Lindsay ([info]angelicid) wrote in [info]catholics,
@ 2005-07-24 15:03:00
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Some priests aren't afraid...
I'm a first-time poster, and I have something I'd like to share.

In Mass today, our visiting priest gave a (rather long, but good) homily about Church teachings on birth control. That particular subject related both to tomorrow's anniversary of Humanae Vitae and today's reading in which Solomon asks the Lord for wisdom.

His point was that so-called "cafeteria Catholics" should seek the wisdom to change their minds and hearts about accepting Church birth control teachings. He proposed to us that picking-and-choosing which rules to follow results from a crisis of faith. Such "cafeteria Catholics" are absolutely certain that teachings on, for example, the Trinity or the Eucharist, are non-negotiable. But when the Church proposes that sex is sacred and requires spouses to share their whole selves with each other, they disagree. Intellectually, the Trinity is a lot harder to believe in than the sanctity of sex and its procreative capacities, yet "cafeteria Catholics" seem to accept it more readily.

I found this homily especially interesting (since I'm young and might someday be married, and then have cause to put that teaching into practice) and appropriate. Many priests might be afraid to broach the subject in a homily of Church teachings on sexuality, but I'm glad my parish's priest wasn't.

(cross-posted)

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[info]mmeubiquitous
2005-07-24 07:07 pm UTC (link)
Good for him! The Church needs more like him :)

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[info]angelicid
2005-07-25 02:39 am UTC (link)
I totally agree. I was so happy he was willing to talk about the issue, especially since it's such a contested point.

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[info]scarpacci
2005-07-24 08:18 pm UTC (link)
"Intellectually, the Trinity is a lot harder to believe in than the sanctity of sex and its procreative capacities, yet "cafeteria Catholics" seem to accept it more readily."

I think what happens most often is that saying they believe in the Trinity is easy to do and practice, while issues such as birth control take actual effort and sacrifice by a person.

I would go so far as to say if someone of another religion were to challenge the Trinity that individual would crumble, just as said in the Parable about seeds.

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[info]angelicid
2005-07-25 02:52 am UTC (link)
I would wager that he brought it up because Church teaching on sexuality is more practical (or rather, requires more practical effort) than some other teachings.

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[info]altoangel
2005-07-24 09:29 pm UTC (link)
I like that that priest wasn't afraid to speak out on a touchy subject. I think some priests are scared of giving homilies on topics like birth control because they don't want to "drive people away". But they don't realize that people need to hear the truth, and maybe if they knew why the Church teaches as it does, they'd be more accepting of the teachings about birth control.

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[info]angelicid
2005-07-25 01:36 am UTC (link)
I agree. I posted this mainly because I remembered someone lamenting the way priests don't often talk about such big issues. Mine did, so I wanted to share.

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[info]rhetoricfem
2005-07-25 12:32 am UTC (link)
What is the exact definition of a "Cafeteria Catholic" ?

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Re: ?
[info]angelicid
2005-07-25 01:01 am UTC (link)
It's a slang term, so I don't think it has a real definition. The idea is that some Catholics choose which teachings they want to follow instead of trying to follow them all. It's like being in a cafeteria line and taking the macaroni, but not the pudding. Hence, cafeteria Catholics.

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[info]porthos1985
2005-07-25 02:24 am UTC (link)
a friend of mine is a youth minister and he got in trouble for teaching the kids anti-artificial birth control. i guess the kids went home and told their parents they weren't supposed to be doing what they were doing. so they complained to the priest who got mad at the youth ministera and said he wasn't allowed to do that anymore. it was really sad. and he's not allowed to take the kids to stuebenville conferences b/c it's controversial.

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[info]angelicid
2005-07-25 02:34 am UTC (link)
I understand why the parents were upset. Learning about the official Church teaching doesn't necessarily mean you can go criticize other people (especially your parents!) for their choices. But the parents' decision to use ABC doesn't mean that they can hide the Church's teaching from their kids. I would hope that, if their kids know they're using ABC, the parents would be able to (and want to) explain why they do so.

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[info]chadwickswaiter
2005-07-25 03:17 am UTC (link)
I understand your glee at having a fearless preacher. My pastor is such a fellow too. He didn't give the Humanae Vitae homily this year, but he did last year, since the anniversary that year was a Sunday. It is such a blessing to have a priest that is so unafraid to preach on the contraversial that it's an uncommon occurence to have nobody walk out because "this saying is too hard to take."

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[info]geckowwjd
2005-07-25 04:22 am UTC (link)
Good priest. Pray for him.

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[info]silvercreedence
2005-07-25 06:55 pm UTC (link)
Praise the Lord for a great priest! ^_^

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[info]foundunicorn
2005-07-26 05:01 am UTC (link)
I’m not completely sure if I agree with the church teaching on birth control.
First off I’m very prolife. And I’m a virgin so I’m can’t talk of this from fist hand knowledge.
I have some question about natural family planning.
Is it having you have sex after there is any chance of a egg fertilizing but not implanting?
For how long of time you can not have sex every month?

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[info]angelicid
2005-07-26 10:13 pm UTC (link)
I'm no expert on Natural Family Planning, nor do I even have any experience with it, so I can't give a very thorough answer to your questions. I'll try, though.

From what I understand, NFP involves monitoring cervical mucus and basal temperature to determine when a woman is ovulating, i.e., when she is most likely to become pregnant. If you're trying to conceive, that would be the optimal time to have sex. If you're trying to not conceive, that would be the time to abstain. The time period is a window of several days (around five, I think).

NFP doesn't affect fertilized eggs, which is one of its pro-life characteristics. With some artificial birth control (maybe all), the endometrium is thinned out so that, if an egg is "accidentally" fertilized, it will have very little chance to be implanted. With NFP, an "accidentally" fertilized egg can still be implanted.

If you need more information, try Googling "natural family planning".

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[info]snowowl
2005-07-27 12:55 am UTC (link)
What she said. Another way to determine ovulation is by using a ferility monitor such as Persona, which is a little computer that uses eight urine tests a month to determine when it is safe to have sex (this has found to be the most accurate of NFP methods in determining ovulation and the one I use). A person usually has six to eight days a month they cannot have sex on.

I would like to comment that not all birth control affects fertilized eggs, such as condoms, femcaps, and diaphrams -- but these are not condoned by the Church. In my honest opinion, I don't think barrier methods should be barred because whether you use a physical barrier or one based around time, in both instances you are seeking NOT to conceive. Insofar as leaving yourself open to children, well, NFP methods are more effective than many types of barrier methods. ;) But that's just my opinion.

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[info]foundunicorn
2005-07-27 05:07 am UTC (link)
I personally believe that birth control can be any were from a major mortal sin (abortion) to a miner venial sin (condoms).

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