All I'm going to reply to this, PF, is that I find it abhorrent that anyone would practice this method. I interpret Pius XI's words the way you do, that there is never a reason to impede the conception of children, and those that do are displeasing to God.
Good, that's all I wanted to hear.
You must also be careful with sending articles to people which contains parts that you do not even agree with; that article allowed for exceptions for using NFP.
So when you say you don't agree with NFP, and yet tells me that you send the article to someone you know, that can that of course give a contradicting view, hence the reason that I was unsure of what you believed. You must remove all erroneous sections from a docuмent (if you can understand that something is erroneous in them) before giving it to others, unless it is a refutation, of course. You will not escape sin if you refuse to remove an obvious error and then give this error to someone else to read so that he may be deceived by it.
Now, if you want to call me a heretic because I won't throw people under the bus because of the confusing way in which this has been displayed by two different popes, then fine. You just be happy doing so. I am not going to do that. God is the dealer of death and judgment, and the CHURCH is the body who is supposed to pronounce whether someone is a heretic or not. This issue is obviously not one that is "clear as crystal" to some people as it might be for you and I, and, as with other non-clear issues (like the whole "who's the pope" issue) we will know in time, whether it's when we die, or when this berserk situation in the Church is finally remedied in a supernatural fashion, which I believe it will be, sometime.
I don't think I wrote anywhere that you are would be a heretic for not condemning people that practice NFP as mortal sinners or heretics. What I did say was that people who refuse to condemn people and their sins will share in their punishments at the day of judgment.
What I also did say was that you would be a heretic if you agreed with the author of the NFP article when he wrote that NFP is justifiable and accepted by the Church; but it seems you do not agree with what the author wrote there, so then you are not a heretic.
However, I would have to presume that you are a heretic if if you refuse to accept the dogma that NFP is a heresy and a mortal sin against the natural law, because I have presented you with the dogmatic evidence and explained it to you. So I could in no way excuse you from heresy if you would obstinately assert or claim that NFP is not a heresy or mortal sin in every case whenever a couple practice it deliberately and without a just cause.
Distinctions must be made regarding NFP, when it is sinful, and when people could be excused from falling into heresy or mortal sin.
A couple who knows about that the Church forbids any form of contraception and yet acts in disobedience to what they know the Church teaches, they can never be excused from mortal sin or heresy whenever they practice NFP, however grave reason they may believe themselves to have.
Only the couples who did not know about the Church dogma and who practiced NFP for a serious cause and against their will, could be excused from mortal sin or heresy when practicing NFP if they felt forced to use NFP against their, since they (in their opinion) wished to avoid a greater evil.
Such a couple could be excused as material heretics in the same way as Pope Pius XII could be excused as a material heretic for teaching that couples could practice NFP in serious situations.
People who are not against NFP in their will when they are practicing it commits a mortal sin of contraception even if they have a grave reason for practicing it. One grave reason that could excuse would be the almost 100% certainty of the death of the mother. But then again, the couple must feel forced to use it against their will, otherwise is a mortal sin always committed.
Couples who do not want more children and use NFP, always commit mortal sin, since their intention is not to avoid a possible greater evil, such as the death of the mother (which could excuse).
Unless a ignorant couple (who are unaware of the Church dogma) are almost 100% sure that the mother or possible child will die from another child birth, they cannot be excused from mortal sin when using NFP.
A couple could thus not be excused for using NFP if there was a 50% chance of the death of the mother or child, not even 90% would be enough, there must be such overwhelming evidence to support the fact that the mother or child could die before a person could even be excused from mortal sin regarding NFP in the first place.
Economic excuse will not excuse a ignorant couple from mortal sin when using NFP unless they know for a certain fact (unless a miracle happens and change their situation) that they cannot afford to feed another child or take care of the family as they need to do, and they fear that Child protecting service (or some other service in other countries that destroys families) will come and take away the children from them because of their poverty, etc.
So unless a couple KNOWS for a certain fact (from what they can understand by analyzing their current economy and living contritions) that they would in fact truly and truthfully be starving to death with another child or that it was an almost 100% likelihood that their children could be removed from them because of the possible poverty that would result from another childbirth, unless these situations would be present, would they be committing a mortal sin when using NFP for the economic excuse.
So this would then condemn 100% of almost every couple in the entire world that practice NFP for "economic" reasons.
So that a couple wouldn't have space in the car for another child, or an extra room in the house/apartment, or some other lame excuse, does not suffice as an excuse to ignorant people who are unaware of the Church dogma - and will thus always commit a mortal sin when practicing NFP.
So since most couples who practice NFP never have a serious reasons for doing so, most of them will always commit either a mortal sin or heresy. They commit heresy (when practicing NFP) when they have as opinion that it is right to do so even though they know that the Church condemns it; they commit mortal sin (when practicing NFP) when they know that it's wrong and believe that it's wrong but yet do it (for whatever reason).
This is our view at present, and we believe this to be true. Please, if you have any points to add or if we have erred on anything, please point it out. Thanks.
Topic: RHYTHM: THE UNHAPPY COMPROMISE (Read 10214 times)