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Does anyone know how to get a hold of this document? Thanks! Gordo NEW VATICAN SUMMARY OF TEACHINGS ON SEXUALITY
Jun. 06 (CWNews.com) - The Pontifical Council for the Family has issued a new major document entitled Family and Human Procreation, explaining Church teaching on a range of controversial issues including abortion, contraception, homosexuality, genetic manipulation, and divorce.
The 60-page document, released on June 6, is signed by Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo, the president of the Pontifical Council for the Family, and Bishop Karl Romer, the secretary. A synthesis of Church teachings on sexuality and reproduction, published for the 25th anniversary of the Pontifical Council, it is described in an explanatory note as "an introduction to the theme of the relationship between� the family and procreation."
The document argues that "responsible procreation" always occurs within the context of marriage and family life. It decries the growing acceptance of single-parent households and homosexual unions, and in particular the demands for government recognition of same-sex "marriage" and the right of homosexuals to adopt children.
Family and Human Procreation reiterates the Church's teaching that abortion is "an abominable crime," which can never be justified, and should never be legally accepted. The document also condemns the legal recognition of same-sex marriage, experiments on fetal tissues, in vitro fertilization, and no-fault divorce.
New laws and political trends have created a "crisis of the family" and a severely unstable situation for the institution of marriage, the Pontifical Council says. The document cites the tendency to delay marriage, the social acceptance of extra-marital relationships, and the frequency of divorce as clear evidence of disorder. These problems have arisen, Family and Human Procreation observes, alongside several new trends in bioethics that have the same tendency to "separate sexualty from love."
When the process of transmitting human life is viewed as a question of technology, the document notes, married couples are "alienate from the true intimacy of their sexual relations." The Vatican laments the arrival of "procreation without human love." The attitude underlying this new approach, the document observes, is strongly influenced by ideological trends that are hostile to family life. In particular Family and Human Procreation decries the tendency to see human sexuality as purely recreational, so that "acts linked to procreation are subordinated to the search for pleasure and the utility of individuals." In this context the document renews the traditional Christian condemnation of contraception.
Political threats to family life include a Malthusian attitude toward population, the Vatican observes, noting with regret that many governments have put steadily increasing pressure on families to limit the number of children. The document notes the practice of pressuring or even forcing women to be sterilized, especially in poor countries.
The fundamental problem with modern ideological approaches to sexuality, the Pontifical Council for the Family argues, is the absence of reference to a loving God: a Creator who calls mankind to choose life, and whose plan is etched on the human heart. The natural law requires a responsible approach to sexuality, the document says, and sets "objective points of moral reference." Among the points fixed by human nature, the document points to the complementary roles of the sexes. The Vatican charges that feminist ideology has "exacerbated the relations between the sexes and accentuated the polemical character" of male-female ties.
The breakdown in family life, the document says, has caused a "demographic winter" in many countries, which bears testimony to the lack of solidarity between the generations.
In an explanatory note that accompanies the lengthy text, Father Abelardo Lobato, OP, a consultor to the Pontifical Council, observes that Church teachings on human sexuality are "corroborated by the theology of creation and by the mystery of salvation revealed in Jesus Christ and put into effect in the new evangelization."
Family and Human Procreation was signed at the conclusion of a plenary meeting of the Pontifical Council for the Family. That meeting, held in May, ratified the contents of the document. The release of the document comes a month before the 5th World Congress of Families, which will be held in Valencia in early July. Pope Benedict XVI will travel to Spain to join in the meeting on July 8-9. Both the meeting and the papal visit are seen as important opportunities for re-stating Catholic social doctrine, in a predominantly Catholic country whose government leadership has advanced a series of policies sharply at variance with Church teachings on issues such as abortion, same-sex unions, and genetic research.
