IN MOST Catholic churches last Good Friday, the sanctity of life was the main concern of the priests in explaining the Seven Last Words of Jesus Christ. That was good and I am convinced. At least, we are happy to note that contraception and abortion are freely discussed from the pulpit. The grandparents, parents and children were there listening to the wisdom of the Church.
As part of my Lenten reflection, I read Genesis 38:8-10. "And Judah said onto Onan, Go unto thy brother's wife, and marry her and raise up seed to thy brother. And Onan knew that the seed should not be his; and it came to pass, when he went unto this brother's wife, give seed to his brother. And the thing which he did displeased the Lord: wherefore he slew him also." Onan did not commit 'coitus interruptus' as opposed by the Church. He committed the crime of disobedience to God's law for refusing to bear children for his dead brother (Deuteronomy 25:5-7).
Thomas Aquinas considered it a form of contraception. This was the basis of the Church's law for a longer period of time wherein even the rhythm method is sinful until Pope Pius XI came out with his encyclical, 'Casti connubii' qualifying the rhythm method as natural form of contraception. He cited St. Augustine, "Marital intercourse, even with one legitimate spouse, is forbidden and immoral, if the awakening of new life is presented." This is what Onan, the son of Judah did, and because of that his God killed him. Is this having a biblical foundation? Even theologians who helped compose 'Humanae Vitae' of Pope Paul VI agreed to ban contraception but not the natural law. There is the proliferation of abortion and there is also the prohibition against the use of contraceptives. There are also rampant sexually transmitted diseases and the use of condom is condemned by the Church.
The papacy refused to acknowledge this and the Roman Catholics just follow the teachings of the Church for fear of automatic excommunication. The Ordinary Magisterium that includes the Pope and the bishops of local churches is considered to be infallible in their teachings on matters of faith and morals. When Pope John Paul I succeeded Pope Paul VI, he had plans to move away from the extreme practice. He even congratulated the parents of the first test tube baby despite the condemnation of 'intro fertilization' found in 'Hermanae Vito.' His plan was aborted because he was 'murdered.' Or he could have been killed for revealing Vatican Bank controversy involving Archbishop Marcinkus. (Read David Yallop's book, In God's Name.)
I am pro-life and pro-Catholic Church, but I want my Church to be clear on issues like this. The new Pope, Francis I, could possibly look into the Institute Farmacologico Sereno, a company owned by the Church that is alleged to be producing Luteolas, an oral contraceptive. I don't want my Church to be involved into something like this. The followers of Christ in Christianity should be above suspicion.
We, Christians, want to be morally upright. We are the children of God (just like the members of other religions). In claiming morality, we have to investigate the limits of human understanding and reasoning. It is not bad if we realize that God wants some changes on how we look at things for the good of Christianity.
Christ while on earth was not stagnant on His perception. He condemned the Pharisees and praised the Samaritan. Let us all pray to see light at the end of the tunnel. We are for life. Alfred Austin has this to say about life, "Is life worth living? Yes, so long as there is wrong to right."