Harrison Butker College Graduation Speech

[peregrinator]

"ie: having sex intentionally to not procreate is wrong( heterdoxy)"

This statement is incorrect. Catholics are allowed to calculate their infertile days and have sex to avoid getting pregnant as well as to avoid the days calculated to be fertile for the same reason.

To exclude procreation entirely would be wrong - the primary end of the marital act is procreation. That doesn't mean that's the only reason for it but it does mean that one can't exclude it entirely.

[Doom]

"ie: having sex intentionally to not procreate is wrong( heterdoxy)"

This statement is incorrect. Catholics are allowed to calculate their infertile days and have sex to avoid getting pregnant as well as to avoid the days calculated to be fertile for the same reason.

To exclude procreation entirely would be wrong - the primary end of the marital act is procreation. That doesn't mean that's the only reason for it but it does mean that one can't exclude it entirely.

And I feel the need to point out that if for one reason or another (perhaps because they got married after the woman has gone through menopause), a couple is unable to have children, it doesn't invalidate the union either. This is the stupid strawman justification that people give for contraception "Well what if a couple is infertile, then you are saying they aren't allowed to have sex", nope, that is dumb and dishonest.

[Kage_ar]

It's true that the Church doesn't require that one have a certain number of children. But I don't think using NFP to avoid conception is justified simply because "now is not the perfect time to conceive" (this is distinct from "now is not a good time to conceive because our finances aren't good") or "we have our full complement of children, thanks" (this is distinct from "we want more children but we just can't do it now between finances, illness, danger to health from pregnancy"). Do people have a right to judge other couples because of how many children they have? Of course not - but every couple using NFP to avoid needs to examine their consciences to make sure they are doing things rightly.

Exactly. This is why the Church says "serious reasons" instead of "just any ole reason", however, with boots on the ground, I cannot imagine someone wanting to exercise the self control, to go through the times when you have to say "no" to the marital embrace, just for grins and giggles. It takes serious reasons to be able to lovingly embrace those times IMHO.