In this issue and following issues of “Servant Leader,” I will share with you the essays published by the Pontifical Council of the Family. These essays were written by experts on various issues of family and life to explain the meaning of confusing terms and jargon. This catechism is, therefore, both a review of Humanae Vitae and a clarification of selected terms relevant to the current political issues the country is now facing.

Part 1: Reproduction, procreation, responsible parenthood and contraception

Forty years ago, Pope Paul VI issued the encyclical Humanae Vitae (Encyclical to all men of good will, on the regulation of birth). His words have proven prophetic. Since then, the Church has waged a continuous battle in defense of the family and human life against the Population Control Movement’s agenda to pursue universal access to contraceptives and abortion. 

What’s the difference between procreation and reproduction?

Reproduction strictly refers to the biological reality implying that man is no different from animals. Procreation is the proper term for human generation since it refers to the appearance of a new person and points to collaboration of parents with God as the ultimate source of this new life.

What is responsible parenthood?

Due to the profound link between the conjugal bond and the gift of life, Humanae Vitae emphasizes the vocation of married couples to be parents and insists on openness to life. It is neutral concerning family size. Responsible parenthood refers to the decision to procreate or not to procreate signifying the following:

• Exclusion of the use of contraceptives for every fertile conjugal act;

• Knowledge, primarily on the wife’s part of her own cycle of fertility/infertility;

• In the case of an ethically justified decision not to procreate, abstinence from conjugal relations during the wife’s fertile period and the restriction of conjugal relations to the wife’s infertile period; and

• Exercising control over one’s sexual impulse to render it truly and exclusively expressive of conjugal love and the self-giving of persons.

This decision to procreate or not to procreate is just (it is responsible) when two things are taken into account: that the parents have the necessary and sufficient resources to secure a dignified life for their future child (including basic education); and that there are no grave considerations of health on the part of the spouses, especially the wife.

In the “UN language,” responsible parenthood is the will, ability and commitment of parents to respond to the needs and aspirations of the family and children, more particularly through family planning. Since family planning is understood as enabling people who wish to limit the size of families, the term responsible parenthood is associated to family-size limitation.

Why is contraception morally wrong?

Contraception is any action taken before, during or immediately after the conjugal act which is aimed at impeding the conception which the conjugal act itself is capable of. Contraception, therefore, separates the unitive and procreative aspects of the conjugal act. Conjugal sexuality by its very nature is an expression-realization of the total gift of self. In contraception, the conjugal sexual act excludes from the gift of one’s person the gift of the capacity to become father/mother (it is the person that is fertile, not the body). Contraception makes the conjugal sexual act a lie.

Why are natural methods of birth control not contraception?

These natural methods simply enable the wife to ascertain when she is fertile and when she is infertile—scientific information placed at the service of either a procreative decision or a nonprocreative decision by the spouses.

(To be continued next issue. You can find the source of this article on www.rcam.org, the web site of the Archdiocese of Manila, under the heading Catechism on Family and Life Issues.) 

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Editorial: Oil-price backlash

Local oil companies pared their gasoline prices by a measly P1 per liter the other day. A “rollback” it certainly wasn’t. And yet, an oil-company executive had the cheek to remark they wanted to give car owners “relief.”

Omerta: Exit, Albano; enter, Ducut?

Chairman Rodolfo Albano Jr. the other day officially ended his tenure at the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC). The departure of the veteran lawyer-politician from Isabela must have saddened his aides and peers at the ERC where he was the big boss for six years.

The Essential Thing: Other ways the antigraft law is violated

The last time, I pointed out the more frequent ways the antigraft law (RA 3019) is violated by both the public and private sectors. Today I will point out some more ways by which that law can be violated.

Sway: Worrying about social security

It is curious how the administrator of the Social Security System (SSS), just after being accorded Cabinet rank under recently issued Administrative Order 232, is opting to resign from her office.

Inter Press Service: Reading media in the Mekong region

BANGKOK—Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia. What images might these words conjure up in the minds of international consumers of news?

Philip M. Lustre Jr.: The emergence of Super Mega Manila

It was Greater Manila in the 1960s to refer to the city of Manila and the adjacent cities of Caloocan, Pasay and Quezon.

Servant Leader: 40 years of ‘Humanae Vitae’

In this issue and following issues of “Servant Leader,” I will share with you the essays published by the Pontifical Council of the Family. These essays were written by experts on various issues of family and life to explain the meaning of confusing terms and jargon.