In his apostolic exhoration Amoris Laetitia, Pope Francis said that: "From the outset, love refuses every impulse to close in on itself; it is open to a fruitfulness that draws it beyond itself. Hence no genital act of husband and wife can refuse this meaning, even when for various reasons it may not always in fact beget a new life."
"So he's been absolutely clear," Grabowski said.
One of his predecessors, Pope John Paul II, also taught extensively that contraception is not only a violation of natural law, but of sexuality and marriage as revealed to humanity through Scripture, Grabowski noted.
"So if this is a truth entrusted to the Church in revelation, then the Church has no authority to change it," he said.
Moreover, scientific data does little to prove that contraception is truly what's "right for women" as Gates has said, Grabowski added.
"I'd start with physical health - even current low-dose oral contraceptives are a Class 1 carcinogen, they significantly raise women's chances of suffering from heart attack, stroke, pulmonary embolism. There's all kinds of health risks associated with most contraceptives," he said.
"So, good for women? The data doesn't support that," he said.
Instead of contraception, the Church proposes various methods of fertility awareness, or Natural Family Planning, to help families plan their children in such a way that does not separate the procreative and unitive aspects of sex.
While these methods have been effective in developing countries where it is taught and promoted well, the Church could do yet more to support people who want to follow Church teaching, Grabowski noted.
"Could the Church doing a better job of talking about these methods of fertility awareness and their benefit? Absolutely," he said.
"We've got a culture that is promoting and empowering contraception and the Church (needs to) articulate a clear enough alternative with a vision and how we can realize it."
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Mary Farrow worked as a staff writer for Catholic News Agency until 2020. She has a degree in journalism and English education from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.