The Catholic times. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1951-current, 1958-08-29
JOSEPH BREIC-
Uses of Sex
And Catholics

J. When will the modern world recover from its
sickness over sex? Il
The immediate occasion for the question is a
disagreement that broke out recently in New York
between Catholics on the one hand, and many Protest
ants and Jews on the other.
The debate was touched off when the commits
sioner of hospitals refused to allow a physician to
prescribe and fit a contraceptlve device TO a patent
in a city owned hospital. n
Catholics upheld the commissioner, and urged
that the city government retain the "unWritten
policy which he followed.
JEWiSH NJ Protestant leaders and organlza-
tons advocated reversal of both the decision and
the policy. They alleged that Catholics were trying to
impose their moral code on others.
Surely the truth is that if Catholics are not free
to defend a moral position, then it is they who find
somebody else's convictions forced upon them.
City-owned hospitals are unsupported. Catholics
pay taxes. They object to use of public money for
purpose condemned as grossly immoral. They do not
wish to be made to contribute, against their con-
sciences and will, to such a purpose.
That much, it seems to me, ought to be easy for
anybody to underStand.
But THE MATTER goes much deeper. | am
afraid that many of our fellow-citizens do not realize
how revolving artificial birth-prevention is to Catho-
lies. We detest even talking about it, and wish other
Americans would stop making it necessary to do SO.
Contraceptives debase the husband-wife relation
ship, which ought to be morally and spiritually elevat-
ing, to a level lower than the bestials
We did not create ourselves. We were made by
God in His image and likeness. He gave us our facul-
ties for His service, the service of felloWmen, and our
perfection in holiness.
Speech, for instance, is given for such uses as
alteration, thanksgiving, petition; for communicating
truth, comforting the afflicted, instructing the I'M
learned, evoking soul-healing laughter.
WILL ANYONE except a degenerate deny that
a human being degrades himself and insults his
Creator when he uses his tongue for blasphemy, for
obscenity, for malicious gossip and character assassi-
nation, for defrauding the trusting, for seducing the
innocent, for falsehood?
To speak so is to cheat God. 1t is to pervert a
gift He gave for love of us.
The power of eating and drinking for another
example, is given so that we will nourish our bodies.
In our day of dietetic science, we understand this
very well.
NO ONE NEEDS be told how vile was the prac-
tice of the pagan Romans, who invented the vomi-
forum for hoggish indulgence, Selling upon the plea
sure of eating while frustrating its God-given pur-
pose.
Sex, too, is given to us for noble uses. And con-
traceptives are to sex what lies and malice are to the
tongue, what the vomitorium was to nourishment. To
deny this is to blind oneself to truth.
Marriage is given to men and women so that
in sacred love they may joyously serve God, uplift
fer the noble offices of father and mother
AS HUSBAND AND WIFE, and as parents, a
man and woman learn together the profound mean
ings of love both human and divine. And with God
they co-create new immortal beings destined for
eternity with God.
If Catholics did not love their f%ellowmen, they
could shrug off the public promotion of filth such
as contraception. They could say: LET people wallow:
Let them destroy their happiness and the image OF
God in each other"
survival of decent society, which cannot stand save
on the foundation of good marriages.
Least of all can Catholics be careless about Gods
rights.