This article is published in the The Catholic Times, Sunday, August 10, 2008, page 8.
Forty years ago there was an eruption in the Catholic Church over release of Pope VI’s encyclical letter, Humanae Vittae (Of Human Life).
At that time, secular culture pronounced it a “dead letter”. Cultural critics said the Church was out of touch with the modern age on the role of human sexuality.
Humane Vitae was blamed for the erosion of respect for the Church’s moral teachings and the departure of many people from the Catholic Church.
But, at the time, secular culture made some pretty extravagant claims for the virtues of artificial contraception. Forty years on, it is worth asking, what about the claims of secular culture? Were they right?
The first birth control pill came on the market in the early 1960s. It was featured on the cover of news magazines. It was talked about on television. People said it would usher in a new and happier age of sexual relations. But did it?
Forty years ago it was said that artificial contraception would make marriages happier and more stable. Freed from stress of many children, married couples would be better able to concentrate on each other and their marriage.
So what has happened since? The divorce rate has skyrocketed. Marriages are less stable. There were many cultural factors involved, of course, but whatever can be said about birth control, it has not made marriages happier or more stable in western culture.
Forty years ago it was said that Pill would mean more fulfilled sex lives. People would be more spontaneous. Sex would be more joyful. People would be less repressed.
Did it happen? Separating the sexual act from conception has degraded the meaning of sex, and caused it to lose its significance. Instead of being special, a sign of love and commitment reserved for husbands and wives, it is now commonplace.
When something becomes commonplace it loses its allure. Ice cream and cake, for example, are special if reserved for birthdays. If eaten all the time, they are boring, even damaging.
The Pill has meant that sex is meaningless, the stuff of sit-coms and lurid talk shows. In our modern world sex has nothing to do with making babies. It also has very little to do with making love. The surreal Sex in the City world has turned everyone into a sex object, because sex is seen as an act without meaning or consequence. It has more to do with giving pleasure to the self than showing love for the other.
Forty years ago the advocates for contraception said that it would mean fewer unwanted children. There would be less child abuse and neglect because children would be more wanted since they would be “planned.”
Ironically, today children seen less wanted. They are seen not as gifts from God but as financial burdens. Television reporters do stories on the “total cost” of raising a child as if children could be compared to buying a boat or second home.
With the ability to prevent pregnancy came the presumption that you should prevent pregnancy. Babies are now regarded as a burden. Large families are regarded with derision even in Catholic circles.
Birth control has led to an anti-child mentality. When a woman today begins to show with a third or fourth pregnancy, people as her, “Did you make a mistake, dear?”
Forty years ago there was an explosion in the Church over Humane Vitae. Now that the dust has begun to settle, it seems that secular culture was wrong about many of its claims for birth control.
It helps to take the long view. Maybe that is God’s view?
