Monday, November 26, 2007

US Bishops Fine With Birth Control Methods Other Than NFP


The United State Conference of Catholic Bishops approves of the use of chemicals for birth control when money and political pressure are involved. It is the official policy of our US Bishops to approve the use of emergency contraception by Catholic hospitals if a woman is admitted who was raped and it has been confirmed that she is not currently pregnant.

It seems odd to me that contraception can be used by Catholic hospitals, though traditionally (pre-Vatican II) it has been considered an intrinsic evil that cannot be condoned under any circumstances. This view is enunciated regularly by conservative Catholics and "Relevant" Radio.

Since approximately 1/3 of hospitals are Catholic hospitals, the main reason for this exception is obviously money and legal pressure. This appears to be the only to sway the arrogance of some bishops regarding the issue of birth control.

In truth they are also afraid to prohibit the use of birth control in hospitals. If they did so, they would have one of two situations. Catholic hospitals would either disobey the bishops or they would say, "Fine, but only if the diocese covers the legal costs when we are sued." The bishops fear both of these options.

Now if only there were a way to create a similar catch-22 with regards to the ordination of women. We would be ordaining women within the year if anyone was ingenious enough to think of the situation.

A Faithful Catholic

1 comment:

Dad29 said...

Disturbing, ain'a?