conception and contraception calendar

(328 pages)

Sex and the Soul: Juggling Sexuality, Spirituality, Romance, and Religion on America's College Campuses by: Donna Freitas publisher: Oxford University Press, USA released: 2008-04-11 ISBN: 0195311655 $16.47

Today's college students are fascinated by religion but they are also more sexually active than previous generations. How do these young people reconcile their spiritual longings with sexual freedom on campus?
Based on dozens of face-to-face interviews, Sex and the Soul explores the sexual and spiritual lives of today's college students. Donna Freitas crisscrossed the country, visiting a range of America's colleges and universities--from public to private, Catholic to evangelical--to find out what students had to say about these highly personal subjects. Their stories will not only engage readers, but, in many cases, move them with the painful struggles these candid young women and men face. Indeed, the book uncovers aspects of college life that may unsettle some readers, especially parents. Many campuses, for instance, are dominated by the hook-up culture of casual sex. Moreover, a surprising number of students see little connection between sex and religion. Indeed, these observations hold true even at Catholic schools. Only at evangelical colleges is religion an important factor when deciding whether or not to engage in sex. But Freitas's research also reveals that, even at secular schools, students are not comfortable with the prevalence of casual sex, and that they do want religion to speak about what they should do and who they should try to be--not just what they should avoid doing.
Sex and the Soul will offer readers the chance to hear college students speaking honestly about extremely sensitive topics, in a book that will be of great interest to students, parents, clergy, teachers, and anyone who wants to know what's happening on today's college campuses.

This is an excellent ( at times appalling - at times hopeful) book. I don't usually find sociology books that I can't put down, but I read through this one in short order. What the author does quite brilliantly is weave her study of college students and how they integrate faith/religion and sex, around the personal stories of the students that she interviews. If you are a parent (like me) it is disheartening to see the influences that kids come under when they go away to college, and the soul-destroying nature of casual "hook-ups" with people one may or may not know well.

The book is hopeful (to my way of thinking) in that it is almost exclusively the evangelicals (I am one) who believe that there is a connection between spirituality and sex, and that it is important. While it is no surprise that virtually everyone struggles with how far to go physically before marriage, it is nice to see that evangelicals are generally trying to follow what they believe God desires in regards to dating and marriage.

This is a carefully researched and elegantly written book on the relationship between sexuality and spirituality on US college campuses. It is pretty well known among scholars that high school kids are quite religious in the US. When they go to college they start turning away from the religions of their parents, often toward more generic spirituality. Why does this happen? Freitas thinks sexual experience might hold the key. In other words, as college students start experimenting sexually they push away from religion, since religion is in their view "anti-sex." That's the argument, or part of it. But at the heart of the book lie stories about these students. Kids at evangelical, Catholic, and secular schools struggling with faith and sexuality. It's brilliantly done. It's sad in many ways to see the binds that "hookup culture" put young people in. It's balanced in that there are things in here that will infuriate (and delight) conservatives and liberals alike. And it's timely. Makes me wonder what the next generation is in for heading off to college.

(208 pages)

Teaching Your Children Healthy Sexuality: A Biblical Approach to Preparing Them for Life (Pure Foundations) by: Jim Burns publisher: Bethany House released: 2008-08-01 ISBN: 0764202081 $11.19

It's not just the birds and the bees anymore.

You may have been eleven once, but you were never their age. Thanks to the Internet, graphic images in the media, and their "know-it-all" friends, kids today grow up earlier than ever. They have questions, and as a parent, your responsibility is to clear up the mixed messages and lead them to a healthy, value-centered view of sexuality. Sure, conversations with your kids about sex and their changing bodies can be uncomfortable--but they don't have to be. Jim Burns gives expert advice on how and when to talk with your children, and he provides answers to the most difficult questions your kids and teens might ask, like:

How far is too far? If you do "everything but sex," are you still a virgin? Is self-stimulation wrong? I think I'm addicted to porn. What can I do to get help? Is a boy/girl sleepover okay if there's a chaperone?

The world's culture may have cheapened sex, but God's view of sexuality is wonderfully made. Talking with your kids at a young age will help them make more godly decisions along the way, but they'll need conversation with you at every age. This is your opportunity to establish in them a lasting sexual integrity that will extend throughout their lives.

