To the participants in a course on Natural
Regulation of Fertility
THE CHURCH IS GRATEFUL FOR THE HELP
YOU OFFER MARRIED COUPLES
On Sunday, 3 July,
Pope John Paul II met with a hundred participants in a training and updating
course of the Study and Research Centre on Natural Regulation of Fertility,
sponsored by the Faculty of Medicine of the Catholic University of the Sacred
Heart. The Holy Father delivered the
following address to the group.
Dearest Brothers and Sisters,
1.Your visit is especially pleasing to me. I welcome you affectionately
and I offer you the Easter greeting of the Lord Jesus: “Peace be with you!” (Jn
20-19). This is what I wish for you with
all my heart as the fruit of this meeting and as a fruit of the work that you
are carrying out these days in
We well
know that it is not easy for man to know God's will fully.
Providential that
diverse methods exist
2.In
this perspective the significance of the work you are carrying out can be fully
appraised. In fact, it is especially in
relation to the family and its specific functions that the way the Lord wants
for man, which is the way of salvation, is lost sight of. Marked progress by
materialism - which seeks only earthly well-being and ever increasing
possession of consumer goods - and by naturalism-which excludes from daily life
reference to God and to transcendent values - try to divest the family,
especially in countries of greatest economic development, of its profound
content and immerse it in a dangerous crisis.
Many young people today, disoriented, can no longer see the importance
of the institution of marriage and live their love under the banner of
impermanence and sterility. Many
families cannot put into practise the duty of responsible parenthood as it has
been taught by the Second Vatican Council.
The
Church, however, believes in the family. She knows that it “possesses and
continues still to release formidable energies capable of taking man out of his
anonymity, out of being standardized and depersonalized” (cf. Familiaris Consortio, 43), to which
modern progress often leads. The Church
must take on the task of instilling conviction and offering practical help (cf.
Familiaris Consortio, 35) in all
those fields in which the family is most ensnared. This is true in particular in the area of the
regulation of fertility, which has become one of the most delicate and pressing
problems for the families of today. And
it is in this area that you are carrying out an excellent work. I therefore
thank you and encourage you to continue your efforts, which represent a
practical and effective response to what I wrote in Familiaris Consortio “...The Church cannot fail to call with
renewed vigour on the responsibility of all-doctors, experts, married
couples-who can actually help married people to live their love with respect
for the structure and finalities of the conjugal act which expresses that
love. This implies a broader, more
decisive and more systematic effort to make the natural and it is still less easy
to carry it out because of the intrinsic limitations of the human condition and
because of the grave wounds that sin has left within us. Jesus, the Son of the
living God (Mt 16:16), made man in Mary's womb, came into the world to make
known to us God's will, to reveal to us the most profound truths of human
existence, and-with his death and resurrection, to which we can associate
through faith and the sacraments-to give us the strength to live this
teaching. In this consists the new
“way”, the new lifestyle that he came to establish and that the Church wishes
to, and must, accept without reservations, in order to be the “city on the
mountaintop”, the light that shines in the darkness, and point out to men the
way toward the authentic goal of their lives, where they will be able to
experience joy, unity and true peace, methods of regulating fertility known,
respected, and applied” (cf. Familiaris
Consortio, 35).
2.We find ourselves faced with an immense task
an increasing number of contraceptive methods are invading the world, with the
help of large economic means, that are inspired by unavowed motives, from which
every respect for man and for his deepest values is absent. The Church courageously puts herself in
defence of human love, life, and moral values that are connected with it. There are men of science, courageous and
capable, who with patience and competence are slowly discovering ways based on
the most careful observation of the characteristics of human sexuality, which
are revealed as compatible with the demands of chastity in marriage and capable
of fostering a harmonious and serene conjugal life, while still respecting the
fundamental principals of the Church.
The
work of investigating, perfecting and teaching the natural methods of
regulation of fertility is therefore of great importance. For this reason I
want to say a word of encouragement to all who work in this field, exhorting
them not to cease their investigations. It is necessary that various groups
dedicated to this noble work appreciate their respective work and mutually
exchange experiences and results, firmly avoiding tensions and disagreements
which could threaten so important and difficult a work. Since the conditions of
couples are so diverse due to diverse cultures, races, personal situations,
etc., it is providential that diverse methods exist, capable of better
responding to such diverse situations.
Also for this reason it is good that experts in these matters know some
of these methods in order to be able to suggest, or even teach, if necessary
the most suitable method for a specific couple.
The Church, through my word, thanks you for the work you do and
encourages you to continue. Without making any particular method her own, she
restricts herself to proclaiming the fundamental principles in the matter and
encouraging, in the most effective way possible, all those who with generosity
and faithfulness to these principles, work to make it possible for these
principles to be practically applied.
Little by little, through the silent work of individuals and the living
witness of couples and families who live the joy of an experience of Christian
love, generous and open to life, the new mankind is being built, to which the
Lord has called us as his people, and to which all men - even without knowing
it - aspire.
I
pray that the Most Holy Virgin abundantly bless your work and your lives. May she grant you some of that infinite
respect and that marvellous tenderness that is contained in her maternal heart,
that you may be able to promote in the women you assist the formation of as
many images of Mary.
With this wish I impart to you from my heart the Apostolic Blessing, which I willingly extend to your loved ones and to all who generously work in the field of the family apostolate