Few teachings of the Church are as widely misunderstood as her teaching on contraception. Many Catholics have heard only the conclusion, never the reasons. Some have been hurt by how it was presented. This lesson tries to explain the teaching as the Church herself presents it, with respect for couples who are struggling with it.
What the Church actually teaches
The Church does not teach that couples must have as many children as physically possible. She teaches that spouses may space births or avoid a pregnancy for just reasons (CCC 2368), and that periodic continence, using the natural rhythms of fertility, is a morally acceptable way to do so (CCC 2370).
What she rejects is "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" (CCC 2370, quoting Humanae Vitae 14). The question is not whether a couple may plan their family, but by what means.
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Sources
- Humanae Vitae 12 Humanae Vitae (Paul VI, 1968), the unitive and procreative meanings
- Humanae Vitae 14 Humanae Vitae (Paul VI, 1968), unlawful ways of regulating birth
- CCC 2370 Catechism of the Catholic Church, Periodic continence and contraception
- CCC 2366-2369 Catechism of the Catholic Church, The fecundity of marriage
- Familiaris Consortio 32 Familiaris Consortio (John Paul II, 1981), the Church's teaching on responsible parenthood