(240 pages)

The Contraception Guidebook: Options, Risks, and Answers for Christian Couples by: William R. Cutrer, Sandra L. Glahn publisher: Zondervan released: 2005-05-01 ISBN: 0310254078 $14.99

This comprehensive guide with its conversational, first-person style, anecdotes from real-life couples, and solid medical information equips Christian couples to make fully informed decisions about the complex and deeply personal questions of contraception.

This book gives the Christian reader unbiased, detailed information regarding the types of birth control available and how these various methods work. I have never had a doctor or nurse give me this kind of detail regarding forms of birth control and I doubt you have either. But this book, written in a non-judgemental tone, will give you the information you need to make an educated decision regarding birthcontrol, while encouraging you to prayerfully seek the will of the Lord considering you and your spouse in this matter.

This book offers sound medical advice while encouraging you to seek God's Will. If only we could find OB/GYNs out there that offered the same thing. Too many people blindly accept hormonal birth control without realizing the risks and ethical issues surrounding it. This book really explains the risks without making you feel "dirty" for using them. It leaves the choice up to the reader. But given the evidence, I am not sure any Pro-Life Christian could blindly accept "the pill" from their doctor again.

I have read many books on family planning in the Christian marriage. Most of them say to keep having as many babies as possible. The authors do an excellent job in explaining that some couples are called to be parents of 8 children, while quite frankly, some are not.

After having four children in five years, I am ready for a break. This book helped me to realize that God did intend intimacy in marriage to be "recreational" at times and not always procreative. While we do still intend on having more children, the authors gave us sound scriptural references to back up our decision to wait awhile. We aren't sinning by using contraception. What a relief!

Many thanks to the authors for this excellent resource. I am passing it on to my husband's brother and his fiancee. I hope they can get as much out of it as we did!

The Contraception Guidebook, written by William Cutrer and Sandra Glahn is an outstanding resource of information for young married couples as they begin their lives together as a family. In addition, it would be an invaluable tool for others who are in a position to offer counsel on the subject of contraception. I especially appreciated the procedural/medical information as it relates to spiritual, ethical, emotional, and relational issues. Cutrer and Glahn write, "In this work we will reason from Scriptures as often and as carefully as we can, but where the Bible is silent, we'll acknowledge that silence."
Each section of the book has questions that can either be answered or worked through while a couple is reading together or tossed independently in their thoughts and then brought to the table for comparison and discussion. I loved the anecdote noted from some of Dr. Cutrer's counseling sessions with engaged couples regarding expectations. The couple sitting back to back is instructed to hold up fingers representing the number of children they hope to have during their marriage. I can imagine some of the surprised (and perhaps horrified) looks when the numbers were revealed!
This writing is easy to read and written in a relaxing, yet professional style. Scriptural references, as well as, medical data are used richly for support and for further self-study. There is a complete glossary included to help with the medical terms that are necessary to the reading.
As I read the book I thought, I wish I had information like this available to me twenty-five years ago! As a young wife in 1978 I asked my then OB/GYN about birth-control, without discussion he wrote me a Rx for a year's supply of once a day pills. I think the information supplied in this book could not only help a couple make good choices as they consider the many options of contraception but is certain to strengthen their bond to one another.

(224 pages)

Birth Control for Christians: Making Wise Choices by: Jenell Williams Paris publisher: Baker Books released: 2003-05 ISBN: 0801064376 $14.99

Sensitively guides couples through the medical, relational, and ethical questions surrounding birth control options from a Christian perspective.

As a newlywed, this book has been very helpful. A few months into our marriage, I began to question the form of birth control we had chosen. A friend suggested this book, and I am so happy she did. Paris explains in clear language so many things about birth control, ovulation, anatomy, and sex that I didn't know before. The questions at the end of each chapter sparked conversation between my husband and I about issues we had not discussed before. While Paris writes from a moral Christian standpoint, the book is written in a frank practical way, not overly spiritual. Paris raises moral questions, but allows the reader to come to his/her own conclusions. This book has helped us to come to a point of feeling confident and comfortable with our choice of birth control, and it has also informed us of other methods we may want to consider later in our marriage. I would highly reccommend this book to anyone who has questions about birth control, especially those who are newly married or preparing for marriage.

