Hello,
"Some of you
might remember me from the old messageboard, and I'm here briefly to
report on a few interesting developments regarding the Melkite-Greek
Catholic Church. A few months ago, I posted Melkite Bishop John
Elya's evaluation of his church's position on contraception, which
can be found in the Q & A forum on the Melkite Church's website.
Here it is in its entirety:
http://www.melkite.org/bishopQA.htm
Birth
Control: How do Melkites view birth control?
Bishop John's
Answer: In response to your question, let me say that as Melkite
Catholics, we freely embrace the moral teachings of the One Catholic
Church of the East as of the West. We find that our own traditions
support the teachings of the Church in ways that add to our
celebration of faith.
Since Pope Paul VI promulgated the
encyclical Humanae vitae in 1968, volumes have been written by way
of response. In the last few years, the wisdom of his words has
become more and more apparent. In our Melkite celebration of
marriage, we begin by praying with the Psalmist that the couple
might one day "see their children's children like olive branches
around their table." This poetic language captures the fundamental
values of both the unitive and procreative aspects of the
sacramental marital union. Just prior to crowning the couple, the
priest prays that the Father will stretch forth his hand and make
the two one in flesh granting them fair children for education in
the faith and fear of God. The symbol of the marriage crown speaks
to the glory and honor of their chaste love that is seen as a
sublime gift from the Father. Our liturgy proclaims the truths of
marital love that is rich in meaning and challenge.
You
might agree that we live in a culture that presents great challenge
to Christian couples as they live out their commitments to one
another in marriage. Human sexuality is poorly appreciated in our
modern culture. In Humanae vitae, the Pope writes: "every action
which, whether in anticipation of the conjugal act, or in its
accomplishment, or in the development of its natural consequences,
proposes, whether as an end or as a means, to render procreation
impossible is intrinsically evil." This moral teaching poses a true
challenge to many in our modern culture. We hope to deal with the
issues with compassion and truth. Anything less detracts from
God-given values.
In his recent writings, Pope John Paul II
has emphasized the fundamental value of the Christian family as a
microcosm of the church itself. The theological insights of the Holy
Father deserve the serious consideration of every serious Christian
as we search for the fullest meaning of married life. I recommend
that you read what is contained in The Catechism of the Catholic
Church: Nos. 2368-2371. God bless you."
Evidently, the
language in Bishop Elya's reply (Pope John Paul II's "theological
insights" deserve "the *serious consideration* of every serious
Christian", "I *recommend* that you read what is contained in the
Catechism of the Catholic Church") was too equivocal, for the Bishop
recently amended his reply with the following passage:
"Our
Church teaching is the same as that of the whole Catholic Church
throughout the world that faithful Christians may not make use of
any artificial means of contraception." Bishop Elya goes on to
endorse NFP, which he characterizes as "natural methods" for married
couples "who would like to 'plan' their children's birth."
Here's the link to Bishop Elya's recent response, for those
of you who wish to read the complete text:
http://www.melkite.org/PRIMER.htm#Contraception
I will follow this post with another post which reflects
the dissenting view of an esteemed Melkite theologian.
John
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