Australia’s bishops release pastoral letter on Natural Fertility Methods

(Nov.24, 2009): The Australian bishops' conference released a pastoral letter highlighting the benefit of natural fertility methods for married couples. A communiqué released on Monday said the letter, titled "God's Gift of Life and Love," was first published in 1995 by the conference's Committee for the Family and for Life. It said the bishops' Commission for Pastoral Life decided to mark the 40th anniversary of "Humane Vitae", by updating the pastoral letter with a new format. The document noted that in the past 40 years, a number of developments have occurred refining natural fertility methods to a high degree of reliability.
In the letter's introduction, the commission's chairman, Bishop Eugene Hurley of Darwin, called all Catholics in Australia to a renewed appreciation of the sacredness of married love . He explained that it is only within the context of a deeper understanding of the meaning of married love that we can fully appreciate the Church's teaching on the transmission of life. The letter concluded with an appeal to all the faithful to do all that is within their means to affirm the life-giving nature of married love, and to foster a climate, which will give credence to the Church's teaching on the sacredness of married love and its openness to the transmission of life.