Over 500 Scholars Affirm Church Teaching on Contraception

Catholic Culture ^ | 9/20/16

[marshmallow]

More than 500 scholars have signed a statement of support for the Catholic Church's teaching on contraception.

At a press conference held at the Catholic University of America on September 20, the scholars unveiled an "Affirmation of the Church's Teaching on the Gift of Sexuality." The statement was issued as a rebuttal to the "Wijngaards Statement," in which critics of the Church's teaching had called for acceptance of contraception.

"Scholarly support for the Church's taching on the gift of sexuality, on marriage, and on contraception has burgeoned in recent decades," said the signatories of the "Affirmation." They added that the Wijngaards Statement "offers nothing new to discussions about the morality of contraception..."

The Wijngaards Statement had argued that Humanae Vitae, the 1968 encyclical by Pope Paul VI reaffirming the Church's opposition to contraception, has now been shown inadequate. The authors of the "Affirmation" emphatically disagreed,

John Grabowski, a theology professor at Catholic University who served as an expert for the 2015 meeting of the Synod of Bishops, said: "Unfortunately, the Wijngaards Statement fails to acknowledge the vindication of Blessed Paul VI over the last 48 years by the sciences, the social sciences, and its further elaboration by the teaching of St. John Paul II and its support from Pope Francis."

[Luircin]

Then why won’t they excommunicate Pelosi?

Why let Frank the Hippie Pope run his mouth off?

Straining at gnats and swallowing a camel.

[Legatus]

Then why won’t they excommunicate Pelosi?

That's a fun one: There are three people who could effectively excommunicate Pelosi. The archbishop of San Francisco, the archbishop of Washington DC and the Bishop of Rome. So far the first two keep saying it's the responsibility of the other.

Why let Frank the Hippie Pope run his mouth off?

He's the one in charge, it's been a long time since we've had to consider the disposition of a heretic as pope seriously.

[Albion Wilde]

bump

[Ransomed]

This isn’t gnats. Just ask the old order Mennonites, the Amish, the quiver-full folks, any other non-Catholic Christian types who also reject bc within marriage why it matters to them.

And yes, the scandal of not disciplining public Catholics that publicly support and facilitate abortion will hopefully be someday looked back at as dwarfing the homosexualist priest abuse scandal if there is any justice.

Freegards

[ebb tide]

Vatican affirms Pope was speaking about contraceptives for Zika

[Salvation]

John Grabowski, a theology professor at Catholic University who served as an expert for the 2015 meeting of the Synod of Bishops, said: “Unfortunately, the Wijngaards Statement fails to acknowledge the vindication of Blessed Paul VI over the last 48 years by the sciences, the social sciences, and its further elaboration by the teaching of St. John Paul II and its support from Pope Francis.”

The affirmation was signed by scholars including:
•Janet Smith, a moral theology at Sacred Heart Seminary in Detroit;
•John Garvey, the president of Catholic University;
•John Haas, the president of the National Catholic Bioethics Center;
•J. Budziszewski, a philosophy professoar at the University of Texas at Austin;
•Father Wojciech Giertych, OP, theologian of the pontifical household;
•Traci Rowland, dean of the John Paul II Institute in Melbourne, Australia;
•George Weigel, biographer of St. John Paul II; and
•Michael Novak, visiting professor at Catholic University and Templeton Prize winner.

References:
•Scholars to Release Statement Supporting Church’s Human Sexuality Teaching (Catholic University)
•Affirmation of the Church’s Teaching on the Gift of Sexuality (full text)

[Luircin]

I have, in fact. And I’m not really a fan of birth control either—admittedly I’m a celibate bachelor, so maybe I’m not quite grasping the whole thing. Birth control DOES kinda take quite a bit of meaning out of the sexual act... but again, I know it more academically than intimately.

I’m just thinking that with all the crap going on around the world and in the church body and especially in the hierarchy, they could put first things first.

[Ransomed]

The problem is that the capitulation on bc within marriage invariably happens before any group also eventually accepts things like female clergy/priestesses, ‘gay marriage,’ and abortion.

For sure there are groups that have accepted bc within marriage and haven’t accepted those other things, at least so far and hopefully not ever. But everyone that eventually did accept those other first accepted bc within marriage. It is also telling that every person who embraces things like abortion, ‘gay marriage’ and priestesses also invariably hates the Catholic take on birth control. Try to find one proponent of ‘gay marriage’ or priestesses that also believes the Church’s stance on bc is correct.

Freegards