Catholic Students Heckle Anti-Birth Control Classmate
(CNSNews.com) - Administrators at a Catholic university in Minnesota have apologized to students, faculty and parents for comments made by a student commencement speaker who echoed the Roman Catholic Church’s position against birth control. Students elected classmate Ben Kessler to give an address at the University of St. Thomas commencement ceremony May 20 in St. Paul, but when he criticized birth control, calling it “selfish,” students and faculty booed him. Amateur video shot at the ceremony and posted online shows people leaving the ceremony, while others shout profanities. Near the end of Kessler’s speech, one student yelled, “We’ll be happier when you’re done.” Full Story
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June 1st, 2006 at 7:24 pm
As a practicing Catholic, I often try to explain the churches stance on this issue to people. I don’t know how complete/correct I am, but here’s my take:
#1 - the Church does allow birth control = Natural Birth Control which takes into consideration the many very reliable signs that a woman is fertile (or not). It’s 99.9% effective if used correctly and consistently.
#2 - the Church does not condone use of artificial birth control. Mainly for reasons having to do with respect for human life and not thwarting the natural results of choices made.
If you want to read the 1968 encylical written by Pope Paul VI on this issue, here’s the linkhttp://www.vatican.va/holy_father/paul_vi/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-vi_enc_25071968_humanae-vitae_en.html
What it does not say (but which is widely portrayed to contrary) is that all sex should be for the purpose of creating babies. In fact the Pope leads off with some obervations that are pretty generally accepted by most people:
The encyclical opens with the observation that circumstances often dictate that married couples should limit the number of children, and that the sexual act between husband and wife is still worthy even if it can be foreseen not to result in procreation. Nevertheless, it is held that the sexual act must “retain its intrinsic relationship to the procreation of human life”, and the “direct interruption of the generative process already begun” is unlawful.
Also not always correctly relayed is information about the church’s stance on sterlization….It IS allowed for theraputic reasons (i.e. if a woman will die if she gets pregnant, by all means tie her tubes!). See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humanae_Vitae
Thus…. I don’t know what was being said by or to this school’s speaker - and hope that Repect for Human Life rules were followed by all concerned…. but I do tire of having the entire topic misunderstood, within and without the church!
June 1st, 2006 at 7:41 pm
P.S. Many American Catholics do not like nor understand their church’s teaching on birth control. I think a lot more would accept and follow the rules were they, and the reasoning behind them, better explained!