This book was a wonderful way to resolve many of the questions my fiance and I had about birth control. As a Protestant Christian, I felt that there was a lack of information on birth control--I had taken Natural Family Planning classes through a local Catholic parish, but was hoping to find some counsel that combined both the medical perspective and the moral/religious aspect in a way seperate from the specific teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. Paris' book was extremely helpful in my questions and concerns. I would highly recommend this book!

This book was invaluable, and I feel that it should be a gift to every engaged Christian Couple.

This books looks closely at the Biblical and moral issues of all the methods of birth control out there. You will walk away feeling informed and empowered by this book! Very well written and easy to read, but incredibly thorough, and well researched. Very solid theological explanations througout to help you make decisions that you can feel right before God about.

Birth Control For Christians: Making Wise Choices by Jenell Williams Paris (Associate Professor of Anthropology, Bethel College, St. Paul, Minnesota) is a book of facts and choices, presented without judgmental overtones, written expressly to inform Christians of all denominations about the various means of birth control. A fertility awareness instructor with Fertility Awareness-Twin Cities, Paris expertly examines the pros and cons of behavioral methods, barrier methods, hormonal method, IUDs, and male and female sterilization -- however, abortion is not discussed extensively since Christian denominations generally oppose it. Birth Control For Christians: Making Wise Choices is a highly recommended resource on the subject of family planning and birth control technologies for all interested Christian couples.

(148 pages)

Open Embrace: A Protestant Couple Rethinks Contraception by: Sam Torode, Bethany Torode publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company released: 2002-03 ISBN: 0802839738 $14.40

In this bold critique of modern ideas about sex, marriage, and contraception, Sam and Bethany Torode set forth a vision that is fresh for our times yet rooted in centuries of Christian tradition. Weaving together a sound theology of spousal love with honest information and personal insight, Open Embrace offers a compelling alternative to the unquestioned use of contraception. The Torodes challenge modern lifestyles and popular wisdom about how soon to have children, how many are desirable, and how to prevent them, while still recognizing that the number of children each family can best support will vary. Open Embrace is far more than a case against contraception - it is a positive affirmation of fertility, childbearing, and prudent self-control. Couples who practice Natural Family Planning, as advocated in this book, cooperate with God's design for their bodies, making wise decisions about family size without losing respect for the mystery and meaning of sex. Whether one agrees or disagrees with its conclusions, Open Embrace is a rewarding read for all engaged and married couples seeking to sharpen their moral discernment.

The reason I am giving this a low rating is because the authors have changed their views. The statement on their web site was laughable, its sad how far people can fall.

I liked the book, it was a quick easy read. But it's not a keeper. I really feel passionate on the issue of contraception for the Christian couple. I feel this book was more like an idea than a teaching. It seemed the authors were trying to avoid stepping on anyones toes by rather just giving you something to think about rather than share their honest opinions. If I wasn't already letting God control my fertility, this book wouldn't convince me.

For the novice, a couple things need to be definitively stated here: Firstly, the Bible says exactly *nothing* about Birth Control, neither pro nor con. Everyone's opinion on the subject, from the Pope on down to John Q. Believer of *any* sect of Christianity is voicing just that: opinion. That's fine, one is allowed to have their own opinion, but they shouldn't mask it as "God's Law," or attempt to apologize it in as "What God meant, but didn't actually say." (For that matter, there's no condemnation of masterbation in the bible either, and the Catholic obsession over the subject stems from a willful misreading of the story of Onan).
The basic concept of Protestantism was to free Christianity from the excesses, corruption, and stifling traditions of Catholicism, and on a functional level, the idea was to only "Speak on those subjects the Bible speaks on, and to be silent where the Bible is silent." The point is, quite simply, that a protestant is to behave in accordance with the things the Bible specifically says, and on subjects that the bible doesn't mention, it's up to your own discression, so long as it is not otherwise immoral. Illicit sex outside of marriage is condemned, so obviously that's bad, as is witchcraft and homosexuality: there's no getting around those if you're Protestant. However, there's no mention of flying in airplanes, voting libertarian, or living in North America, and so all of those things are, therefore, a matter of taste, and not a matter of Divine Command, no matter what the individual may say to the contrary.
My problem with this book is that it asks the reader to take upon him/herself more burden than God Himself requires of them, and it disingenuously presents it in an apologetic fashion, trying to dupe impressionable readers into thinking "This is what God really meant." I have a problem with any "Christian" book that misrepresents the bible, as should anyone who (like me) calls themselves a Christian. It implies that people who do more than is asked of them in this regard will have a more full, rewarding life than 'weaker' people who actually want to have sex with their spouses just because - hey, let's face it: sex is fun - and it implies that people who actually want to have sex are somehow inferior or less in love than those who hold out. This, despite the fact that the Bible clearly says husbands and wives are not to deny themselves to each other.
This book represents a maddening new kind of Fundamentalism in which the Bible itself has only talismanic value, to be quoted only when it confirms preconceived notions (Wether good or bad) that the individual has, and to be misrepresented when it says otherwise, or simply used to bludgeon someone over the head with, knowing that few people - even Christians - have a good working knowledge of the book anyway.
Speaking as a life-long Protestant, I find this book to be disturbing.

