The Catholic Church’s extreme views on contraception are reflected by two recent letters to the editor published under the headings “Cafeteria Catholics” and “Church Doesn’t Bend.”
Though impossible to believe, Catechism of the Catholic Church Number 2370 states that if a married couple engages in sex solely for pleasure, they are committing a mortal sin and an “intrinsically evil act.”
This teaching is based on writings of the early church fathers some 1,500 years ago.
These were such writers as St. Augustine, who believed the world was flat, that the sun orbited the earth and that women’s bodies were simply incubators for a child that was to be born.
They were completely ignorant of what we now understand in the 21st century.
Surely the Christian God that man created would not impose such conditions. That God is supposedly all knowing, all loving, all powerful and with foreknowledge of all things. As such, God either causes or allows all things that happen, both good and bad. The writings on contraception are based on only one biblical scripture the church can cite, Genesis 38: 8-10.
In that scripture a man named Onan was required by the Israel law of levirate, or “brother-in-law marriage,” to provide his brother’s wife with descendants since God had killed his brother (no reason given for the execution).
Because Onan knew the descendants would not be counted as his, he elected to “waste his seed on the ground” when he united with her. God then killed Onan.
The church claims that was because of the contraception issue.
However, the Catholic edition of the New American Bible, finalized in 1986, contains a footnote to verse Genesis 38: 8, which states the Israelites considered their law of levirate to be very important, and it was Onan’s violation of that law to produce descendants, rather than the means he used to circumvent it, that brought God’s displeasure on him.
So that footnote in the church’s own Bible does not say that contraception is a sin.
Fortunately, almost all Protestant denominations abandoned the sin concept more than 75 years ago, as did most Catholics, except for the Vatican.
Hopefully, common sense about the issue of contraception will continue to prevail.
DONALD POUND,
Topeka
Comments (43)
You would think
that after a few hundred years members of religions would have some coalescence. But no, they continue to "pick and choose" what is their sin de jour. Adherence is nothing but rationalization.
The reason is is that there is no reason.
OH man!
I'm not even gonna touch the Onan
thingy!
When I was a kid in South Louisiana,
I lived in predominantly Catholic country. My sister and I were the only two kids in the public school who was not Catholic. The priest ran the public school and the nuns taught in the school.
My sister and I went to a Missionary Baptist mission in the area where people from closer in to New Orleans came out for Sunday School. We were the only two from that area to go.
We studied the Bible.
And I remember so well a conversation I had with a Catholic family once, when I spent the night with their daughter. They had seven kids and lived in a small shotgun house (as we all did) - and I really really liked them all.
But they were curious and asked many questions about what Baptists were all about and what they did. They were astonished that we not only read the Bible, we studied it. Not one member of that family, nor anybody else they knew, had ever read the Bible. It was read to them in Latin in church (if I remember that correctly).
So, they took me to church with them because I had no idea about the Catholic church. I didn't understand a thing, but I enjoyed the experience. The reason I didn't understand was that the entire mass was kneeling, sitting, standing, kneeling, standing, sitting. Nobody sang praise songs and the Bible was not read or discussed. I came away with the idea that the Catholics did not have a Bible to read. They took their priest's and nun's words for what was in there.
I was a kid. I didn't care. I'm almost seventy. I still don't care.
But doesn't that mean that Catholics don't read and see for themselves what is a sin and what is not, and in particular, what is a mortal sin, in the Bible? From my studies (good lord, I spent a lot of time doing that!) I got the distinct impression that there is only one mortal sin - not believing in Christ. All other sins are forgiven/forgiveable - and that would include spilling your seed on the ground, if that is really a sin. I don't think it is, according to the Bible I studied.
You see, if it is a mortal sin, then boys from early teenage years are doomed to hell. And I'm not trying to be funny. This is not a funny thread. It's as serious as hell.
Do Catholic priests teach that you will go to hell with no remedy of forgiveness under any circumstances if you allow your seed to go to waste?
And, I apologize to my Catholic friends, but this is too serious to ignore - does that mean a priest who wastes his seed in a small boy is going to hell? Why would a priest risk such an eternity in hell? And why would the church cover it up, allow it, and even deny it sometimes?
In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage.
