The sanctity of marital love and the gift of life are morally upheld through the teaching of the Catholic Church. The Church has taught that artificial contraception contradicts God’s plan for marriage and procreation, and its teaching is rooted in both Sacred Scripture and Tradition, emphasizing that marriage is ordered to the unitive love of the spouses and the procreation of new life. Society has often tried to obscure the Church’s teaching, promoting contraception as a mechanism of personal freedom and reproductive rights. The Church has opposed society’s concept of fertility in its teaching in the Catechism (CCC 2366-2372) as well as the document Humanae Vitae, calling married couples to a higher moral vocation. The Church’s teaching in these documents reaffirm the idea that artificial contraception undermines God’s plan for marital love and the creation of new life.
Sacred Scripture provides the foundation for the Church’s teaching on openness to life. In Genesis 1:28, God commands Adam and Eve to “be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it.” This mandate demonstrates that fertility and procreation are not merely biological functions to be controlled, but blessings and a responsibility. Furthermore, Psalm 127:3-5 proclaims, “Sons are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.” And Pslam 128:3-5 proclaims, “Your children will be like olive shoots around your table. Lo, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the Lord.” Thus Scripture highlights the intrinsic value of children and the importance of welcoming new life as part of God’s design for marriage.
Pope Paul VI reaffirmed the Church’s consistent disapproval of artificial contraception in the document Humanae Vitae. Paul VI argued that artificial contraception distorts the meaning of marital intimacy and reduces fertility to the mere control of a biological function. He warned that the widespread acceptance of contraception would lead to an erosion of moral values. Pope Paul VI’s prediction has been seen continually unfolding since the so called ‘sexual revolution’ within an increasing separation of sex from its procreative purpose, also leading to a distorted view of human sexuality.
The Catechism further clarifies that artificial contraception is morally unacceptable because it deliberately disturbs the natural end of the marital act (CCC 2370). However, the Church makes an essential distinction between contraception and Natural Family Planning (NFP). While contraception seeks to suppress fertility artificially, NFP works in harmony with a couple’s natural fertility cycle, fostering self-discipline, mutual respect, and an openness to God’s will.
In response to the challenges posed by a contraceptive culture, the Church calls married couples to embrace openness to life as a witness to authentic love and trust in God’s providence. Natural Family Planning (NFP) provides a morally sound alternative that respects the dignity of both spouses and fosters a deeper appreciation for God’s design. Unlike contraception, NFP requires communication, cooperation, and self-discipline, strengthening the marital bond while allowing couples to discern the size of their family responsibly.
The Church’s opposition to artificial contraception is not a restriction but a call to more profound love, sacrifice, and trust in God’s plan. The Church’s teaching affirms that marriage is both unitive and procreative, designed to reflect God’s life-giving love. While society often promotes contraception as a means of freedom, the Church reveals a greater truth: that authentic love is always open to life. By embracing this calling, couples enrich their marriages, strengthen their families, and participate in the divine work of creation, witnessing the beauty of God’s plan for human love to the world.
Matthew Weller, SFA Theologians Guild Member