NFP As Part of Diocesan Marriage Prep

An intro to NFP became a prerequisite for marriage in the Diocese of San Jose circa 1982, after (then) Bishop DuMaine met with community leaders who advocated for the importance of NFP, and pledged to support the Catholic Church in promoting this safe, effective and morally acceptable means of family planning to engaged couples preparing to receive the sacrament of marriage in the Catholic Church.

Under the heading of Natural Family Planning there are many modern methods, none of which should be confused with the oldest NFP method known as the Calendar Rhythm. The Ovulation Method Creighton Model System (CrMS), one of these modern methods of NFP, is a reliable and standardized method which has many advantages, including the identification of biological markers that are essential to understanding a woman’s health and fertility. The CrMS may be used in any stage of a woman’s reproductive life (regular, and irregular cycles, breastfeeding, etc.); there are no side effects, it’s medically safe, inexpensive, effective (99.5% perfect use), and it’s ethical and morally acceptable to all faiths. Scientific studies prove that infertile couples using the CrMS have improved outcomes in obtaining their long awaited pregnancies. The Catholic Church understands the importance of the “theology of the body” which reveals “the invisible in a visible manner”. Since the implementation of the requirement to attend the NFP session, prior to marriage, I have been pleased to see the benefits engaged couples have experienced. They have been empowered with the knowledge of how God designed their bodies and developed increased awareness of abnormalities in the menstrual cycles. Our faith encourages couples to implement morally acceptable means of NFP because they abide by the church’s teachings in that they don’t destroy sperm or ovum and do allow the natural process of the transmission of life in a safe and healthy manner when married couples unite as one and become co-creators with God. NFP allows couples to share in responsible parenthood,  in mind, body and spirit. It has been over thirty years since Bishop DuMaine implemented the prerequisite for engaged couples to attend an Introductory Session to NFP, establishing the Diocese of San Jose as a model program in promoting NFP awareness. The Introductory Session is offered in both group and private sessions, and couples receive a certificate of completion upon attending. The diocese offers three sessions per month, two in English and one in Spanish. Each class has a capacity of 15 – 25 couples, who each pay a fee of $60 to attend. During this two hour session, couples become aware that there are scientific methods of family planning which are completely NATURAL and TRUSTWORTHY, that respect their mutual fertility, and that can be used successfully to both achieve as well as postpone a pregnancy. After the NFP intro session, couples wanting to continue the learning process have the option to purchase a registration packet so that they can begin personalized instruction through private follow-up sessions, which are provided for a minimal fee of $40 per follow-up. The Chancery of the Diocese of San Jose currently employs two bilingual Certified FertilityCare Practitioners, Dolores Moreno, CFCP and Jenny Perez, CFCP, who see it as their mission to inform as many couples as possible how to take control of their fertility without the use of harmful chemicals, devices or surgery and as couples, to “Discover…What every couple needs to know…What every woman has a right to know.”