Birth Control and Catholicism: Lesson for LDS and Same Sex Marriage

[Jim Swarthout]

Here's an interesting op-ed piece from the New York Times discussing the outrage many Catholics felt 40 years ago when the Pope condemned use of the Pill.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/27/op...ml?ref=opinion

I think that there may be parallels to learn from this Catholic experience regarding Mormonism and Same Sex Marriage:

1. The rank and file will eventually determine that the position is out of sync with its hopes and desires and will chose to disobey the position;
2. The hierarchy will fill its ranks with only those who support the unpopular position;
3. But the unpopular position will not precipitate the much-predicted downfall of the institution;
4. Pope Paul VI's warning that artificial birth control “could open wide the way for marital infidelity and a general lowering of moral standards" sounds much like the LDS justification against same sex marriage. Depending on your perspective, Pope Paul VI's warning could be prophetic; and
5. To paraphrase one respondent to the NY Times piece, the church’s opposition to same sex marriage pits two drives against each other: the drive to be an obedient follower and the drive to be a good neighbor. I think the latter should trump the former.