The outcry about the bishops being against the obama mandate re. contraception is the premise that 98% of the Catholic women use birth control. The liberal left's thinking is that since they abide by this percentage as fact, the Church should just cave. Although I'm pretty sure that is a contrived number, the sad fact remains that many Catholics do use birth control.
The Church's stance on abortion and contraception is clear, however, as a radio talk show host put it , perhaps there is a lack of education coming forth from the pulpit, otherwise how do you explain this?
My husband and I met in a Catholic singles group and around the time we married, another couple was planning their wedding. We mentioned something about natural family planning to the prospective groom immediately ranted, "I'm not letting any old man in a dress living in Rome tell me how I plan my life!" We were shocked because the guy and his fiance were, to all outward signs, 'good', 'practicing' Catholics. Was he just interested in the convenience of contraception, regardless of Church rules or didn't he know that it wasn't just a whim of the 'old man in Rome' but an attack on babies and marriage.
Another time, we were talking to a brother-in-law and mentioned something about abortion. The brother-in-law, also a practicing Catholic, said, "Well, the Church is okay with abortion up until three months, right?" When we told him the truth, he was surprised that no one had ever told him that before.
According to my understanding, the reason priests don't often preach on this subject is that they are supposed to base the sermon on the Gospel and Readings of the day. Seems to me that you can draw something from most any Scripture that can be tied into the sanctify of life, sacredness of marriage, and obedience to the Church. Perhaps, it isn't alway quite feasible but given the increase in attacks on the Church, it should be brought up early and often.
It isn't enough to have Pope Paul VI's Humane Vitae as part of the Church's library of life, it should also be required teaching and conversation in every aspect of Catholic schools and from the pulpit. After all, you can't defend your Faith if you don't know your Faith.
An evangelist friend once told me that soon it would have to be the laity bringing the Word of God and instruction to the people as it won't be coming from the pulpit. He told me this over 15 years ago and it is almost a fulfillment of a 'prophecy' today.
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