Four years after writing this book, the Torodes have changed their mind on natural family planning. Why? It's apparently too difficult and causes too much guilt to the husband in a married relationship (...huh?). They no longer advocate NFP, and instead condone certain forms of contraception (google "Open Embrace" - one of the top hits is an essay that rejects the principles set forth in this book). This may or may not have any bearing, but they've also joined the Greek Orthodox church - as such, I'm not exactly sure if there's any part of the book's title that's actually true for the authors any more. Do some homework on the Torodes before you purchase this book to see if it's worthwhile to buy it; this doesn't mean that I'm necessarily condemning or endorsing it, but ask yourself whether you'd want to take the advice of a couple who have recanted their position a mere four years after publication.

From a slightly more cynical perspective, I can't help but wonder why the Torodes are still allowing the book to be sold if they no longer agree with what they've written in it. While they might be embarassed with the book's contents, I'm sure they're not embarassed about spending the royalties.

It's important for anyone considering this book to know that a mere five years later the authors now disagree with the main argument of the book (though I'm sure they'd love for you to buy one anyway). Now that they've laid a guilt trip on their readers, the Torodes have apparently changed their minds about NFP [...]. They now think that "NFP often lays an unfair burden of guilt on men" and "it's a theological attack on women to always require that abstinence during the time of the wife's peak sexual desire" (a less passive and more honest way of stating this would be to say that "Sam and Bethany Torode have laid an unfair burden of guilt..." and "Sam and Bethany Torode have launched a theological attack on women..."). One would hope that next time Eerdmans will be more cautious about giving a hearing to such inexperienced authors, and that the hastily offered opinions of the Torodes not be taken very seriously in whatever other books they write.

(172 pages)

Sacred Choices (Sacred Energies Series) by: Daniel, C. Maguire publisher: Augsburg Fortress Publishers released: 2001-01-03 ISBN: 0800634330 $15.00

Breaking the silence about choice

As the world teeters on the edge of overpopulation, this new addition to the Sacred Energies series aims to show how ten major religious traditions in fact contain strong affirmations of the right to family planning, including contraception and even, when necessary, abortion.

Maguire first shows how interrelated overpopulation is with poverty, ethnic injustice, gender injustice, and the maldistribution of economic resources. Often the world's religions (most notoriously perhaps, Roman Catholicism) are thought to contribute only to the problem, rather than solutions, through their hostility to sex, education and equal rights for women, and birth control. In fact, argues Maguire, the ten scholars who consulted for several years about how these traditions treat issues of contraception and abortion find in them a true religious awe at the sacredness of life, a genuine openness to sexuality as a dimension of the sacred, and “alongside the `no choice' position . . . a `pro-choice' position that is too little known, even by adherents to the religion. That is the key message of this book.”

