Freedom An interview with the Rev. Chrizostom., archbishop of Vilnus and Lithuania on the problem of abortion and contraception. The interviewers were the late Andrei Popov , former director of the Russian branch of the International Institute for Research on the family, and Alina Zhvinklene, candidate of philosophy. The issues discussed here have become even more pressing and we think the archbishop's views will illuminate the complex problem of the relationship between the church and the ideas of family planning. The main problem in implementing these programs is, on the one hand, shaping a sense of personal responsibility for one's reproductive choices, and on the other hand, the creation by society and government of the socio-economic conditions that make personal choice possible. The very existence of the problem stems in part from the population's negative attitudes to modern birth control, and we consider the church to be one of the sources for shaping and preserving these negative stereotypes.
Family planning is today one of the world's most acute issues.
In the developing countries the birth rate is high and so too is mother and infant mortality due to low living standards. In the rich countries with high living standards we see a low birth rate. Yet the problem of birth control is universal, and its solution lies in overcoming human egoism. Our present day understanding of the injustice in the distribution of earthly goods stems at least from the French Revolution when people's egoistic motivations stimulated them to want to redistribute wealth and reestablish justice. So right up to now poverty and wealth exist side by side.