By Mirosław Rucki,
Love One Another! 8/2007 → Christian family
I never cease to be amazed at the extent to which the mass media
try to ridicule Natural Family Planning (NFP) methods and belittle
those who choose to use them. On the radio recently I heard the
term “Catholic roulette,” by which they mean the “rhythm
method,” even though the Church does not all recommend the
use of this method.
I
have even heard it stated that the Church has suffered a total defeat,
since only two percent of people use this method. Everything is
thrown into a common grab bag: the Church, priests, the rhythm method,
sympto-thermal methods, and pre-marital abstinence. All this is
considered bad, hidebound, and medieval.
NFP methods are not the brainchild of priests; nor is Church the main propagator of the sympto-thermal method. That fact is that this method commands the interest of renowned scientists and the world’s leading medical centers. No one will question the credentials of Birmingham Maternal Hospital, which developed the multi-symptom method and runs training centers throughout the world. No normal person would claim that this center has any connection with the Catholic Church. The school of Dr. Rötzer is known the world over. It is he who developed the scientific basis of the sympto-thermal method and conducts research on hundreds of thousands of women — and this without any contact with the Catholic hierarchy. His findings are known to physicians around the world, and are everywhere taken seriously, except perhaps by the biased mass media. Dr. Billings was another prominent scientist who developed the simplest of all NFP methods used. In Australia and India, he worked with women unable to read or write, who could not afford paper and pencil let alone a thermometer. And yet these women were able to understand their fertility cycle and learn to observe the symptoms associated with it. The results of the documented research conducted by Dr. Billings reveal how effective this method is. Are women in the rest of the world worse off than those women. Are they forced to resort to some “rhythm method” instead of observing their own bodies? Clearly, hatred of the Church has deprived many women of their reason.
Ecological thinking has also contributed to the spread of NFP methods. Regardless of what authors of articles in popular magazines keep drumming into our heads, no artificial form of contraception is free from side effects — even the famous coil, which causes irritation to some, to say nothing of the hormones concocted to suppress normal hormonal function in the woman’s body. I suggest that those who mock the Church and NFP methods read the information included in every package containing a contraceptive device. I took the trouble and read what the manufacturer of a certain contraceptive pill says.
The information slip warns the user that taking this pill may provoke nausea and vomiting. But she need not worry. These are not yet side effects. Still she should remember that vomiting reduces the concentration of the hormones in her blood, which in turn reduces the pill’s effectiveness; for this reason, she must take additional contraceptive measures.Still, she must be careful, and if she notices impairment of her eyesight and hearing, she should immediately discontinue use of the pill, for these really are side effects!
Now let me be sarcastic for a moment. I see a woman, liberated from “Catholic roulette,”spending the whole day in a state of nausea, if not actually vomiting, then when evening comes and she must have sexual intercourse, she has to take still further precautions. But when her hearing and eyesight become impaired, her happiness is over, since she still has to worry about what will not harm her organism. But are our pharmaceutical manufacturers able to propose such a thing? Not at all! All they care about is the bottom-line, how to make money on depravity and ignorance — certainly not the welfare of their “consumers.”
Interestingly enough, gynecologists receive a completely different information package. It lists the following as side effects of the contraceptive pill: ovarian cancer, cancer of the liver and other hormone-dependent organs, coronary disease, heart disease, change of pigmentation, brain circulation disorders, falcate anemia, genital herpes, rampant acne, reduced libido, depression, psychic disorders, and infertility.
The Catholic Church holds freewill to be a fundamental principle. Everyone who decides to engage in sexual activity must answer for the consequences. Those who are unable to bear this responsibility are ready to pay big money to the manufacturers of contraceptives. But in reality they buy only an illusion — that someone else will take responsibility for the results of their actions. Alas! — at the cost of their health, wealth, and happiness.
Mirosław Rucki
The article was published with the permission from "Love One Another!"
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I
have even heard it stated that the Church has suffered a total defeat,
since only two percent of people use this method. Everything is
thrown into a common grab bag: the Church, priests, the rhythm method,
sympto-thermal methods, and pre-marital abstinence. All this is
considered bad, hidebound, and medieval.