While Daniel Maguire is one of the few mirthful scholars of religious thought, his writings have serious import in a world too often darkened by religious crime. Maguire and his sources demonstrate quite vividly that while most of the world's religions have often been involved in horrific and destructive actions, that there was and is a serious and awe inspiring underpining to their formation and purpose. My personal opinion is that there was probably much more fear and trembling than awe and reverence at their core beginnings, but Maquire is more generous in his accessment. Maguire takes us through more than ten of the world's great religious traditions with the help of scholars well versed in their own religious traditions, to demonstrate conclusively that although there is much in religious tradtions to comfort Pro-Life adherents, that there is a line of equally orthodox thought in every religious tradition to support the Pro-Choice view, and that government support of one of these religious views over the other is in conflict with the American ideal of resisting governmental intervention into religious matters. Maguire has an obvious bias toward the Pro-Choice religious position, but he is generous in granting legitimacy to the Pro-Life position as well. However, he unabashedly points out the inconsistancies in the lobbying and advocacy efforts by current avowedly Pro-Life activist's positions on multiple fronts in public policy debates. This is an important book for anyone who takes religious matters seriously. And whether or not one is religious or irreligious, I think that none can deny that religion plays a very big part in both national and international policy debates, and therefor, it behooves us all to take seriously matters of religious thought. Maguire shows us in his first few pages exactly why it is so necessary that we do so. An excellent and thoughtful read and a book which belongs on any thinking person's book shelves. wfh

The author, Maguire, is a lapsed Catholic priest who seeks the distruction of the Gospel in Sacred Choices. His thesis is that Catholicism along with other religious traditions acually endorse the right to contraception and abortion! By twisting historical events and moral theology, he presents his heretical views to advance the culture of death. For those who need convincing just look at the word contraception and its associative meaning. Contra = against or Anti; and Ception = Life or Christ. Put it together contra-ception = Anti-Christ. (This semantic play reveals the meaning behind the practice of contraception). This book's thesis is that the Catholic Church, along with other religious traditions, support contraception, or alternativly the Anti-Christ, or that which is agaist Life.

If religion is about the celebration of Life, how could this ex-priest have the (...) to suggest that religions support anti-life devices and proceedures that end life pre-maturely? The mind boggles . . . there is something darker in this author than what can be gleened from the cover of his book!

This book provides much needed information and is a great contribution in refuting the falsehoods spread by the so-called "Christian" Right. It is a good companion to a wonderful new book titled Real Prophecy Unveiled, by Joseph J. Adamson. Thank God for books like these, because they shed light in a world made dark by "religious" bigotry, hypocrisy, and aggression. They give me faith that the humble and meek shall inherit the earth after all.

... Dan McGuire, drawing on a lifetime of study and research, in conjunction with scholars from other religions, finds that Christianity and other faith traditions have many strands of thought expressed over the centuries. The common thread is a passion for the givenness of our human life, and the sacred dimension of making critical decisions affecting reproduction. McGuire and the other writers survey the less well-known attitudes in the historic faiths and suggest that that univocal opposition to planned pregnancy is in sore need of review. He offers cogent, yet powerful reasons for doing more research. The book will be welcomed by all who want more open discussion, including Catholics for Free Choice who want freer dialogue in their religious communities about options for men and women regarding their fertility. ...

Controversial issues in religion are not new, but creative, inclusive, honest ways of dealing with them are. Catholic ethicist Daniel C. Maguire, President of the Religious Consultation on Population, Reproductive Health and Ethics, convened an international, interreligious team of scholars to look at birth control and abortion from a variety of faith-based starting points.
They concluded that in every case, even the most recalcitrant, there is evidence of competing views within each tradition. This volume is a highly readable summary of the findings. It is suitable for college classes, congregational study group and public policy discussions. Do your religious professional a favor and give this book as a gift.
The backdrop for this discussion is the complicated web of population and development issues that has been fanned by religious fervor. Policy makers who leave aside religious views do so at their peril. Worse, when they accept as true the word of those who purport to speak for a faith tradition without examining the practice and beliefs of the majority of its adherents, they miss a great deal and do a grave disservice.
Catholicism is a good example. While it would seem to be the airtight case against both contraceptives and birth control based on the Vatican's pronouncements, Dr. Maguire et al find that the tradition is far more nuanced. Theologians like Professor Christine Gudorf give good Catholic reasons to limit births. They see the teaching in a state of development not fixed, as the Vatican would have it. They take women's well being as a central ethical need, thus approve of abortion as a woman's right to choose.
Islam would seem to be another case where it would be hard to find women-friendly ethics. But Muslim Professor Riffat Hassan offers a feminist challenge to her faith. Indeed many Muslims consider first trimester abortion to be licit; many forms of birth control have long been a part of Islamic culture. Who knew? As these views come to the fore it will be harder and harder to pin anti-choice positions on religions.
Likewise, Chinese religions see these matters in quite open terms. The move toward universal harmony requires some limits on population. This worldview is very practical in claiming the need to put the common good before the desires of individuals. This is admittedly a position many in the West find problematic, but one that has its deep roots in an ancient and venerable culture.
There is no suggestion in this volume that one will agree with all of the positions expressed, nor even find them morally tolerable. Sex selection abortion, for example, is one difficult issue. But what Dr. Maguire, with his scholarly guides, does so brilliantly is make the data accessible, lift the shroud of stereotype, and let the reader decide for her/himself. This methodological point, as opposed to rigid positions as all there is, distinguishes this marvelous volume as one that will launch discussions in a useful direction.

