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Do Eastern Catholics have to accept the Roman Catholic teaching on birth control?

God Bless,

Jenny

Jenny,
To be blunt, yes.

We are Catholics so we hold to the Teachings of the Catholic Church.

There are a few Eastern Catholics who would disagree with this, but in the end I think they are wrong.

David

Dear Jenny,

I think we should first determine why the majority of Roman Catholics don't obey their Church's teachings on birth control and why so many have abortions as well . . .

Byzantine Catholics accept the Church's teachings on these issues as a matter of course.

The Orthodox Church has a variable understanding of artificial birth control and today Orthodox Christians are free to practice it in conjunction with the guidance of their spiritual father etc.

The Orthodox aren't, today, as strict as the Catholic Church on this matter.

If I'm wrong, our Orthodox posters are free to disagree with me, amicably and civilized like .

Alex

[ 07-09-2002: Message edited by: Orthodox Catholic ]

Hi David,

I thought that would have to be the case, but I saw a post saying that Byzantine Catholics don't have to hold to Purgatory and I know there are certain other doctrines Eastern Catholics view differently (like original sin), so I wasn't sure if there were some doctrines which Eastern Catholics were required to believe and some they weren't.

God Bless,

Jenny

Hi Alex,

Why do you think that so many Roman Catholics ignore this teaching of the church? The majority of Roman Catholics I know (even the ones who faithfully attend Mass and adhere to other teachings of the church) use birth control. I don't know any Eastern Catholics well enough to know who uses birth control and who doesn't.

Also, do you know why the Orthodox Church has changed its teaching regarding birth control?

God Bless,

Jenny

A couple of interesting articles on this page by an Armenian Catholic:

http://www.geocities.com/wmwolfe_48044/Articles1.html

Towards the bottom of the page:

"Is Contraception Orthodox?"

and a follow-up to a critique of the article.

Dave Ignatius DTBrown@aol.com

Dear Jenny,

As for RC's who ignore this teaching, I think they might feel that the Church has no place in their bedroom.

They might also feel that it is (not) fine for celibate priests (a number of whom aren't doing a very good job at being celibate) to promulgate how married Catholics should or should not organize their family lives.

I've also read articles by Catholic theologians who don't agree with the Church's official position on this matter. There were Bishops' Conferences, as you know, that voiced disagreement with Paul VI's encyclical Humanae Vitae when it first came out.

Catholic bishops but mostly priests have told me that when people come to them in confession and tell them they use artificial birth control and are otherwise trying to live a good Christian life, they give them absolution readily.

As one bishop told me, "Religion can't solve 100% of these human issues."

The Orthodox are absolutely against abortion and abortifacient methods of birth control.

They have never pronounced against the use of other artificial means of birth control and never will.

Even "Humanae Vitae" is not an infallible statement that could not be changed in future.

The "natural law" presuppositions on which it is based is widely debated by Catholic theologians.

Alex

Alex wrote:


The Synod of Bishops of the OCA stated in 1992:

http://www.oca.org/pages/ocaadmin/d.../10-miami-1992/synodal-affirmations.html

"Married couples may express their love in sexual union without always intending the conception of a child, but only those means of controlling conception within marriage are acceptable which do not harm a foetus already conceived."

Notice the wording: "foetus." This makes the Pill acceptable even though it often works by preventing the implantation of the fertilized ovum.

Remember, it was the Pill which revolutionized Society in the 1960's and created the uproar against "the Church in the bedroom." Dissent grew in the Church against not only the traditional Orthodox-Catholic view on contraception but also against the Church's teachings on pre-marital sex and homosexuality and abortion.

How can one reconcile a pro-life position and the use of the Pill?

Dave Ignatius DTBrown@aol.com

Here is what the saintly Archbishop Joseph (Raya) has written on the subject in his book "Crowning: The Christian Marriage", which is used by the Melkite Archdiocese in its marriage prep courses:

_________________________________________________

Crowning-Birth Control

In a world where eroticism dominates the hearts and minds of men and women, it is almost impossible to honor the Christian vision of a sexuality more precious than pleasure and more honorable than social necessity. In our days, the problems of birth control are heart rending.

In his praiseworthy attempt to counteract a sexual morality falsified by a secularized society and atheistic propaganda, Pope Paul VI, who at the time of the Second Vatican Council had reserved to himself the final decision on birth control, called upon a papal commission to advise him before publishing the official Church doctrine.

Over three quarters of the members, chosen by the Pope for their wisdom and reliability, offered the majority opinion endorsing a carefully qualified use of birth control, and proposed a revision of the current unqualified condemnation.

Pope Paul VI, however, disregarded their advice and published the Encyclical Humanae Vitae, maintaining the negative position. There is a present a painful tension between the supporters of rigidity in this matter, and those who believe it is unjustified.

The Byzantine ceremony of Crowning glorifies Christian chastity. Chastity means integrity of the human relation, integration of the forces of life into the personalistic aspects of nuptial love, which leads the couple into the Kingdom, into the peace and harmony of life. Both fertile and childless couples go beyond the mere functional: the combine the instinctive and passionate movements of their love, integrating them into a single act of ascent of pure goodness. It is not in spite of marriage, but in its fulfillment in peace, harmony and supreme joy that couples live the supernatural and holy reality of their union, chastity.

