3 July 1982
To the participants in a course on Natural Regulation of Fertility
On Sunday, 3 July, Pope John Paul II met with a hundred participants in a training and updating course of the Study and Research Centre on Natural Regulation of Fertility, sponsored by the Faculty of Medicine of the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart. The Holy Father delivered the following address to the group.
Dearest Brothers and Sisters,
1. Your visit is especially pleasing to me. I welcome you affectionately and I offer you the Easter greeting of the Lord Jesus: “Peace be with you!” (Jn 20-19). This is what I wish for you with all my heart as the fruit of this meeting and as a fruit of the work that you are carrying out these days in Rome. Peace of heart – and peace among men – is in fact the fruit that comes from doing the will of the Lord, who in his infinite goodness and wisdom always wills the good of man, of all men and each man.
We well know that it is not easy for man to know God’s will fully.
Providential that diverse methods exist
2. In this perspective the significance of the work you are carrying out can be fully appraised. In fact, it is especially in relation to the family and its specific functions that the way the Lord wants for man, which is the way of salvation, is lost sight of. Marked progress by materialism – which seeks only earthly well-being and ever increasing possession of consumer goods – and by naturalism-which excludes from daily life reference to God and to transcendent values – try to divest the family, especially in countries of greatest economic development, of its profound content and immerse it in a dangerous crisis. Many young people today, disoriented, can no longer see the importance of the institution of marriage and live their love under the banner of impermanence and sterility. Many families cannot put into practise the duty of responsible parenthood as it has been taught by the Second Vatican Council.
The Church, however, believes in the family. She knows that it “possesses and continues still to release formidable energies capable of taking man out of his anonymity, out of being standardized and depersonalized” (cf. Familiaris Consortio, 43), to which modern progress often leads. The Church must take on the task of instilling conviction and offering practical help (cf. Familiaris Consortio, 35) in all those fields in which the family is most ensnared. This is true in particular in the area of the regulation of fertility, which has become one of the most delicate and pressing problems for the families of today. And it is in this area that you are carrying out an excellent work. I therefore thank you and encourage you to continue your efforts, which represent a practical and effective response to what I wrote in Familiaris Consortio “… The Church cannot fail to call with renewed vigour on the responsibility of all-doctors, experts, married couples-who can actually help married people to live their love with respect for the structure and finalities of the conjugal act which expresses that love. This implies a broader, more decisive and more systematic effort to make the natural and it is still less easy to carry it out because of the intrinsic limitations of the human condition and because of the grave wounds that sin has left within us. Jesus, the Son of the living God (Mt 16:16), made man in Mary’s womb, came into the world to make known to us God’s will, to reveal to us the most profound truths of human existence, and-with his death and resurrection, to which we can associate through faith and the sacraments-to give us the strength to live this teaching. In this consists the new “way”, the new lifestyle that he came to establish and that the Church wishes to, and must, accept without reservations, in order to be the “city on the mountaintop”, the light that shines in the darkness, and point out to men the way toward the authentic goal of their lives, where they will be able to experience joy, unity and true peace, methods of regulating fertility known, respected, and applied” (cf. Familiaris Consortio, 35).
2. We find ourselves faced with an immense task an increasing number of contraceptive methods are invading the world, with the help of large economic means, that are inspired by unavowed motives, from which every respect for man and for his deepest values is absent. The Church courageously puts herself in defence of human love, life, and moral values that are connected with it. There are men of science, courageous and capable, who with patience and competence are slowly discovering ways based on the most careful observation of the characteristics of human sexuality, which are revealed as compatible with the demands of chastity in marriage and capable of fostering a harmonious and serene conjugal life, while still respecting the fundamental principals of the Church.
The work of investigating, perfecting and teaching the natural methods of regulation of fertility is therefore of great importance. For this reason I want to say a word of encouragement to all who work in this field, exhorting them not to cease their investigations. It is necessary that various groups dedicated to this noble work appreciate their respective work and mutually exchange experiences and results, firmly avoiding tensions and disagreements which could threaten so important and difficult a work. Since the conditions of couples are so diverse due to diverse cultures, races, personal situations, etc., it is providential that diverse methods exist, capable of better responding to such diverse situations. Also for this reason it is good that experts in these matters know some of these methods in order to be able to suggest, or even teach, if necessary the most suitable method for a specific couple. The Church, through my word, thanks you for the work you do and encourages you to continue. Without making any particular method her own, she restricts herself to proclaiming the fundamental principles in the matter and encouraging, in the most effective way possible, all those who with generosity and faithfulness to these principles, work to make it possible for these principles to be practically applied.
Little by little, through the silent work of individuals and the living witness of couples and families who live the joy of an experience of Christian love, generous and open to life, the new mankind is being built, to which the Lord has called us as his people, and to which all men – even without knowing it – aspire.
I pray that the Most Holy Virgin abundantly bless your work and your lives. May she grant you some of that infinite respect and that marvellous tenderness that is contained in her maternal heart, that you may be able to promote in the women you assist the formation of as many images of Mary.
With this wish I impart to you from my heart the Apostolic Blessing, which I willingly extend to your loved ones and to all who generously work in the field of the family apostolate.
John Paul II
