Ms. Emily Thompson,
I am writing in response to your letter published Wednesday, Feb. 8 ("Know the Church's stance"). You assert that "so many people fail to understand the Church's stance on contraception," yet you do not provide the readers with the Church's position.
The Catechism (CCC) states "every action which renders procreation impossible is intrinsically evil" (2370). The same sentiment is repeated in countless Church proclamations, including, but not limited to, "Humanae Vitae," "Casti Connubuii," "Dignitas Personae," etc. Although you encourage fellow students to use the resources provided by the University (e.g., classes, priests, the GRC) to educate themselves about Catholic thought on contraception, none of those sources maintain the authority to differ from the aforementioned official Church teaching.
The Church believes contraception violates the unitive and procreative aspects of a relationship. The unitive aspect refers to the sense of "true mutual love" (CCC) manifested through the mutual respect of two partners. In my opinion, it is extremely unfair of the Church to have such conceptions of true love. For an organization steeped in chastity and celibacy, it is off-base to point its finger at couples, telling them they lack mutual respect or "love" because of their sexual activity. Love and affection are defined by the people involved, and if the Church were to really trust in "free will," it would respect sexual freedom and not sit on a high horse condemning thousands to "grave sin" because it feels passion can only be restricted to procreation. Following the procreative aspect of relationships, I must disagree on the importance placed on procreative sex. The Church feels that contraception denies the "orientation toward man's exalted vocation to parenthood" (CCC). This thinking totally removes the role of the couple from deciding on a child; parenthood, a choice, is misconstrued as a duty. Considering intercourse to be a procreative act, versus an objectively romantic one, ostracizes couples who do not wants kids or are not ready for any.
Lastly, you tell Ms. Reser to not speak for your fellow Catholic women. She does not have to, as a Harris poll from 2005 found that 90 percent of U.S. Catholics already support the use of contraceptives. Your fellow Catholics have spoken.
Kevin Fernandez
freshman
O'Neill Hall
Feb. 8