--John Steinbeck
Well you gotta remember,
Rome was throwing Christians to the lions for fun and Killing Christians just because they were Christian. But the more they killed them,, the more they kept coming
Even the roman population was turning to the Christian religion enough
to threaten the Roman Government.
SOLUTION?? if you can't beat 'em , JOIN 'em.
at least that's what you make the faithful believe.
So then , Behold the Holy Roman empire
And what better religion to make more holy Romans and keep the status qua than to make more rules that seem to be from God.!
And don't forget the perfect ruse for keeping tab's on the population..,,,
The CONFESSIONAL!
But don't worry Catholics,,
I and millions of Protestant's are united with you on this fight against Government forcing you to do what you don't want..
even though the shoe's on the other foot now.
Another distractor
From the embarassment in the White House. The left has already burned this topic out.... That is what makes it so much fun to watch, these ozombies get the talking points from their leader and start their robotic chant. Yep, crash and burn...
Just another rehash letter from the last 3 letters in the last 2 days... oh hummm.
2370
To begin with the letter writer is completely false in his quoting, number 2370 it does not say what he is trying to make people think it does. Possibly he does not understand the writing, and decided that was what it said. He totally missed the part that states Periodic continence, that is, the methods of birth regulation based on self-observation and the use of infertile periods, IS IN CONFORMITY with the objective criteria of morality. It also talks about RESPECT for the bodies of each other (spouses) and tenderness between them.
Lucinda
Just because you went to a Catholic Church and thought you knew what you heard, does not make what you think right. There has never been a Catholic mass, where the Bible was not read. Both the Epistle and Gospel are read in every mass, and they are readings from the Bible. If this was in an English speaking community, they were read in English. If it was a German community, many years ago, it might have been read in German, and today is probably read in Spanish in a Spanish mass. Years ago the songs "Gloria" "Our Father" which would have been "Credo" in those days were sang in Latin, as well as the prayers that were said during the mass were in Latin. Most are now said in English so it would be more understandable to this generation, but Latin is starting to be incorporated again, so that it would be the same all over the world.
I will not comment on the rest of Donald's letter as I can see he does not fully understand what he is talking about.
Just Me
Just me,,
I want you to know that I faithfully watch the Catholic mass every Christmas eve and Easter masses whenever possible. Even though I'm a protestant.
American
Never argue with stupid people, They will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.-Mark Twain
American
Look in your cupboard.... is that Obama behind your cereal boxes?
You are a "one note Nellie" and an embarassment to yourself.
The letter mentions church dogma and nowhere refers to government dogma.
I agree with superswagg on this one.
the difference is that
People can leave the Catholic Church,,,,
You can't leave Obama care!
I dated a boy one time
that told me he had to go to confession because he had danced naked on top of a car as an initiation into a club. I have to admit it was 49 years ago but to this day I can't figure out what commandment he broke. For that matter where does it say in the Bible you can't dance naked on a car?
...
"There has never been a Catholic mass, where the Bible was not read."
That Catholic Christmas Eve mass was in Latin. And if the Bible was read, nobody knew what was being read.
When someone uses the word "never" you can know that they really don't intend to present any proof, because it's not possible to prove that something has never happened.
That's okay. I don't need proof. I have a good, clear memory of it. It was the one and only mass in my life. And no Bible verses were read in English or Cajun French, the only two languages of that community.
In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage.
--John Steinbeck
the Mass and other things
Hi Lucinda,
I'm Catholic and hopefully I can answer some of your questions.
Catholics believe that all people are created in the image and likeness of God. That includes the ability to create. Of course, we're not God and so cannot create something from nothing. But, still, He did give us the ability to create. Marriage is a covenant by which husband and wife fully give themselves to one another. That is, they become one flesh. When husband and wife turn away from God and use contraception, they sin.
You mentioned going to Mass as a child with your friends and you said the Bible wasn't read or discussed. Oh, but it was. At every Mass back in those days there was an Epistle reading and there was also a Gospel reading. (these days, we now have three readings on Sunday, the first reading is usually from the OT, while the second is always from the NT, and these are followed by the Gospel reading ) There was also something called the Gradual which was a Psalm reading which was read or sung in between the Epistle reading and the Gospel reading. (nowadays, it's called the Responsorial Psalm) Back in the day the Mass was said in Latin, but the Epistle and Gospel were always read in the vernacular, that is, the language of the people.
