The figure that 98% of women who have used contraceptives is made up. But never mind that. That number is being used as a weapon against the Catholic church.
The argument essentially goes that wherever 98% or more are gathered in their own name, they’re the new magisterium. They say how can 98 percent of Catholics who have used contraceptives be wrong?
But I also wonder what percentage of Catholics who have used contraceptives think it’s wrong.
I’m sure there are folks who, at one time, used contraceptives but looking back now realize it was wrong.
And I’d bet there are folks right now who currently use contraceptives who are at least conflicted about it or perhaps believe contraceptive is sinful but don’t have the strength to accept the Church’s teaching. So while they may use contraceptives and count among the alleged 98 percent, they actually suspect or actually believe it’s sinful. And don’t think it’s unlikely. I’d guarantee if you asked Catholics about all sorts of sins they’ll have committed them but still believe they’re wrong.
Lusting, coveting, lying, and thieving and all sorts of sins would likely score pretty high on the “have you ever done this” scale. But does that mean we should get rid of prohibitions against such activities?
We are a Church of sinners. Not 98 percent of us. 100 percent of us are sinners. That doesn’t mean there are no sins. It just means we’re all sinners in need of a Church to guide us.
March 12, 2012 at 6:00 pm
Sadly, while the % of those who have used contraception think it's wrong may be high, I would be surprised to find it even near 50%.
March 12, 2012 at 6:12 pm
I know that this doesn't answer your question directly, but a recent study (2/14/12) by the Pew Research center said that 15% of Catholics say that using contraceptives is morally wrong, while 41% say it is morally acceptable.
http://www.people-press.org/2012/02/14/public-divided-over-birth-control-insurance-mandate/2-14-12-4/
March 12, 2012 at 6:34 pm
Alas, I would be counted among that "98"%…well, not if they counted me right now, since I'm post-partum, but either way…I used bc before my conversion, then realized it was wrong and now use NFP. So even though I use–and teach!–NFP, I would "count" as part of a statistic used to bash the Church's position. Shows that this statistic means nothing.
March 12, 2012 at 6:40 pm
I'm in the same boat as gradchica. Pre-conversion, I used BC and it wasn't until my husband and I went through marriage prep and learned NFP that I stopped.
Just throwing this out there, but what if we taught NFP at a much earlier stage than marriage prep? Would that reduce the number of women on the pill in the Church?
March 12, 2012 at 6:50 pm
Teaching NFP before marriage prep—
Would that just confirm the thought in many non-Catholic people's minds that NFP is just "Catholic contraception?"
March 12, 2012 at 6:59 pm
Would that just confirm the thought in many non-Catholic people's minds that NFP is just "Catholic contraception?"
Considering that NFP is also used in order to get pregnant, that particular label doesn't fit.
March 12, 2012 at 7:02 pm
Another blogger and I hosted a series of blog posts called "We are the 98%" (here's the link: http://michelle-endlessstrength.blogspot.com/2012/02/we-are-98.html )
The purpose was to get our stories out there that just because we HAVE USED, it doesn't mean we now think it's right and we explore our attitudes toward sex and contraception before and after conversion.
March 12, 2012 at 8:05 pm
I am the "other blogger" Michelle speaks of and was going to link to our posts as well.
It is enlightening to read the stories linked at our posts: http://theroadhomewv.blogspot.com/2012/02/we-are-98.html
March 12, 2012 at 8:20 pm
I was on the pill (not as a contraceptive,but shouldn't have been on it anyway). I regret that. I now teach NFP. I wasn't Catholic when I was put on the pill, but was on it for the first 2 years of being Catholic (again,not as a contraceptive). But I'd probably count in that stat.
March 12, 2012 at 9:15 pm
Read the whole piece over at the NYT. It's unbelievable. The man should be fired immediately. Is he out of his mind???? We do have such a thing as objective truth! If 99% of the people are wrong about something, they are still WRONG.
March 12, 2012 at 11:27 pm
Difficult as it is (Thank God for anonymous posts), I too will speak up.
