(2 of 2)
In one talk, the Pontiff declared that sex "ceases to be an act of love" whenever artificial birth control is used. That idea appeared hi a book that he wrote in 1960, when he was a bishop, but is new to papal teaching. John Paul also stresses that acceptable natural methods of birth control can be an "abuse" if practiced for "unworthy reasons." Pope Pius XII, in a 1951 speech, said that Catholic couples could use the natural, or rhythm, method for serious "medical, eugenic, economic and social" reasons. John Paul shows little enthusiasm for promoting even these methods.
There may be an additional reason for the tougher Vatican stance. The Pope's advisers believe that recent events have strengthened their case. They argue that natural methods have achieved greater reliability in preventing conception, that there is a bit less doomsaying about the population explosion and mass privation, and that health questions about artificial methods have been raised. To conservatives, the casual attitude in Western society toward sex provides an additional reason for concern.
Some Catholic thinkers are unpersuaded. Noted West German Theologian Father Bernard Häring has argued that biological functions, far from being "untouchable," must be "subordinated to the good of the whole person and marriage itself." Jesuit Richard McCormick of Georgetown University claims "a lot of bishops believe you can't find the arguments to sustain papal teaching." Father Charles Curran of the Catholic University of America doubts that the ban is based on good reasoning, concluding that "faith and reason cannot contradict one another." Curran and McCormick think that the Pope may crack down on dissident priests and make the birth control issue a litmus test in appointments of bishops and seminary professors.
The Pope's position is strongly endorsed by bishops in the developing nations, where population growth is most unchecked. Those Third World bishops who worry about the population problem promote only natural methods. In such nations as the Philippines and Kenya, Cardinals have publicly decried government population programs. For workaday Catholics in impoverished nations, however, it is often not bishops who define what is sinful but parish priests. On that level, the Pope faces increased individualism among priests in the Third World. Typical of many in overcrowded urban slums, Dominican Father Miguel Concha of Mexico City remarks, "If I know someone is using an artificial method, I'm not going to think they're in serious sin. I'm going to respect their decision, though I'll exhort them to seek medical advice so as not to risk the woman's health."
— By Richard N. Ostling. Reported by Michael P. Harris /Washington and Roberto Suro/Rome, with other bureaus