(208 pages)

Teaching Your Children Healthy Sexuality, Parents Kit: A Winning Approach to Preparing Them for Life (Pure Foundations) by: Jim Burns publisher: Bethany House released: 2008-06-01 ISBN: 076420548X $19.79

Trusted family authority Jim Burns outlines a simple and practical guide for parents on how to develop in their children a healthy perspective regarding their bodies and sexuality. This invaluable resource includes a book for parents, a book for preteens, and a CD to listen to together--three products that work hand-in-hand in helping parents introduce a "theology of healthy sexuality" to their children. Promotes godly values about sex and relationships.

Parent's Kit includes:

Teaching Your Children Healthy Sexuality The Purity Code The Purity Code: Audio Resource

(204 pages)

The Missing Cornerstone Reasons Why Couples Choose Natural Family Planning in Their Marriage by: S. Joseph Tham publisher: Circle Press released: 2008-04-01 ISBN: 096516019X $11.99

In a society where instant gratification and materialism are idolized, love is often misconceived as merely getting what you want when you want it. The contraceptive mentality transfers that misconception into married love, betraying the true meaning of sexuality and poisoning the heart of the family. In recent years, many married couples have found a healthy, effective alternative for responsible parenthood in Natural Family Planning. Dr. Tham has gathered the inspiring stories of forty-eight such couples who have discovered the missing cornerstone: a true sense of authentic, generous love.

(335 pages)

Catholics And Contraception: An American History (Cushwa Center Studies of Catholicism in Twentieth-Century America) by: Leslie Woodcock Tentler publisher: Cornell University Press released: 2004-09-30 ISBN: 0801440033 $29.95

As Americans rethought sex in the twentieth century, the Catholic Church's teachings on the divisive issue of contraception in marriage were in many ways central. In a fascinating history, Leslie Woodcock Tentler traces changing attitudes: from the late nineteenth century, when religious leaders of every variety were largely united in their opposition to contraception; to the 1920s, when distillations of Freud and the works of family planning reformers like Margaret Sanger began to reach a popular audience; to the Depression years, during which even conservative Protestant denominations quietly dropped prohibitions against marital birth control.

Catholics and Contraception carefully examines the intimate dilemmas of pastoral counseling in matters of sexual conduct. Tentler makes it clear that uneasy negotiations were always necessary between clerical and lay authority. As the Catholic Church found itself isolated in its strictures against contraception—and the object of damaging rhetoric in the public debate over legal birth control—support of the Church's teachings on contraception became a mark of Catholic identity, for better and for worse. Tentler draws on evidence from pastoral literature, sermons, lay writings, private correspondence, and interviews with fifty-six priests ordained between 1938 and 1968, concluding, "the recent history of American Catholicism . . . can only be understood by taking birth control into account."

While browsing through a college bookstore, I recently came across Catholic University of America (CUA) Professor Leslie Woodcock Tentler's "Catholics and Contraception: An American History" (Cornell University Press, 2004) - one of fourteen books from Notre Dame's Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism. In 335 pages covering 125 years, Tentler offers little evidence of appreciating modern methods of Natural Family Planning or Pope John Paul II's Theology of the Body. She envisions NFP as repackaged "rhythm" and those who embrace it as likely to be unable to explain its theological rationale, as well as likely to abandon it with experience. Be that said, she does offer some thought-provoking history.