And, of course, there was (and still is) the Consecration in which the priest says the words spoken by Jesus Christ at the Last Supper. And at all Masses except for those during Advent and Lent, we sing or say the Gloria which was taken from the Gospel of Luke. We also sing or say 'Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of hosts. Heaven and earth are full of Your glory.' (Isaiah 6:3... also Rev 4:8) And we also sing or say three times, 'Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world, have mercy on us,' based on John the Baptist's words spoken in John 1:29.
Lastly, we Catholics believe in Sacred Tradition as well as Sacred Scripture. Every single word spoken by the Lord while He walked this earth wasn't written down. As it is, St. Paul said, 'Stand firm and hold fast to the traditions you were taught, whether by an oral statement or by a letter from us.' (2 Thes 2:15) As well as, 'I praise you because you remember me in everything and hold fast to the traditions, just as I handed them on to you.' (1 Cor 11:2) (btw, did you know that the New Testament was given to all by the Catholic Church?)
You also wrote:
'You see, if it is a mortal sin, then boys from early teenage years are doomed to hell. And I'm not trying to be funny.'
Any Catholic can be forgiven any sin in the Sacrament of Reconciliation as long as they are sorry for their sins and try not to sin again. But Jesus knows that we are weak and that we will fall. We can receive the Sacrament over and over and over and over again, as long as we are sorry. Btw, this Sacrament is referred to in John 20:23.
PS for Lucinda
Lucinda, you wrote:
'That Catholic Christmas Eve mass was in Latin. And if the Bible was read, nobody knew what was being read.'
In those days many people had a special kind of prayer book with them called a missal. On each left-hand page was the Latin and on each right-hand page was the English.
Even though, the Mass was said in Latin, as I mentioned previously, the Epistle and the Gospel were read in the vernacular. And, even though, you didn't know that those parts of the Mass were from the Bible, after all, you were only a child then, Catholics did know.
gardener
"and you said the Bible wasn't read or discussed."
That's not true. I did not say the Bible was not read or discussed. I said, if it was read, it was in Latin and was not read in English. Nor was, in fact, ANYTHING discussed. We went in, there were things said in Latin, indications for when to kneel, when to stand, when to sit... and not one word in English about the Bible. Then we left. It was Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve in 1952 In St. Bernard Parish.
I don't know how old you guys are but the Catholics I have known have said that things changed over time. When I was a kid the schools in Louisiana, there were days when no meat could be served. Various other things that were part of the Catholic worship then, no longer apply.
Can you understand that things have changed in the last sixty years?
Btw, my husband plays music with some guys. One is Catholic. My husband reads the Bible almost every night before bed. He has had long conversations with his Catholic friend about things in the Bible. His friend has never read the Bible. He said he hasn't. He knows very little about the Bible. And yet he goes to church regularly and even helps with the services in various ways that I can't recall. He knows certain things that are forbidden, and what is allowed, and he's very religious. But he never reads the Bible.
The point I tried to make is this: I don't think Catholics fully understand what the Bible says about sex that is not for procreation, and the idea that a boy or a man can waste his seed and be forever doomed to hell because you're taught it is a "mortal" sin.
Can we discuss that? When does this dooming to hell kick in? Are all young boys who [filtered word]**e (this word may get filtered, so I put some ** in there) doomed to hell? Some of those boys are way too young to be doomed to hell over something they sometimes can't even control.
In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage.
--John Steinbeck
I just read your last paragraph. I missed it somehow.
Thanks for responding to my question. So there is no "mortal" sin... or did that change.
My Catholic friends when I was a kid said there were sins that could not be forgiven and you'd go to hell. One was contraception.
Now, that Mass I went to - this family I went with - they had no missals, books, or pamphlets that told them anything. Perhaps they already knew it?
As I said, we got out of the car, went inside, went through various movements as guided by someone up front, Latin was spoken and sang, and then we went back out to the car.
I think it's possible that there are/were places in this country where people were taught what they needed to know in Catechism and that was it. We had Catechism in our public school.
In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage.
--John Steinbeck
Misconceptions..
I am a cradle Catholic myself, but I want people to understand many things that non-Catholics, and Catholics get totally wrong about the church..Some of these misconceptions have been stated already...