I am a Catholic. And probably what you would regard as a conservative one. I go to Mass every Sunday, and at least one during the week. I pray the Divine Office. I am pro-life. I'm not a fan of Womenpriests. I adore Pope Benedict. I have five beautiful children.
I also use contraception. My wife an I have used it, on and off, thoughout our marriage. When we started, I would say I was inadequately chatechised. After a while it becomes a habit. I would like to change. I confess it. I pray about it. I have discussed it with my wife. She takes a different view from me and, as she is the love of my life, I am not about to start trying to threaten her or manipulate her into a change that she does not want to make. After all, she is at home with the 5 kids. She does the heavy lifting in that department.
My point is: this is my problem, not the Church's. And just because I am in a stage of my life where I cannot see a way through my problem without alienating and pushing my wife away, does not mean that the Church is wrong. It certainly does not mean that the Church should agree with me.
I have long learned that it does me no good to try to seek out priests for confession that simply tell me I am doing nothing wrong. The Church does not owe me an easy conscience. What it owes me, and what it gives me is the abundant love and joy of God, miserable sinner that I am.
My sin is a matter between God, my confessor and me. I do not ask the Church to underwrite it, let alone be forced to pay for it.
Once day I will be confirmed to the Church's teaching on contraception. Then I will simply start working on the next ingrained sin in my life.
Pray for me (and please go easy on me in the combox).
March 12, 2012 at 11:59 pm
7:27 is one of the most loving and wise posts I've read in a long, long time. No one responds to threats or manipulation, but to steadfast, patient love. Your wife is blessed to have you in her corner.
March 13, 2012 at 1:02 am
Anon 7:27, I couldn't agree with you more. I am in a similar situation only it is my husband who will not follow the teaching of the Church (he was a practicing Catholic when we married but has since fallen away) and all my efforts to change his mind on this over the years have failed.
Not wanting to break up our marriage or deprive the child we do have of her parents, I've gone along with what he wants, though very reluctantly and not without protest. So technically, I'm one of the 98 percent too but not in the way the media would have you believe.
Neither of us, however, expects the Church to change and even he does not agree with the idea that he or anyone else should be forced to pay for a woman's birth control.
March 13, 2012 at 1:03 am
Kudos to 7:27! A beautiful testament to us slogging our way toward holiness – and to morality not being a matter of percentages and votes.
March 13, 2012 at 2:53 am
Seems like it was only yesterday when the revisionists were attacking the Church for not doing enough to speak out against the Nazis. Well maybe it was because 98% of the Catholics in Germany supported Hitler. You think?
March 13, 2012 at 6:06 am
A philosopher? Basing the morality of an act on the percentage of those who particpate in such activity? He ought to hand back his degree! Anon at 4.27: very well explained. Pray that your wife will be enlightened. You have more freedom in the situation than perhaps you give yourself credit for.
March 13, 2012 at 3:20 pm
7:27, 9:02 I am in a similar situation, only dealing with sterilization. I'll pray for you. Please do the same for me.
March 14, 2012 at 3:53 am
Why does anyone take a statistic thrown out there as the gospel truth, banter it around so that it takes on a life of its own, and thus makes it more entrenched in the American psyche? 98% of Catholic women use contraceptives is akin to an urban legend. Consider the source of this data is a pro-contraception/abortion organization that wants to undermine the Catholic Church to achieve its objectives. Numbers/statistics can be incredibly manipulated to achieve a certain outcome.
The study from which this 98% originated excluded all Catholic women except those of childbearing age, who were sexually active, and avoiding pregnancy. Abstaining women, those trying to become pregnant, those who don't care one way or another, those too young or too old, etc. did not qualify. Yet, the conclusion becomes generalized to ALL Catholic women use contraception. Do you see the problem?
March 14, 2012 at 4:36 am
What if 98% of us were ever DRUNK….(in our youth) does that make it ok?
What if 98% of us had ever LIED, is that ok now too?
What if 98% of us had ever missed MASS on purpose, is that ok now too?
What is 98% of us ever went a full year with going to confession , is that ok now too?
and finally
What if 98% of us think the philosophy professor at the University of Notre Dame an idiot, is that ok now too?
March 15, 2012 at 4:20 am
Anon. @ 7.27 … bless you.