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Amongst other things (such as questioning regular confession, claiming that young people do not understand the concepts of sin and redemption and thus need to be engaged in environmental concerns, and giving his unique interpretation of the implementation of Pope Benedict's Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum) Bishop Kieran Conry has claimed in an interview that contraception is not a 'life issue'.The Bishop of Arundel and Brighton is quoted as saying in his recent Herald interview that contraception should not be 'tied in' with abortion. He says 'the two are completely different issues.' He also attempts to suggest that Humanae Vitae is not an infallible teaching.
Also this week, Cherie Blair gave her controversial speech at the Angelicum in Rome (see earlier blog post). Cherie also claimed during her talk that 'There is a real danger in this debate if we ally contraception and abortion as the same and the Church needs to engage in this issue properly.'
To avoid confusion let us consider -
The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 891)Â teaches that;
The Roman Pontiff, head of the college of bishops, enjoys this infallibility in virtue of his office, when, as supreme pastor and teacher of all the faithful - who confirms his brethren in the faith - he proclaims by a definitive act a doctrine pertaining to faith or morals.
Let us also apply our faculty of reason to note that all forms of contraception - except for barrier methods - are abortifacient. The I.U.D coil, contraceptive implants, and Morning After Pill are primarily and explicitly so, and the regular contraceptive pill includes an abortifacient element in its action; scientific research has demonstrated that in a fertile woman using this method regularly, she would be likely to have around one chemical abortion per year.Â
This leaves only barrier methods. As we know these also go against chastity in marriage and prevent the unity of man and wife. Further to this, Pope John Paul II frequently drew on his writings, in Evangelium Vitae paragraph 13, to demonstrate that even these barrier methods cause a contraceptive mentality which bears the evil fruit of abortion, because a child comes to be seen as an enemy to be avoided at all costs.
Increasingly, a new type of 'Catholicism' is being presented to us which seeks to develop the old-fashioned dissent of the 60'/70's and give it a respectable face. However, all of this is misleading and prevents the Communion which only Jesus Christ and the fulness of His Truth can give.
As a young married couple, by God's Grace and sound teaching which we have received understand the Church's teaching on Sin and Redemption and attest that the authentic Catholic teaching as espoused down through all the centuries of the Church's Tradition is the only way to live out marriage in communion with the Church. It unites us to one another, it heals and converts us, it encourages us to grow in communication; above all it leads us to communion in and with Jesus Christ and invites us to take the road of holiness. It is beautiful; it is liberating; it is dignified. And we thank God for the gift of it every day!Â
It is sad that Fr. Bruce Williams of the Angelicum defended Mrs. Blair after her talk by claiming that she is not pro-abortion or anti-family. It is also worrying that he did this by stating that people on the internet who had critiqued her visit and called for it to be prevented - which includes us - were thus 'at best rash, if not outright calumnious.' Assertions of this kind are only fair if the evidence supports them. However we once again note the following points (None of which were engaged at the Angelicum, even though this is a leading academy)...
Mrs. Blair confidently writes in her recent book that she contracepted.
Mrs. Blair has been photographed on the internet merrily waving a barrier method of contraception in the camera at a Family Planning Association stand (FPA are pro-contraception and pro-abortion).
Mrs. Blair hosted International Planned Parenthood Federation at 10 Downing Street in 2003. IPPF are a radically anti-family and anti-life provider of contraception and abortion throughout the globe.
Mrs. Blair supports CEDAW on her website... including their calls for 'reproductive rights' (a euphemism for abortion and contraception).
This Advent, let us pray for a rebirth in chastity in us all and for a return to the True Faith and all its life-giving beauty.
