This is something the typical American does not want to discuss. Father Marx writes that in 95 percent of the 600 parishes at which he has preached, people have told him that he is the first priest they have ever heard speak of contraception or sterilization from the pulpit. Father Marx points to the admissions of many abortionists. For many years I have taught a course on the history of contraception. Now over 5,000 years of recorded history, all contraceptive societies become abortive societies.
Contraception leads inevitably to abortion and abortion always leads to the destruction of society.
On one occasion, however, I was late, the plane was waiting, and I was the last one to board. As I confronted the hostile faces turned toward this dumb and tardy priest, I quipped, 'The last shall be first and the first shall be last,' and tension disappeared. Interestingly enough, Father Marx survived one plane crash near Rolla, North Dakota, and he missed his scheduled flight on the ill-fated Pan Am flight 103, which went on to explode over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing everyone on board. For anyone who wishes to know what has transpired in the international pro-life movement over the last 30 years, Father Marx provides an excellent, revealing chronicle. Michael S. Rose is editor of St. Catherine Review and St. Joseph Messenger in Cincinnati, Ohio.