Fr. Michael Reilly
Monday, April 15, 2002

The vicious assault of the media on the Catholic Church and the priesthood speaks volumes: It means we must be striking a nerve. Please do not misunderstand me: I am not brushing off legitimate problems as media hype, but the reaction of the media is more than a bit disingenuous, especially if we compare their treatment of the Church to their treatment of the Boy Scouts.

The continuous teaching of the Church on certain moral principles frustrates the media and for this reason, they are making a frontal assault against the Catholic Church. The Church is a target because the Church is a threat to everything that they hope to accomplish in this culture war.

The Church cannot be silent in the face of this vicious assault. Now more than ever, the Church must continue to be the voice of Jesus Christ to a world and a society which has become depraved. For this reason, I would like to address several of the most pivotal and controversial teachings of the Catholic Church, beginning with artificial birth control.

For 1,900 years all Christendom was united in its condemnation of this practice. St. Paul even spoke against it. In 1930, at the Lambeth Conference, the Anglican Church opened the door to artificial birth control and other Protestant groups followed. Pope Pius XI immediately reiterated traditional Catholic teaching on this matter in his encyclical Casti Connubi.

By the time of the Second Vatican Council, there was mounting pressure for the Catholic Church to join the other denominations in sanctioning artificial birth control. Pope Paul VI reserved judgement and appointed a special papal commission to study the matter, focusing on two questions: Can the Church change this teaching on artificial birth control, and if so, should the Church change the teaching?

The commission was sharply divided and a small majority actually favored changing the position. Media pressure was intense, but Pope Paul VI still courageously issued Humanae Vitae in 1968, boldly defending the Church's traditional teaching on artificial birth control.

The encyclical is actually a marvelous instruction on marriage and would greatly benefit all married couples. The pope explains that the marriage act serves two inter-connected purposes: the transmission of human life and the expression of married love. Any attempt to suppress either of these aspects is an attempt to change the very nature of the marriage act itself, a grievous offense to the Creator.

Couples who have serious reason to space the births may have relations during the infecund periods and abstain from relations when conception is a possibility. The pope called on Catholic scientists to educate couples in this practice, and the result was natural family planning. Catholic hospitals around the world offer instruction in NFP and the results are magnificent. When used correctly, it is more than 99 percent effective.

The pope also warned the world of the damage that widespread use of artificial birth control would inflict on society. He explained how it would contribute to an increase in marital infidelity, an increase in the divorce rate and an increase in abortion. Many advocates of birth control had argued that birth control would prevent unwanted pregnancies, thus decreasing the incidence of abortion.

Pope Paul VI, however, was able to see the bigger picture. Once man arrogated to himself dominion over human life, there would be no limit to his transgressions. If man can decide whether life should begin (contraception) he could also decide whether it should continue (abortion).

As Congress debates creating embryos to harvest stem cells, can we really doubt the pope's vision?

The Reverend Michael Reilly is a priest with the Archdiocese of New York.

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