Let me just begin with the start of the church...The Catholic church was started by Jesus...Many Protestants believe that believing the pope as the head of the church is blasphemy, because it is not mentioned in the bible...Jesus specifically said "Peter was rock and on him he will build the church"..These lines, we use as proof that Peter was the first pope, and every pope since Peter is a direct descendent from him, as the head of the church on earth until the return of Christ. Argue with me if you want, but the text is there, and Jesus said it himself..Even if you don't believe Peter was the first pope, there we know that Clement was the second pope after Peter with documents showing there was an establishment of early Christians as early as 50-100 years after Christ...Catholics DO NOT WORSHIP the pope, we look to him for direction, until the return.
Another misconception is the worship of Mary...Catholics do not worship or any saints...We believe that Mary was the mother of God, and because of her closeness to Jesus, we can pray to Jesus through her as a channel to Christ..Because the saints and Mary are in heaven, we can pray to Christ with the intention of a saint, so that they as well as Jesus can hear our prayers. If we pray to a saint, a saint can forward that intention to God for it to be heard.
Every mass takes sacred text from the bible for the readings...There cannot be a mass that does not do this, for that mass would not be sacred, it would not count, it wouldn't be right.....
Yes, Catholics may not read up on the bible as much as Protestants, but it is as equally important as any other religion. We just believe teachings by priests go hand in hand with scripture and not just sacred text alone..With the belief that in the bible Jesus himself said "Go out and preach the faith" to his disciples as well as the first pope, Jesus was instructing these disciples to preach the faith to the people like you and I, and the teachings of the church starting with the first pope.
Catholics cant just go on the bible as proof for faith..Even the bible wasn't made until hundreds of years after Jesus rose unto heaven..That is why we Catholics continue instruction by priests because for those years between the Ascension and the first bible, the disciples were instructing the people just like priests are doing today..With the bible and so many translations, you cannot be 100% sure everything is the same as it was with the first bible..Catholics have that knowledge going back to the first pope for instruction, instruction from a man, Peter that personally knew Jesus, and you cant get much better then that..
I myself was raised in the Vatican 2 Catholic English speaking Masses that most in America go to...But recently things made me not like it.It just doesn't feel right..Many times it feels like mass becomes more "for the people" and not "for god"....It become too "touchy feely" and not "you are going to hell, this is what you need to do" kind of stuff.....We have entered a society were people don't want to hear any of that stuff any more, and much of the American Catholic churches have become far more liberal in teachings, and adopting their own styles of preaching and service that is very dangerous, and I have a hard time seeing it as a "Pure" form of Catholicism....Recently I have started to go to a Latin Mass, and it just seems right to me...Vatican 2 seems to have taken a lot of things away from the Latin Mass....Hmm..The Latin Mass, a form of service that was used for 1500 years, and only 50 years ago they want to secularize it...I find that secularizing the Mass made it so different, and I wholeheartedly love the Latin Mass, because it seems so much more universal and more of the correct way to worship God, and I feel closer to God...Everything seems right, and the sermons are extremely knowledgeable and very powerful in some cases....Im not trying to rag on Vatican 2, but why change what worked for 1500 years.....And in the Latin missal, there is an English translation, and the biblical readings are done in English...Why change?...There are still many conservative English mass churches that still do an excellent job,, but there are also many liberal ones, that seem wrong to me....
I ranted on about my church, but I find nothing wrong with the faith, only Vatican 2, bringing about so many forms of Catholics, and many of the wrong views since the 1960s...Get back to what is right, and what the Church fathers founded, and instituted....Lastly I will say to my Protestant friends who only read the Bible for beliefs --Jesus never said print Bibles---that is why I am a Catholic.....
Liberals...the original Wedgies
This entire issue was never about women's health concerns at all, for the liberals. It's just a another wedge issue to distract and divide. Divide and conquer. Conquer, and have complete control over all aspects of everyone's lives...including those who thought they were going to benefit from putting them in control.
News flash. You're all just pawns. You're all just another sheet on the roll, ready for them to use you to wipe, and then flush you down. Listen up women. THEY DON'T CARE ABOUT YOU, OR YOUR HEALTH ISSUES! They are using you. This is about "control". As much as they can get.
