California Conference of Catholic Bishops

CANFP honored the Bishops of California with the Calegari Award, at the 2008 CANFP Statewide Conference in San Bernardino, in gratitude for the beautiful and inspiring document Married Love and the Gift of Life released by the US Bishops.  Most. Rev. Salvatore Cordileone, the Banquet Speaker for the event, accepted the award on behalf of his brother Bishops, and Board members visited most of the California Bishops personally in the ensuing months to present the award individually.

With appreciation for your wise and caring shepherding, especially as expressed in Married Love and the Gift of Life, a blessing for all Catholics, particularly those called to the vocation of Marriage. Presented with heartfelt gratitude from the California Association of Natural Family Planning.

Married Love and the Gift of Life is a concise, inviting, readable, and attractively packaged statement by the US Catholic Bishops on God’s plan for married love. Approved for release by the full body of Bishops in November 2006, it is, as stated in the document itself:  “an invitation for men and women—-an invitation to let God be God, to receive the gift of God’s love and care, and to let this gift inform and transform us, so we may share that love with each other and with the world”.

Dr. Gregory Polito, presiding over the conference as President of the California Association of Natural Family Planning, described it this way: “This very attractive pamphlet is quite readable, yet clearly and lucidly states God’s plan for marital intimacy. It includes a discussion of how contraception is both morally objectionable and harmful to a couple, and it unabashedly promotes natural family planning as the only way to truly mature and be happy in this most special and blessed of human relationships.” He further expresses the “sincere hope that it will be used as a starting point for many a discussion in families, marriage preparation courses, and parish youth groups.”

Bishop Salvatore Cordileone, Auxiliary Bishop of San Diego (now Archbishop of San Francisco) described the statement as “Good News for Married Lovers” and says “It is truly a pastoral statement which shares the beauty and truth of the Church’s unbroken teaching on responsible parenthood in a positive, inviting way.” He goes on to say “It is my earnest hope that the bishops’ statement will be widely read and serve as a catalyst in the Church for a renewed understanding of the beauty of God’s plan for marriage”.

It is the mission of the California Association of Natural Family Planning to provide assistance to all who seek this truth, and our members stand ready to be of service. Copies of this document in inviting pamphlet form, in both English and Spanish, can be ordered from CANFP.