CONTRACEPTION BAN Laymen Denounce Church Teaching

Press, Volume CVII, Issue 31504, 19 October 1967, Page 17

CONTRACEPTION BAN Laymen Denounce Church Teaching

(N.Z. Press Association—Copyright) ROME, October 18. , Leaders of the Roman Catholic laity, in a marathon session that ended early today, passed a resolution opposing the Church’s ban on artificial birth control, including contraceptive pills, United Press International reported.

“The choice of the means to prevent a new conception should be left to the conscience of the married couple with due consideration of medical, psychological, economic and sociological insights,” the resolution said.

The statement was a strong denunciation of Church policy which allows only abstinence or the rhythm system as means of preventing conception. The vote was 67 to 21 and it came after hours of bitter debate among leaders of delegations from the 103 nations

attending the world congress of Roman Catholic laymen. The entire body of 2500 laymen attending the congress will vote on the resolution later today. But they were expected to accept the decision of the delegation leaders. Pope Paul, in a sermon to the laymen last Sunday, warned them against intruding into areas of Papal authority. He has said a decision on birth control was his province alone. N.Z.P.A. - Reuter reported that the congress, first since the 1962-65 Vatican Council, took such a liberal course that Pope Paul issued a warning against undermining the authority of the hierarchy. There could not be two hierarchies—one lay and the other clerical—he told the laymen in his sermon. The Pope’s admonition cause the laymen to tone down a draft memorandum to the synod of Bishops, also meeting, calling for a role in the Church’s decision-making machinery. Instead, they asked for the setting up of elected lay bodies to be consulted by local bishops on church work.

Before the council the laity had played a secondary role to the clergy for nearly 400 years. But the council advocated a greater lay participation in the work of the Church such as existed in the early years of Christianity. The synod yesterday discussed the subject of mixed marriages with many of the 200 bishops, from 120 countries, advocating more power

for local bishops to decide in particular cases whether Roman Catholics could marry other than under the present laws.