Doesn't it seem odd that liberals are always in full-divide mode? They isolate as many sub-groups as possible to get them on their side by promising things they can't possibly deliver. According to them, everyone in the country should "benefit" from taxpayer dollars...EXCEPT the people paying most of the taxes. They have an all-out assault on businesses (people that create opportunity and prosperity for others) and Christians and Jews.
They "Occupy" for...whatever little grievance they may have...that they believe government owes THEM something, even if they refuse to contribute. "TAKE IT FROM THEM!"
They are at this moment attempting to initiate a full-on race war, using lies and deceit from the incident in FL as an excuse. "Let's get ahead of this, before the facts are in. Let's stir up hatred, and call for blood! If we wait to find out what really happened, it may be too late! Strike while the iron is HOT!" (Obama administration to NBC..."Hey, edit that 911 tape to make it sound racist. We need a distraction from the Supreme Court thing, which isn't looking too good for us.")
They play to the emotions of Latinos, but want to continue hurting all of us (including the citizen and legal-resident Latinos) by allowing more job competition to flow across the border, and squeezing all people who are here legally with higher costs of EVERYTHING, because one of the benefits of being illegal is sucking down free stuff from taxpayers.
They complain that people who pay the lion's share of federal income taxes don't pay enough, while they, themselves pay little, or none.
They are creating a wedge between the public and private sectors, and they have the public sector (our employees) disrespecting and demanding more from the private sector (us...their bosses), when we are tapped out from having way too much government. It's not that there's not enough revenue to meet our legitimate needs for a public sector to do what is its responsibilities...it's that there isn't enough revenue to keep growing, much less sustain, government that is out-of-bounds, too large, doing too many things it has no business doing and wasting MASSIVE amounts of money on fraud, waste and abuse...like the GSA. There is simply too much for anyone to keep track of. Those people know it, and they probably, more often than not, get away with those shenanigans. Liberals should be OUTRAGED! That's money that could have helped a lot of people.
They side with unions "to protect jobs", while "Unions Gone Wild" are a huge reason there are fewer jobs in the first place, and fewer opportunities.
Liberals: "We'll do everything for YOU...and YOU...and YOU...and all you over there...even if we have to destroy those few groups on the other side to do it! We PROMISE you the world. Join us in dividing this nation, and all of you will be rewarded!" The crowd goes wild!
(Obama staff, from the wings: "Wow. Look at those people. He's got THEM fooled, doesn't he? Little do they know!" "YES! Our plan is working! Soon, we'll have COMPLETE CONTROL, and they won't know what hit them... (evil laugh).)
When asked who the liberals want to represent, they have a long list of benefactors, and a list of those they want to destroy and cut down to size.
When asked who conservatives want to help, the answer is "All citizens. Provide opportunity, and lift the standards for everyone. We have no "list" of favorites, and we don't wish to destroy any American citizen. We'd rather help bring as many people up who are willing to contribute to their own success, than bring others down to provide for those who refuse, and think they are owed something for nothing, if they are able. We are glad to take care of those who can't take care of themselves, and more than glad to help people get back on their feet, if they are willing to help us help them."
Liberalism. The Wedgie Party. Always out to torment others because they just don't have what it takes to excel at anything other than play-acting, or being angry all the time, I guess.
Sure is a greedy, self-absorbed uncaring lot.
Liberalism is hard work. It must be extremely tiring to always be busy fixing the messes they keep creating by trying to fix the messes they've created.
The Catholic Church, Catholic Women and Birth Control
Fact. Most Catholic women of child-bearing age use birth control.
Fact: Requiring insurance companies to pay for birth control is a matter of good public heath policy.
Fact: Requiring Catholic institutions that provide health insurance for their employees to pay for birth control is a matter of good public health policy.
Some 98 percent of sexually active Catholic women in the United States have used contraceptive methods banned by the church, research published on Wednesday showed.
A new report from the Guttmacher Institute, the nonprofit sexual health research organization, shows that only 2 percent of Catholic women, even those who regularly attend church, rely on natural family planning.
http://fallenfromgrace.net/2012/02/09/the-catholic-church-catholic-women...
stop the republican #waronwomen
Once again, Teapublicans are trying to end Medicare Social Security and Medicaid to pay for more tax breaks for billionaires and Big Oil. It’s time for us to speak out and tell the Gop what this means to seniors & families.