A "cafeteria" mindset is often noted to exist among misguided Catholics. Some have gotten the notion that the Church offers teaching on the sanctity of human life and marriage for "conservatives," while she alternately offers teaching on social concerns for "liberals." Authentic, seamless connections between teachings on the sanctity of human life, marriage and family, and social issues get lost. While no history of "Catholic Social Teaching" would be complete without an extensive discussion of Msgr. John A. Ryan, Ph.D, Msgr. Ryan kept Church teachings on human life, marriage and family, and social issues very much intact.

As director of the social justice department of the National Catholic Welfare Conference (now the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops) and as a CUA professor, Ryan was the face of Catholic Social Teaching in the first part of the 20th century in the United States. Long before Humanae Vitae discussed the anti-family agendas of those promoting contraceptives, Ryan took on Planned Parenthood founder and eugenics pioneer Margaret Sanger. He recognized that promotion of contraceptives served as an accomplice to selfishness among some wealthy and powerful of this country, who would accept workers' sweat but not their families. To borrow a phrase from Father Cox of 1930s radio fame, Msgr. Ryan fought for wealth control AGAINST birth control. Ryan argued for just family wages, which would allow a worker to properly support his family. While Tentler makes Ryan's passionate fight against contraceptives crystal clear, others seem to whitewash that part of his legacy.

For various reasons, Ryan's forthrightness about contraceptives was often the exception. Tentler tells us that the earliest part of the 20th century was not characterized by regular preaching about contraception from any pulpits. Among non-Catholic clergy, adherents were even quietly gathering to contraceptive promoters. Yet, no Protestant denomination formally supported contraception until the Anglicans in 1930. Tentler sees Pope Pius XI's encyclical of that year as a counterattack to the Anglican position and a call to arms for more proactive promotion of Church teaching. While Tentler might have us believe "Casti Connubii" to be a simplistic prohibition against contraception, it is a profound and beautiful treatise on marriage. Proclaiming marriage's dignity and sanctity, Pius XI shows deep affection and paternal concern that people not be led astray. Preventing such, he calls the "sacred trust" of priests and bishops.

While the 1930s, 1940s and early 1950s saw a growing promotion and acceptance of authentic teaching on marriage and marital relations, hints of dissent became ever more present - starting in the late 1950s. Instead of embracing their "sacred trust," more and more priests and bishops seemed to be signaling - often through thundering silence - that a change in teaching was on the horizon. For a number of years, CUA even kept Father Charles Curran - who openly advocated such change - aboard its faculty. It was into a festering chasm of chaos and confusion that Pope Paul VI presented "Humane Vitae." Rather than a Holy spirit inspired and prophetic document, Tentler intimates this encyclical to be the product of minority voices who successfully coerced Paul VI. Yet, she provides an insightful quote about its reception: "'A peculiar, implicit gentleman's agreement has developed between clergy and hierarchy in which the hierarchy commits itself not to try to seriously enforce compliance with Humanae Vitae so long as the clergy is not too open and public in its opposition to the encyclical,' Andrew Greeley asserted in 1972" (p. 263). While no promoter of Humanae Vitae, Tentler acknowledges that this silent treatment has had a devastating impact: "The result was a church where sexual ethics were seldom discussed, despite rapid change in the cultural values.... Divorce rates rose, even among regular churchgoers, as did the practice of premarital cohabitation. Birth and marriage rates declined....Many Catholics...were newly tolerant of abortion" (pp. 276, 277).

The post Humane Vitae silence has continued for a generation and a half. Some Catholics nearing menopause may have never even encountered the clergy's "sacred trust." If we truly love our clergy, don't those of us who embrace the Theology of the Body and NFP bear responsibility to remind them that Pius XI's words were never abrogated? "If any confessor or pastor of souls, which may God forbid, lead the faithful entrusted to him into these errors or should at least confirm them by approval or by guilty silence, let him be mindful of the fact that he must render a strict account to God, the Supreme Judge, for the betrayal of his sacred trust"

A Catholic Handbook for Engaged and Newly Married Couples by: Ph.D. Frederick W. Marks publisher: Emmaus Road Publishing released: 2000-12-29 $7.96

In this practical guide to marriage, learn the "secrets" of building a sound, spiritual relationship with your fiance or spouseâ€"from toothpaste in the sink to natural family planning.