The Sex Revolution Within The Church.
The Catalyst for the Sexual Revolution was of course Contraception. I lived in the 1960's and watched morality being replaced by the freedom to enjoy sex through Contraception. The Church was not ready for this revolution, which was pushed by enemies within. Catholic Parents felt betrayed. I hear from many good Catholics that the Church knew of the safe periods in a woman's cycle, which could have helped many, yet did nothing to advise even in the worst circumstances. By giving no leadership the Church drifted into a mess. In the 1960's the Church became under pressure to make a ruling on the matter of contraception.
Now I was young then and the media was pushing the idea that, yes, the Church would allow Contraception. Unfortunately I could not see how it could, as an institution founded by Jesus Christ which condemned Contraception for two thousand years, under the Authority of the Chair of Peter, it was impossible, and if the Holy Spirit was guiding the Church He could not contradict himself. But the media was positive. When Pope Paul then brought out his encyclical banning its use it was a bombshell. Now there were those in the English Church who agreed with me, yet hoped that by forcefully arguing for it they could somehow make it happen. But it did not.
Now in the sixties the role of women had changed. It was not so much by choice as by necessity. In order to afford a home, which necessitated a two wage household, married women had to leave the home and work while finding some way, nurseries or grandparents, or baby sitters to look after their children. They were not turning their backs on social housing, it was just that the building of social housing was limited. They had to avoid in many circumstances becoming pregnant. The Church then paid a heavy price for its neglect. In family planning the only method that was non contraceptive was the Rhythm Method. But it had one big drawback, it did not allow for the survival of sperm for a much as three days, even when the temperature broke. IN Australia at the time we heard of a Dr Billings who had been working on this flaw and was now producing the Billings method. But it was not available here. Catholics then had three approaches to Birth Control: they could agree with the Church but put themselves into the mercy of God by practicing it, with the feeling that in their case God would understand; they could disagree with the Church and follow their conscience, quietly and humbly; or they could attack the Church vehemently and decide that if they were wrong in this then they could be wrong in everything else. And there were many people within the Church ready to exploit the latter, and among their number were bishops, priests, and lay persons, who were teaching a false version of Vatican II When methods of Birth Control were brought in, such as the Sympto-Thermal method, these people ensured that they were given little publicity and little was said of them.
So a new 'intelligentia' had arisen within the Church that was firmly established in speaking the values of the secular world, rather than the values of Jesus Christ. Now it is one thing to believe that contraception should be used by a husband and wife to keep the numbers of the family down so that the children they had could be given more, and another to decide that perhaps the children in the secular world should be given contraception. The Church should have been fighting for the protection of young people and teaching the virtues of chastity and the value of marriage. But this was under attack and trying to teach children chastity was mocked. They were the new mature Catholics. This led to the breakdown of the family within the Church, a desire to show 'humanity' in arranging annulments as opposed to Divorce, like a showering of confetti. Ah yes, the Church was now more understanding, more compassionate, more 'with the people', provided it turned its back on the thousands of the real victims, the Children. And so the family, which Jesus had taught as the foundation of love, was thrown aside.
Our children are no longer chaste. Our children ate victims of Divorce. Our children are growing up without the ability to bond and love. But that does not seem to matter.
Now I was young then and the media was pushing the idea that, yes, the Church would allow Contraception. Unfortunately I could not see how it could, as an institution founded by Jesus Christ which condemned Contraception for two thousand years, under the Authority of the Chair of Peter, it was impossible, and if the Holy Spirit was guiding the Church He could not contradict himself. But the media was positive. When Pope Paul then brought out his encyclical banning its use it was a bombshell. Now there were those in the English Church who agreed with me, yet hoped that by forcefully arguing for it they could somehow make it happen. But it did not.
Now in the sixties the role of women had changed. It was not so much by choice as by necessity. In order to afford a home, which necessitated a two wage household, married women had to leave the home and work while finding some way, nurseries or grandparents, or baby sitters to look after their children. They were not turning their backs on social housing, it was just that the building of social housing was limited. They had to avoid in many circumstances becoming pregnant. The Church then paid a heavy price for its neglect. In family planning the only method that was non contraceptive was the Rhythm Method. But it had one big drawback, it did not allow for the survival of sperm for a much as three days, even when the temperature broke. IN Australia at the time we heard of a Dr Billings who had been working on this flaw and was now producing the Billings method. But it was not available here. Catholics then had three approaches to Birth Control: they could agree with the Church but put themselves into the mercy of God by practicing it, with the feeling that in their case God would understand; they could disagree with the Church and follow their conscience, quietly and humbly; or they could attack the Church vehemently and decide that if they were wrong in this then they could be wrong in everything else. And there were many people within the Church ready to exploit the latter, and among their number were bishops, priests, and lay persons, who were teaching a false version of Vatican II When methods of Birth Control were brought in, such as the Sympto-Thermal method, these people ensured that they were given little publicity and little was said of them.
So a new 'intelligentia' had arisen within the Church that was firmly established in speaking the values of the secular world, rather than the values of Jesus Christ. Now it is one thing to believe that contraception should be used by a husband and wife to keep the numbers of the family down so that the children they had could be given more, and another to decide that perhaps the children in the secular world should be given contraception. The Church should have been fighting for the protection of young people and teaching the virtues of chastity and the value of marriage. But this was under attack and trying to teach children chastity was mocked. They were the new mature Catholics. This led to the breakdown of the family within the Church, a desire to show 'humanity' in arranging annulments as opposed to Divorce, like a showering of confetti. Ah yes, the Church was now more understanding, more compassionate, more 'with the people', provided it turned its back on the thousands of the real victims, the Children. And so the family, which Jesus had taught as the foundation of love, was thrown aside.
Our children are no longer chaste. Our children ate victims of Divorce. Our children are growing up without the ability to bond and love. But that does not seem to matter.
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