Jul 18, 2005 / 22:00 pm
Bishop Samuel J. Aquila, announced today that the Diocese of Fargo will now begin requiring couples preparing for marriage in that diocese to complete courses in Natural Family Planning, the Church’s only accepted form of birth regulation.
Fargo follows the Archdiocese of Denver, which was the first in the country to implement the requirement years ago. The Church, along with almost all other Christian denominations up until a few decades ago, when most dropped off, has continually taught that artificial forms of contraception are immoral, and cause an undue barrier between husband and wife.
According to diocesan spokeswoman Tanya Watterud, couples will receive training in Pope John Paul II’s Theology of the Body “and complete a full course of instruction on an approved method of natural family planning as part of their marriage preparation program.”
“Natural family planning”, she explained, “is the name given to scientifically based methods that allow couples to recognize the times when they are naturally most fertile and, thus, most likely to conceive. The indications of fertility help those who wish to become pregnant know when they are more likely to conceive. Those who wish to delay pregnancy abstain from sexual intimacy on their fertile days.”