Pastoral Insights from England

Assessing the state of NFP in the Catholic Church in Great Britain, I would first of all look at the state of marriage and marriage preparation. In the past 30 years there has been an approximate 70 -80% reduction in church marriages, thereby greatly reducing the opportunity to promote NFP to newly married couples. Of the marriages that do take place within the church the opportunity to teach NFP in its holistic vocational and sacramental context is further reduced by the fact that about 50% of the clergy do not really believe in Humanae Vitae and of the other 50% at least half show no intention of promoting it in any practical way. (Even when NFP teachers are locally available). Overall, a generous estimate amongst the overall Catholic childbearing population of those who consider or practice NFP would be about 10%.

However, I see seeds of hope, evidenced by couples who are invariably involved in groups and new movements that have sprung up over the years, covering a wide spectrum of faith expression ranging from charismatic to traditional, yet sharing one common denominator; fully orthodox catholic faith.

As a parish priest who is heavily involved in evangelisation, I offer a broader sweep of where the future lies which goes way beyond the practice of NFP and touches the heart of Catholic practice in general. It all starts with conviction and certainty in the person of Jesus Christ. My experience in evangelisation has shown me that the greater majority of practicing Catholics do not have a conviction that Jesus is truly God made man and the way the truth and the life. If this is the case, then faith will be vague and the sovereignty of God in your life will also be vague. A corresponding belief in the church He founded and the teachings it proposes will also be weak and vague and there is very little likelihood that any notice will be taken on what the church teaches in the most challenging of areas concerning the sacredness of sex and sexuality. If, on the other hand, a person has that conviction and certainty in Jesus Christ and a living relationship that flows from it, then they will want to live their lives in a response of love and truth in all areas, especially the gift of our sexuality through which we express the deepest aspects of ourselves as made in the image and likeness of God. NFP would then be a willingly embraced vital component to live our lives for Christ in truth and integrity.