BLOG POST | Hey Deacon! | PART ONE

Why is artificial birth control a no-no in Catholic teaching?

Until the 1930s, the Catholic Church was not alone in its opposition to contraceptives. In the Christian tradition, birth control had long been associated with promiscuity and adultery, and resolutely condemned.  When presented with this perspective, most Catholics can understand why the Church says using birth control is a sin.  But why does the Church, the Magisterium, also forbid married couples from using artificial contraception?  Well, it’s complicated.

Catholic moral theology has consistently condemned contraception because it prevents the greater good which God desires for his people – which is to be open to life, “to be fruitful and multiply.  Most Catholics agree with God’s desires, but they also believe that married couples using birth control is not a sin against God’s will.  Couples believe contraceptives provide a practical and respectful way of family planning.  Desiring to manage the number of children with the promise of raising them in the faith seems like a reasonable choice that the Church should embrace.

Let’s look at the history.

History shows that contraception has been around since God knows when.  The first Christians knew about contraception and likely practiced it. Egyptian, Hebrew, Greek, and Roman texts discuss well-known contraceptive practices, ranging from the withdrawal method to the use of crocodile dung, dates, and honey to block or kill semen.

The first Christian theologians condemned contraception because of cultural practices and social pressures. Their opposition to contraception was in part a reaction to heretic teachings from groups, such as the Gnostics and Manichees, who rebutted Church teachings and its authority. And many theologians assumed that those who practiced contraception were “fornicators” and “prostitutes.”

Theologians believe that the main purpose of marriage was producing offspring. While sex within marriage was not itself considered a sin, pleasure in sex was. Saint Augustine (4th century), who himself had a child outside of marriage before his conversion, characterized the sexual act between spouses as immoral self-indulgence if the couple tried to prevent conception.

However, the Church had little to say about contraception for many centuries.  Most penitence manuals from the Middle Ages, which directed priests what types of sins to ask parishioners about, did not even mention contraception. 

It was not until 1588 that Pope Sixtus V took the strongest stance against contraception when he issued his papal bull, “Effraenatam.”  He ordered all Church and civil penalties for ‘homicide’ to be brought against those who practiced contraception.  However, both Church and civil authorities refused to enforce his orders, and the laity essentially ignored them.  In fact, three years after Sixtus’s death, the next pope, Pope Gregory XIV, revoked Effraenatum and told the faithful to treat it as if it had never been issued.

In the next Hey Deacon, I will fast forward to the 19th century to conclude this conversation.