In 1965 Bishops Voted 9 to 3 that Artificial Contraception a Not a Sin- Part 1

In 1965 Bishops Voted 9 to 3 that Artificial Contraception a Not a Sin

Posted on March 22, 2011 by RHBill.org

In 1965 a papal commission created by Pope John XXIII voted overwhelmingly to rescind the ban on artificial contraception, saying that it was not “intrinsically evil nor the popes’ previous teachings on it infallible. The commission argued that there was no good theological basis for the ban. It studied the hostory of Catholic teachings on contraception and found that many of the scientific and theological underpinnings of the prohibition on contraception were flawed or outdated.[1] The commission was then joined by a group of 15 bishops who after hearing the evidence voted 9 to 3 (with 3 abstaining) to change the teaching of the church. The official report of the commission said:

• the teaching on birth control was not infallible;
• that the traditional basis for the ban on contraception–the biblical story of Onan, who spilled the seed–had been interpreted incorrectly in the past;
• that the regulation of fertility was necessary for responsible parenthood and could properly be accomplished by intervening between natural processes;
• and, finally that the morality of marriage was not based on “the direct fecundity of each and every particular act,” but on mutual love within the totality of marriage.[2]