One of the realities I learned early on in my tenure at the Nebraska Catholic Conference is that politics (and public policy) is downstream from culture. So, when we are confronted with the tragic error of five judges redefining marriage it means there is something terribly wrong in our culture.
When the President of the United States forces Catholic nuns to violate their religious beliefs against contraception or face crippling fines in order to continue serving the poor and elderly, it means there is something terribly wrong in our culture (see: www.becketfund.org).
When Planned Parenthood, which operates our nation’s largest abortion chain, receives $500 million in our tax dollars, even after being caught on tape covering up sexual abuse of minors, aiding and abetting sex traffickers, double-billing taxpayers, and harvesting and selling of aborted baby organs (see: www.liveaction.org) it means there is something terribly wrong in our culture.
The primary common denominator among these three examples is our culture’s misunderstanding and misuse of the God-given gift and meaning of human sexuality and married love, particularly as demonstrated by its embrace of contraception.
“The teaching of the Catholic Church on human sexuality is profound and uplifting,” said Susan Wills. “Married love is meant to mirror the love within the Trinity—to be faithful, selfless, permanent and life-giving.
“But rather than encouraging this kind of love, contraceptives have helped many people to engage in sexual relationships that are unfaithful, selfish, short-term, and altered to be sterile, not life giving. Such uncommitted relationships can not only damage our ability to love as we’re meant to love, but very often lead to other problems—contributing to the 3 million unintended pregnancies, over one million abortions, and 19 million new cases of sexually-transmitted diseases in the United States each year” (see “Contraception: The Fine Print,” Respect Life Program, 2009).
Pope Saint John Paul II said in his encyclical “The Gospel of Life” that the “trivialization of sexuality is among the principal factors which have led to contempt for new life.” So if we want our nation’s politics and policies to respect, rather than degrade and undermine human sexuality, married love, and human life, then each of us must diligently seek to understand, live and proclaim God’s design for these sacred gifts.
To assist Catholics in this endeavor, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) established the week of July 19-25 as Natural Family Planning Awareness Week. This week is scheduled to coincide with the anniversary of the papal encyclical Humanae Vitae (July 25) which articulates God’s plan for human sexuality, married love and responsible parenthood.
The theme of this year’s NFP Awareness Week is “All Natural: Natural Family Planning, Good for the Body, Great for the Soul.” This theme should appeal to a sizeable segment of our society who seek out all-natural, organic food and to otherwise rid their lives of chemicals and artificial substances that can cause health problems.It is ironic that so many in our culture will be inconvenienced by, and spend more, to eat only organic food and then don’t think twice about ingesting artificial hormones (i.e. contraceptives) that can cause serious harm to their health (see: Contraception: The Fine Print)
If you want to positively impact our culture and the political/policy life that flows from it please commit to learning and living the Church’s beautiful and liberating teaching on human sexuality and married love. There are many excellent educational resources available from the Church at www.usccb.org/love-and-sexuality, www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/marriage-and-family/natural-family-planning, and www.onemoresoul.com.
If you are planning to get married or are married and of child-bearing age, commit to learning about natural family planning or fertility awareness. There are multiple methods of NFP which are based on the three basic ways a woman’s body indicates the fertile and infertile times of her cycle: cervical mucus, body temperature, and cervical shape or texture. You can learn more at: Couple to Couple League (www.ccli.org); Billings Ovulation Method (www.familyplanning.net); Creighton Model, www.fertilitycare.org or www.popepaulvi.com); and the Marquette Method (nfp.marquette.edu).
