Cathal BarryA leading moral Theologian here has defended Pope Francis’ remarks that Catholics must practice “responsible parenthood”.
Dr Suzanne Mulligan, Lecturer in Moral Theology at St Patrick’s College, Maynooth, insisted the Pope’s comments were in keeping with Church teaching.
“There is nothing radical or new in what the Pope is saying. Everything he has said is consistent with Humane Vitae and Church teaching on the subject,” she told The Irish Catholic.
Aboard the Papal flight from Manila in the Philippines, Pope Francis stressed that, despite Church doctrine against contraception, Catholics fail to practice “responsible parenthood” when they have too many children.
Pope Francis reaffirmed his rejection of population-control programs as an example of ideological colonisation and his praise of Blessed Paul VI for defending Catholic teaching against contraception. However, “this does not mean a Christian must make children one after another,” the Pope said.
Dr Mulligan said there is a widespread “misconception that the Church insists couples have lots of children, which is not the case”.
“Church teaching is in favour of responsible parenting and the decision on how many children a couple should have depends entirely on the couple themselves.
“Couples may decide to limit the number of children they have due to health or financial reasons and the Church acknowledges the legitimacy of those reasons. What the Pope said is not a departure from Church teaching, it was nothing surprising,” she said.
Responding to the Pope’s comments that Church teaching provides for “many licit ways” to limit reproduction, Dr Mulligan said “natural family planning is the accepted means of birth control the Church promotes”.
“Whether you adopt the natural family planning approach or use artificial contraception, the intention is the same but the difference is the means you go about it.
“The key difference is by taking the natural route, rather than introducing a chemical into the body or creating a barrier, you are not breaking the link between the unitive and the procreative,” she said.