
Continuing: "There is too much clamorous outcry against the voice of the Church, and this is intensified by modern means of communication. But it comes as no surprise to the Church that she, no less than her divine Founder, is destined to be a 'sign of contradiction' [cf. Luke 2:34]."
The Church was and will ever be in opposition to the world, She needs to be faithful to her divine Founder, Jesus Christ. The Catholic Church is the only one founded by Christ Himself upon Peter 2,000 years ago [cf. Mt 16:18].
Jesus was among us and he was a 'sign of contradiction'. Many couldn't stand Him, so much so they killed Him. The Church has to face the world the same way: She has to follow the path of the Lord,
She has to be counter-cultural. Society is dominated by demonic forces, society is in favor of "Do whatever you want", more and more people think that freedom is to do whatever you want,
you see governments making more and more laws that goes against the moral law. But the Church is not like that, She stands firm and faithful to her Founder, She has to be a 'sign of contradiction'.
Paul VI knew not everything would accept the truth. Even inside the Church there was rejection! When this encyclical went public, there were episcopal conferences (bishops) who rejected this teaching.
Here in Canada the infamous Winnipeg Statement was declared. You can google this later. So, back in the day, most Canadian bishops rejected this encyclical.
This wasn't easy but the truth had to be proclaimed. Continuing on paragraph #18:
"She [the Church] does not, because of this, evade the duty imposed on her of proclaiming humbly but firmly the entire moral law, both natural and evangelical."
The Church's duty is not only to proclaim the gospel (the Good News that Jesus brought to the world 2,000 years ago] but also to defend the natural moral law (what is morally permissible or not),
like the fields of medicine, technology, and so on. This encyclical ends with some appeals to different entities: to Public Authorities, to scientists, to Family Apostolates, to doctors and nurses...
There's also an appeal to priests, "For it is your principal duty to spell out clearly and completely the Church's teaching on marriage",
they are not to give their personal opinion. There are many priests that uses the pulpit to insert to their flocks' minds, through their sermons, heterodox ideas and proposals.
I've heard priests preaching stuff that goes against Church teachings! Be attentive.
So priests are appealed to speak clearly about Church teaching, plus to act as counselors and spiritual leaders both of individual men and women and of families.
There is also an appeal to the Bishops, "devote yourselves with all zeal and without delay to safeguarding the holiness of marriage".
As I've mentioned in the beginning of this video, I insist once again for you to read the "Humanae Vitae" encyclical. The link to it is below this video.
If you don't have a lot of time, just read 2 or 3 paragraphs a day. The encyclical is lengthy but not too much. It is worth your time spending reading it, it is good to be informed.
This encyclical can make a good gift for a wedding. Go to a Catholic bookstore, they might have this document or you can search online and order.
Buy and offer it to your known ones, those who are engaged or those who are already married. The Church wants to teach people about the truth of marriage and procreation in order to everyone
to be in the right path, the path of morality, the one that we're synced to God's plans. Don't forget, everything has its proper order and we should be with eyes wide open about the new technologies coming out,
beware to what society offers you... At every new coming, we should ask always ourselves first, "Is this morally acceptable?".
In the case of procreation, marriage, contraceptives the Church has a word that enlightens us. Don't miss the next video, we'll continue with this series on human life. See you next week, God willing.
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