If alter boys could get pregnant
birth control and abortion would be a "Sacrament"
Churches should stay out of politics, or be taxed.
Once again, Teapublicans are trying to end Medicare Social Security and Medicaid to pay for more tax breaks for billionaires and Big Oil. It’s time for us to speak out and tell the Gop what this means to seniors & families.
True believers of religion
you should fear greatly, the New Romans are at the gates with truck loads of youthful hungry lions that want to devour you, your families and everything you hold sacred. Because of our divided pettiness and the resulting distractions, they will win and a Brave New World will begin. The Mayan calander highlights December 21st as the day of great change, I think it is November 6th.
Stop arguing the petty issues and look to this nation's financial future; if this present course remains unchanged the next four years will end the Republic.
@justme
"2370 Periodic continence, that is, the methods of birth regulation based on self-observation and the use of infertile periods, is in conformity with the objective criteria of morality. These methods respect the bodies of the spouses, encourage tenderness between them, and favor the education of an authentic freedom. In contrast, "every action which, whether in anticipation of the conjugal act, 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" is intrinsically evil."
The last sentence appears quite clear to me. Mr. Pound appears to have read and comprehended the statement very well.
@nunya - "Listen up women. THEY DON'T CARE ABOUT YOU, OR YOUR HEALTH ISSUES! They are using you. This is about "control". As much as they can get."
ROFL - Oh that's rich. You are accusing liberals of wanting control of women while you try to deny them birth control and the right to abortion? You need to get back on your meds.
look at the ozombies spout non-issues (Distractors)
Keep trying... Who declared war on the pill? Saw Stephanopolis bring it up in a debate once, looked rather silly doing it I must say. Anyone see a state proposing to outlaw the pill? please share it with us oh brainwashed ozombies.
This is so transparent; a war on the 1st amendment doesn't settle well with America.... You little ozombies keep marching to the mindless drum beat from the White House, all the way to November please... as you march of the cliff.. Too funny.
Nunya you are right on.
Nunya you are right on. Absolute wedge issue, and probably a small test to see how far of a reach the HHS has now under obamacare. If the great sebilius can legally force churches to act against their conscience (when their particular belief does not break current law), then individuals will soon start to see their free will abridged as well.
I am curious why its so important for some to force catholic churches to provide contraception, whether directly or through insurance. No one is forcing you or anyone else to work for a catholic organization. Do you really believe there are enough woman working under a cath organization, without access to birth control on their own, to cause a public safety hazard?
Well i have no religion at
Well i have no religion at all and my life is worry free. i had sex for pleasure years ago and sometimes without contraceptives. why follow a religion that makes you live in fear? That is not the life i want. Humans should do what makes them feel good as long as they are not hurting anyone else. THAT is what life is about, is it not?
hey i'm old, just got my first computer and i can no longer afford to have the newspaper delivered so here i am
Big Bug
Just so you know, the form of the Latin Mass with which you are familiar was promulgated to the entire Western Church rather less than 500 years ago, not 1500. (The Roman Missal was not obligatory outside Rome until AD 1570, and even it had a few changes down through the years--for example, it was quite controversial in the early 1960s when Pope John XXIII had the word "faithless" [perfidis] omitted from the prayer for the Jews in the Good Friday liturgy.)
Prior to the 16th century, most regions in Europe had their own local forms of the Mass; while almost universally in Latin, these local versions varied quite substantially in text and detail. Most of England, e.g., practiced the Rite of Sarum, the Rite of Hereford, or the Rite of York up until the Reformation, each with their own version of the Mass.
fourthNlong
You seem to overlook the very significant point that this policy has nothing whatsoever to do with churches per se; they are quite free to maintain whatever policies they want. The HHS policies affect only BUSINESSES, including those that have formal or informal ties to a religious group. Does the federal government, or any branch of government, have the power to regulate businesses? I think the Constitution makes quite clear that it does.
American
Never argue with stupid people, They will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.-Mark Twain
Facts-
Most women that are Catholic use contraceptives? What is your point?
Most women of today do not even stand in line with the teachings of the Catholic church any more, yet they call themselves Catholic..You shouldn't be Catholic if you cant follow the principles of the faith....
Sex is natural, why destroy the sanctity of it but doing something unnatural such as contraceptives?...