Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Have Catholics 'Contracepted' Away Their Schools?

Father Timothy Sauppé of the Diocese of Peoria is none too happy about being the pastor responsible for closing his 103-year-old parish school. So, according to his bold commentary that originally appeared at the Bellarmine Forum, Father has a unique response to the alumnus who complains to him about the closing:
I put my hands up to quiet him from further talking, and I calmly said, “Let me ask you a question: How many kids did you have?” He said, “Two.” Then I said, “So did everyone else. When you only have two kids per family, there is no growth.” His demeanor changed, and then he dropped his head and said, “And they aren’t even going to Mass anymore.”
Amid all the reasons given for declining enrollment in Catholic schools, especially in urban areas, Father Sauppé offers a unique but quite reasonable one: the Culture of Death that has claimed about as many Catholic children as non-Catholic ones.
Upon the closing of his school, Father Sauppé says he wrote his bishop:
Bishop, it is with a heavy heart that I request this of you. As you know, priests were not ordained to be closing grade schools, but we were ordained to be Christ in the midst of sorrow and pain, which will be happening as we come to accept both your decision and the inevitable fact that St. Mary’s Grade School is no longer viable. The efficient cause is simple….no children. The first cause is the habitual contraception and sterilization mentality of a good portion of married Catholic Christians–in short the Culture of Death. The final cause is the closure of Catholic Schools and parishes. Bishop, we need your leadership to address the contraception/abortion/sterilization mentality in as forceful a way as soon as possible.
Father Sauppé encourages priests to preach against contraception and abortion, perhaps slowly reversing the damage done because of past reluctance to address thorny issues:
I am reminded of a diocesan official in his talk to us young pro-life, pro-family priests twenty years ago. He said, “Yes, you can preach against abortion and contraception, but remember, you have to put a roof over your churches.” Now, our diocese is closing and merging these same parishes, but you know what—they all have good roofs. 
...Having grown up in the 60‘s and 70‘s with many “Don’t call me Father” Priests, I knew that the problem was a lack of orthodoxy. Twenty years ago when I was ordained, I thought that if I just preached the faith and celebrated a solemn Sunday Mass people would turn around. But, after twenty years, my experience is that a few parishioners will write letters to the Bishop, some will leave murmuring, but the standard fare is benign indifference. Instead of encountering joy and submission to the Natural Law and the Church’s teaching on human life and its dignity, I have found Catholic Christians either complacent or complicit with the Culture of Death. It was reported that over fifty percent of Catholics voted for a pro-abortion president who at a recent Texas Planned Parenthood convention asked God to bless them. If I have found any fruit, it has mostly come from home-schooling families.
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16 comments:

  1. Wow! This really hits the nail on the head. We see it happening in our parishes and diocese as well. Now, with Common Core being forced on our Catholic Schools, it will only get worse. I am scared to home school, but perhaps it is the only way to win. Lord God in Heaven, have mercy on us all.

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    1. To equate "habitual contraception" with "the Culture of Death" makes no sense to me. This sort of rhetoric is not useful; it's a turn off for reasonable moderate couples.

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    2. Anonymous, have you read Pope Paul VI's "Humane Vitae"? It would shed some light on the situation for you. Contraception is one of the first steps taken to build the Culture of Death. Not rhetoric, just reality. - Clare.

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    3. It's just not persuasive to me, as a father of two grown children. Before the kids, we went to grad school and prepared ourselves to be the good parents (both kids have done exceedingly well as young adults, knock on wood!) and during that time of course we used contraception. I think there is in fact no good argument against what it called habitual contraception for young married adults who are not in a position to provide for children (what if we had not attended grad school? we'd be poor and less educated.) It's time for a change of language and teaching on this issue, to match reality of adults in America and the developed world.

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    4. And, to answer the obvious question, yes I'm hoping to have grand children--when the time is right for my adult children (early 20s and neither is yet married). They are in grad school now. You can't tell me that I participated in a "Culture of Death"! If you saw my beautiful family, you wouldn't say that. BTW, I positively hate abortion, but I don't see prevention (condoms at least) as equivalent to abortion (we avoided the IUD but did use the Pill). Ok, sorry to go on about my own situation but it's what I know best. (Also, by going to grad school, made possible by contraception, I can now afford in my mid 50s to sit around in my beautiful home reading blogs like this! Beats working!)