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This document fails to mention children conceived from sperm banks and donor eggs.  I recently saw an ad in a regional upscale magazine offering $8,000 for donor eggs. When such huge amounts of money are offered for these 'services', one can only imagine how much more blurred the parameters of ethics get for someone who may be in desperate need of money. Besides the donors of sperm and eggs, I always think of the poor children. It is a horrible thing to intentionally have any individual not know who their genetic father or mother is...their looks, their personality, their inherited idiosyncracies, strengths, weaknesses, talents, tendencies towards illness, and most importantly-their concern and love for the person they helped bring into the world. So when little Jane or Johnny asks her/his TWO mommies or his single mommy who his daddy was, the response will be 'anonymous donated sperm'...how lovely and comforting! KYRIE ELEISON! May our Lord have mercy on us all! Alice
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AMEN, Alice. It is a distressing - but predictable - development within our Brave New World. We have absolutized the autonomous "will" of technology as our sole ethical standard (if it can be done, it should be done).
I know that has been covered in other documents...perhaps it is covered somewhere here, even though no mention of it is made in the article. I can't wait to get it.
Lord have mercy indeed!
Gordo
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That is why we are offering a course called Christian Family Life Series in our parish for a couple of months.
We need to encourage and strengthen the family bonds.It is based on the CCC and the encyclical "Familiaris Consortio" and the teaching of Sacred Scripture.
Stephanos I
It will also be available on DVD to the public for a nominal charge to cover the cost.
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Alice, I'm fairly certain that that is what is meant by the reference to condemning in vitro fertilization.
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Dear Byzkat, Perhaps you are correct, but in-vitro fertilization is a widely used method of conceiving in and of itself, which is *incorrectly* considered moral by many, and has been utilized by practicing and non-practicing Roman Catholics and Orthodox....infact, a very practicing and humble RC ob/gyn that I know, who would NEVER perform an abortion in his successful practice, was a pioneer in the in-vitro technique. He is a man of impeccable character, has great respect for women and loves children very much. He himself has a large family. The problem with in-vitro does not fall so much into the category of an unhealthy family unit as do sperm and egg donors since most who go through this grueling, incredibly expensive and often disappointing process are normal and loving husbands and wives who are trying to conceive their own biological child. The problem, as I see it, lies in the fact that many embryos must be created for this process, and that if one of those does eventually 'take' in the woman's womb, the others are left in frozen stasis-- conceived, yet never allowed to live. I find it sad that science dangles such modern temptations of mixed ethical messages infront of otherwise moral, ethical, and healthy couples that cannot conceive. I find it sad that society has evolved in such a way that what came normally to young women for millenia (easy pregnancy) has now become an incredibly difficult feat because of older mothers, older marriages, stressful careers, and silent std's which affect fertility and scar a woman's fallopian tubes due to the accepted sexual liberties of the times. Some of this 'brave new world' stuff is not as clear cut as other stuff, but the end product is just as harmful. Perhaps to some, the end justifies the means, but the sad truth is that with in-vitro, the end may *seem* to be a successful pregnancy... but there are still other potential children that are being ignored and they were the means. I am in no way being judgemental, as I never want to judge that which I have not personally suffered or agonized over. I just find it all so sad. We live in terribly confusing times. The evil one, the master of all sorts of confusion reigns supreme. Ofcourse what is not confusing, and what we can count on, is that the Holy Church is ALWAYS correct, however, on a pragmatic level, there is much that needs to change in regard to moral behaviour in our young and in our society in general-- these changes would ultimately make these scientific evils (which are not going to go away) less needed, and thus, less tempting and less utilized. Kyrie Eleison! In Christ, Alice
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I looked for the document on the Vatican website, but I did not see it there yet. It will be interesting to read.
-- John
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words from ALICE - "I am in no way being judgemental, as I never want to judge that which I have not personally suffered or agonized over." If you don't mind I am going to paste these words in a conspicuous spot in my home. These are words I need to live by.
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Gordo I know this is not what you are referring to, but... You can get 'Naked Without Shame' on 10 cd for $3.90. It is excellent. It is the explanation for laity of JPII 'Theology of the Body'. http://www.giftfoundation.org/pages/naked_without_shame.htm
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Originally posted by Alice:
but in-vitro fertilization is a widely used method of conceiving in and of itself, Why not adoption?! Goodness knows there are plenty of unwanted children already in existence who need homes.
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