Catholic Church and Birth Control

Rob asks:
Why does the roman Catholic Church refuse accept the use of birth control. I beleive that is a major disservice to all the people on the planet. Overpopulating our great earth is a serious issue, that needs to be addressed.

Rob, the official church teaching on birth control, as I understand it, is a part of a consistent commitment to preserving life and the openness to its possibilities. Preventing conception with any type of contraception is prohibited based on this principle. Also prohibited: abortions, the death penalty, and suicide.

I think what you're also asking here is why the church would have this type of a policy when in some cases it seems to lead to more human misery rather than less. To be fair to the church, I think that they want to maintain consistency of thought and teaching, and are idealists who want to encourage people to only have sex within the bounds of marriage and only when they are ready for children. I don't think their intention is to create human misery or to force people to have unwanted children.

The church also teaches that there is a "unitive" dimension of having sex--i.e. it brings people closer together emotionally and spiritually. My own opinion is that this dimension is equally important and relevant, and can be an independent motive for having sex, without the need for openness to having children. As you say, it's important when acting on these ideas to keep in mind the practical consequences of refusing people birth control--overpopulation, unwanted children, etc.