"Marriage and conjugal love by their nature ordained toward the procreation and education of children. Children are really the supreme gift of marriage and contribute in the highest degree to the parents' welfare." Paragraph 9. I took this quote to mean that the pope wants people to get married to have children - which would make sense becuase they are finally granted that right through the church after a perfectly sacramental marriage has occured already. Having children is great, especially for a married couple, but in my opinion - it's not the best way to help parents reach their "highest potential of welfare." The church just wants more followers, so, get married and create a bunch more catholic babies. I don't believe that children are the only way for two married adults to become completely happy in their marriage Half of the time parents exaggerate that they are more happy when their kids are gone anyway, hopefully they are mostly joking.
This idea doesn't work in culture because it indirectly stabs at gay marriage - where the married couple may never be able to physically concieve their own child, which in the pope's opinion that couple will have troubles reaching their highest potential for happiness. Adoption is great, and some couples also don't even need to have a child and still love each other more than anything. In preceeding paragraphs about "Married love" the pope describes that "This love is above all - fully human. It is not then, merely a question of natural instinct or emotional drive." Almost a contradiction to the fact of him telling us to have children - when we know that with science, most living things find reproduction instinctual, which would suggest that two people don't need the pope to tell them to "get it on" in order to feel the happiest in their relationships with more pudgy catholic babies.
This also indirectly pokes at all of the other guidelines about birth control and contraceptives. Dont use em! In the churches mind, keep making more catholic babies. But in all practicality, if humans are wired to reproduce birth control almost takes the unborn babies into consideration, preventing them from even being concieved. Sounds vulgar, but I believe that between marriage, real love, sacraments, the pope, rules, contraception, instincts and babies - the pope needs to remember that we are all just animals, who like to reproduce and its not necessary to have a child to have a perfectly happy marriage. Two women, two men can get married, and sometimes nobody even wants to get married. Seems to work pretty well for most of us to guide our lives based on what makes us happy, and when it makes us happy, not by being told that having a kid will help us to reach our fullest relationship potential.
I really liked the connection between conceiving the child and the idea of that stabbing gay marriages. I think this is another clever way in which the Catholic church is putting pressure on followers to condemngay marriages. I think that relentless of belief we should have to be accepting of others, we can have our own opinions but shouldn't expect others to follow in our footsteps. I think the Catholic church would actually be wise to lighten up with the anti gay marriage sentiment. I think that it would broaden the range of possible members in the future.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting how many times the Pope alludes to "nature" and the "natural order" in Humanae Vitae. How can any one entity deem how the world was intended to be ordered? I think you're right about the indirect stab at gay culture. Their really isn't any of the mercy that is spoken about when you go against the Church. Of course, there is an ultimatum that is so intangible that its all the scarier: eternal unhappiness. Very clever use of circumlocution; never once did they say "gay people will go to hell," but they sure sent that message.
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