On November 14th, 2006, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) issued a document called Married Love and the Gift of Life which tackles the issue of contraception.
The document has many good qualities. Married Love and the Gift of Life notes that the Church's position on contraception "is a teaching that many couples today, through no fault of their own, have not heard (or not heard in a way they could appreciate and understand)." This is, sadly, where we are today. The use of contraception technology has become so ingrained in our society that many couples don't even give it a second thought. This indicates a need for new initiatives that will not only "get the word out," but will do so in a compelling manner. Not in the language of theology and philosophy, but in the language of the drama and poetry of personal existence. The drafters of this document chose the right approach in light of this need.
The document begins this way:
Getting married. What a blessed and hope-filled time. Men and women considering marriage yearn for certain things. They want to be accepted unconditionally by each other. They want their marriage to be filled with love and happiness. They want a family. In short, they want their marriage to be a source of joy and fulfillment their whole life long.
After summarizing our culture's empty and degrading attitude towards sexuality, Married Love notes that
this cultural view is impoverished, even sad. It fails to account for the true needs and deepest desires of men and women. Living in accord with this view has caused much loneliness and many broken hearts. God's plan for married life and love is far richer and more fulfilling.
This approach is excellent – to contrast what is originally desired by men and women with what they actually get when they choose to bring contraception into their lives. By reflecting on love's promises, couples are enabled to question if contraception hasn't created a barrier to more than just a biological event. Could there be a more sinister side to what was once viewed only as an easy way to avoid pregnancy? Can fertility really be subtracted from the original splendor of the attraction of the opposite sex, without losing that vision? I believe this approach can bear much fruit.
Another good thing about Married Love is that it uses the "language" metaphor developed by Pope John Paul II in what has become known as the Theology of the Body. One can even find references in the footnotes to Christopher West's books popularizing this aspect of Pope John Paul's thought. Married Love also gives a precise definition of what it means that each and every marital act should be open to life. This phrase, which originated in Pope Paul VI's encyclical Humanae Vitae (On Human Life), has always been ambiguous and has led to much confusion about what the Church is saying and why.
That every sexual act should be "open to life" can't mean that it is always biologically possible to conceive a child, since it obviously isn't during the infertile periods. Nor can it mean that a couple must intend to conceive a child as a result of every act, since the Church doesn't require anyone to desire what is not even biologically possible. And it can't simply mean that a couple does intend at some point to have a family or another child, since this is no different than anyone practicing NFP. According to Married Life, "open to life" means: "never act to suppress or curtail the life-giving power given by God that is an integral part of what they pledged to each other in their marriage vows." This clarification is helpful.
There is, however, a weak link in the document's attempt to portray this teaching in a way that people can appreciate and understand. In explaining the difference between artificial contraception and NFP, it says:
When couples use contraception, either physical or chemical, they suppress their fertility, asserting that they alone have ultimate control over this power to create a new human life. With NFP, spouses respect God's design for life and love.
It is correct to identify the suppression of fertility as the difference between NFP and contraception, but what makes this difference morally relevant has nothing to do with "control." In both cases, a couple is controlling the power to create new human life. Married Love gives the impression that what makes NFP morally good is that a child could still be conceived even when the couple is not intending it. But couples on the pill also get pregnant. The essential moral difference will not be found in the idea of "control."
Overall, the bishop's document is pretty solid. After Humanae Vitae came out, many walked away from it; it was a hard saying. The decades that followed saw mostly silence, almost as if this teaching were an embarrassment. The bishops' issuing of this document could be seen as a sign that things are finally changing, and that is a cause for hope.