In the embrace of love, Christian couples are chaste. They are perfectly and entirely for each other. "I am my Beloved�s and my Beloved is mine" (Canticle of Canticles). In genuine faith, they assume their human and spiritual responsibilities, and choose the best ways, pleasing to God, to achieve what they have set out to do. Birth control is in some way their responsibility. Vatican Council II has clearly established that conscience is the most sacred core and sanctuary of a man. There he is alone with God, whose voice echoes in his depths.

The theologian Paul Evdokimos, in his study on the "Sacrament of Love", summarizes the attitude of Eastern theology on birth control: The Church "addresses herself to evangelical metanoia, and hopes to change man and woman into a new creation, to render them charismatic; She exorcises demonic powers and protects the Gate of Life; She discerns among the spirits, and shows the pathways to ultimate liberation; She does not define the rules of social life, and does not prescribe panacaeas. . . " (p.175). The Church should never refuse to advise when advice is sought, but should not try to manipulate the intimacy of husband and wife. Patriarch Maximos IV of Antioch, Alexandria and Jerusalem proclaimed at the Council of Vatican II, "The Church does not penetrate into the nuptial chamber. She stands at the door."

The Byzantine Church does indeed believe that the Sacrament of Crowning establishes the man and woman as prophets, king and queen of supernatural worth, and robes them with the Royal Priesthood of Christ. Their dignity is real. Consequently, their vocation will be to form personal decisions, and to judge situations, in order to find solutions to the individual circumstances of their lives.
__________________________________________________

http://www.melkite.org/bishopQA.htm

Birth Control: How do Melkites view birth control?

Bishop John's Answer: In response to your question, let me say that as Melkite Catholics, we freely embrace the moral teachings of the One Catholic Church of the East as of the West. We find that our own traditions support the teachings of the Church in ways that add to our celebration of faith.

Since Pope Paul VI promulgated the encyclical Humanae vitae in 1968, volumes have been written by way of response. In the last few years, the wisdom of his words has become more and more apparent. In our Melkite celebration of marriage, we begin by praying with the Psalmist that the couple might one day "see their children's children like olive branches around their table." This poetic language captures the fundamental values of both the unitive and procreative aspects of the sacramental marital union. Just prior to crowning the couple, the priest prays that the Father will stretch forth his hand and make the two one in flesh granting them fair children for education in the faith and fear of God. The symbol of the marriage crown speaks to the glory and honor of their chaste love that is seen as a sublime gift from the Father. Our liturgy proclaims the truths of marital love that is rich in meaning and challenge.

You might agree that we live in a culture that presents great challenge to Christian couples as they live out their commitments to one another in marriage. Human sexuality is poorly appreciated in our modern culture. In Humanae vitae, the Pope writes: "every action which, whether in anticipation of the conjugal act, or in its accomplishment, or in the development of its natural consequences, proposes, whether as an end or as a means, to render procreation impossible is intrinsically evil." This moral teaching poses a true challenge to many in our modern culture. We hope to deal with the issues with compassion and truth. Anything less detracts from God-given values.

In his recent writings, Pope John Paul II has emphasized the fundamental value of the Christian family as a microcosm of the church itself. The theological insights of the Holy Father deserve the serious consideration of every serious Christian as we search for the fullest meaning of married life. I recommend that you read what is contained in The Catechism of the Catholic Church: Nos. 2368-2371. God bless you.

Dear Dave,

The problem I see with any theological discussion of birth control is that it doesn't seem to get beyond the reified realm of theologians and bishops.

So what if Paul VI said this, and Archbishop Raya made qualified statements on that?

At the end of the day, we are left with celibate hierarchs saying what they like on the one hand, and the majority of the Laos or People of God doing what they do on the other.

It's like the Church proclaiming a certain teaching that the majority of its members doesn't accept in practice.

Should the Church excommunicate the lot of them?

One theologian at the University of Toronto once said that those Catholics who practice artificial birth control are OBJECTIVELY outside the Church.

But because they practice it in "invincible ignorance" then that means they are still, in reality, members of the Church in good standing.

And what was the number of angels that could stand on the head of a pin again?

Alex

That's not how I read it. They said it couldn't interfere with a foetus already *conceived*. An unimplanted but conceived foetus can be killed by the Pill, so hence it follows the pill is forbidden.

anastasios

To Anastasios,

A "foetus" by definition is implanted in the womb. Until then it is a zygote. I have never read anywhere where those Orthodox who accept contraception have anything against the Pill. After all, the Pill was what moved so many against the traditional Orthodox-Catholic teaching on contraception.

To Alex,

Maybe so many reject the Church's teaching because they do not really realize what they're doing (the abortifacient nature of the Pill, for example). And because so many of us seem so wiling to accept the innovative view that contraception is okay.

For a comprehensive listing of info on contraception and pro-life issues, see:

http://ic.net/~erasmus/RAZ207.HTM

Dave Ignatius DTBrown@aol.com

Dear Dave,

Or perhaps they know what they are doing, and are doing it consciously.

I don't know.

As you know, I want children and keep as far away from artificial birth control methods as possible.

We don't even use balloons for birthday parties any more . . .

Alex

Jenny,

I know others have said that Eastern Catholics do not have to Purgatory and other things, like original sin, but I challenge them, here and now, to prove this from the Teachings of the Catholic Church.

If you look, we have the idea of Purgatory already, it just isn't spelt out for us in the legalistic terms that the Roman Catholic Church chooses to use.

As for Original Sin, I believe that if you look it up in the Catechism of the Catholic Church you will see that the idea shown there is very close to the Eastern understanding.

So the dogma of the Immaculate Conception is not necessary for the Eastern Catholics, that is we believed it before it was proclaimed.


Your brother in Christ,
David