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  2. Anon, I appreciate reading your perspective, and I know there are lots out there that could give the same account. I don't think anyone says contraception is equivalent to abortion (which is the actual ending of a life already existing), but you could also say beating someone up is not the same as killing them; you can oppose both of those acts as wrong. Do read "Humanae Vitae" by Pope Paul VI. It's really not that long, and he spells out pretty well what the longer term social repercussions of contraception would be.

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  3. To Anonymous: I beg to differ: it would have probably been a better formation of your children and yourselves as human beings for there to have been a few more mouths to feed, souls to nourish, people to serve in your household, than to have been able to afford the higher degrees and nicer home. It simply makes people better people if they learn early and often, especially in the home they grow up in, to SERVE, rather than be served, to GIVE rather than to expect things. The Creator of the Universe chose to have his son raised by a teenage mother & a simple carpenter and I'm pretty sure they did not have a Blue Cross insurance plan to cover the bill at the manger-cave. They "just did it" and used common sense to teach the God-Man how to function on this earth. The Words of our Savior are the Rock upon which all Christians must build their lives, and one which comes to mind at this moment is Matthew 6:25-34 -- 25 "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor about your body, what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add one cubit to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O men of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, `What shall we eat?' or `What shall we drink?' or `What shall we wear?' 32 For the Gentiles seek all these things; and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well. 34 "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Let the day's own trouble be sufficient for the day.
    Contraception means to oppose conception. That is death. Period. (be in abortifacient method or barrier method)

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    1. "Contraception means to oppose conception. That is death." How is it death? There was no life to be killed off. You need a fertilized egg to kill off at least and with a condom you don't have that.

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  4. Anon, the pill can be an abortifacient. Some eggs "escape" despite use of contraception. If that egg is fertilized use of contraception can prevent that fertilized egg from implanting as it normally would. This isn't a theoretical situation--it happens. So YES the pill is part of the culture of death.

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    1. Honestly, using the pill is about the last thing that might trouble my conscience. But what do you hope to accomplish by associating this dreadful phrase "Culture of Death" with contraception? It's sounds like users of the Pill have gone over to the Enemy in Hell. It sounds like Star Wars and the Evil Empire. It's not persuasive. Look at the poll numbers on Catholics and contraception! Ridiculous, is what most people think. Catholic thought has become fanatical. I hope Pope Francis will shift the tone and the focus to what really matters, love and helping the poor, weak, and sick in this life.

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    2. You didn't address condoms and "killing."

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  5. *sigh* Use of contraception is the first step along the pathway towards abortion. Why do you think most people end up getting an abortion? Failed contraception which does contribute to the culture of death. It also promotes a false concept of love and unity. When people contracept, they are essentially lying with their bodies to each other. They don't truly accept all that the other offers. Obviously in a marriage, this is a problem which is why the divorce rate among couple who contracept is about 10x higher than those who use NFP. It's unfortunate that you see the pill as an insignificant thing that doesn't trouble your conscience. Perhaps it should. Read Humanae Vitae. All the good pope predicted has come true and thensome. Remember, our ways are not His ways so in your mind, your views are just "common sense." Hopefully God will open your heart and mind and give you the humility to try to accept Truth.

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  6. One more thing, Our Lady of Fatima said "more people go to Hell for sins of the flesh than any other." What a shame it would be to be damned for all eternity for using contraception, fornicating, commititng adultery, masturbating, etc.

    It's the "feel good" Christianity that has gotten Christians/Catholics in the mess we are in today. No one wants to offend anyone. We need less "feel good" Joel Osteen "Christianity" and more Truth. Yes, Love is at the heart of everything but guess what: if you love God you'll keep His commandments. If you love your neighbor as yourself, you won't put their soul in jeopardy by committing any of the above named sins.

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    1. If masturbating is enough to send a person to Hell, there will be no men in Hell! Who's Joel Osteen?

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    2. Please read your Bible and your catechism and pray that God's grace will open your heart. (An aside: if you do commit masturbation, hopefully you are going to confession and aren't committing an additional mortal sin of sacrilege by taking communion in a state of mortal sin.)

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    3. Whoops, I meant no men in Heaven! All men masturbate. That is, if they are able. Before a certain age, anyway. Cephalus in his old age, for example, turns to religion when he can no longer perform with women (Plato,Republic, Bk I). Ask your husband. If he's honest, he'll confirm --- unless he's past the age.

      I looked up Joel Osteen and even watched a video -- what an awful man! With his squinty eyes and prosperity thesis, I hate what he's about. Good call on that.

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