Q341 – Under what circumstances is it licit for a Catholic couple to use natural family planning?

Transcript:

First of all, the term “family planning” is not a good one. How can we speak of "planning" a person, someone who is immortal, unique, and created by God for all eternity? It is not fitting or appropriate to use such a term, as if we were planning crops, livestock, or industrial programs. This language is not suitable for something as sacred as the human person or the dignity of human life. Therefore, we should avoid using the term “family planning.”

Until the 20th century, there was no widespread discussion or knowledge of what is now called “natural family planning” or the practice of using infertile periods within a woman’s cycle to avoid conception. It was only with scientific advances in the 20th century that these biological patterns became known, and the Church had to respond to the issue.

We should recognize that all previous generations of Catholics and indeed most of humanity lived for nearly 2000 years without knowledge of these infertile periods, or at least without being conscious of them or using them to regulate births. They simply accepted children as they came, as gifts from the hands of God. In this sense, it was God who did the planning, not human beings. Couples lived their conjugal life naturally, trusting in Divine Providence.

It is also important to note that the use of natural family planning requires periods of abstinence. But this concept of abstinence was not new to the Church. From the earliest centuries, the Church recommended it in certain situations. For example, Saint Paul advised couples to abstain for a time of more intense prayer. In both the Eastern and Western Churches, there were recommendations, though not commands, for Catholic couples to abstain during specific liturgical seasons such as Lent. Since Holy Communion was received less frequently in earlier centuries, it was also recommended to abstain from marital relations the night before receiving the Eucharist, as a spiritual discipline, much like fasting from food.

So, while the Church was familiar with the concept of abstinence, it did not have the technical scientific method now known as natural family planning. That is a more recent development. It is important simply to understand these historical and practical facts.

Of course, the Church teaches that it is permissible to use the infertile periods to space births, and it is not sinful in itself. However, Saint John Paul II warned that even the use of natural family planning can become sinful, potentially mortally sinful, if it is done with a selfish or anti-life mentality. There are even people outside the Church, nonbelievers, who use natural family planning with a purely contraceptive mindset. This shows that it can be misused, and so we must be careful.

It is better, more perfect, to leave the decision of new life to God and to trust in His providence. Naturally, there can be exceptional situations, such as serious illness or other grave circumstances, where the use of natural family planning is allowed by the Church. But again, the guiding principle must be trust in the Lord, openness to life, and respect for the sacredness of every human person.