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Upcoming Ottawa Conference on Contraception and Humanae Vitae Will Address Social Consequences of Birth Control

By Gudrun Schultz and John-Henry Westen

OTTAWA, Ontario, March 10, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Rosarium, a new Catholic organization dedicated to increasing respect for life in Canada, is hosting a May 2006 conference in Ottawa that will discuss the value and beauty of Christian teaching on sexuality and the negative social impact of contraception.

The conference, called “Humanae Vitae 2006 – A New Beginning,” took shape in the context of Pope Paul VI’s 1968 encyclical Humanae Vitae.

“The first thing we aim to do is to highlight and celebrate the beauty and dignity of the human body and the act of natural conjugal love as God had intended it,” John Pacheco, who co-founded The Rosarium in August of 2003, told LifeSiteNews.

“And the second is to point out the dangers and harm that contraception has inflicted upon our culture. Everything from morality, to family disintegration, to the loss of the dignity of women, to the serious health consequences of contraceptives will be addressed.”

Mr. Pacheco said the conference name “A New Beginning” reflects the need to begin looking at the cause of social ills, in particular abortion and same-sex “marriage,” instead of simply concentrating on addressing the problems. That cause, he believes, is contraception and the “contraception mentality.” 

“In the case of same-sex ‘marriage’, for instance, if a society accepts the notion that contraceptive sex is licit, then whether it’s a heterosexual couple or a homosexual couple, they are both committing the same moral act: an act closed to human life. In short, sterilized sex.”

“In the case of abortion, the statistics don’t lie. Where contraception is introduced, abortions skyrocket because we foster a mentality of ‘no’ to human life. When a couple is consciously prohibiting the conception of human life through artificial means, they have made a conscious decision to reject life. When a pregnancy results, this ‘mentality of no’ does not magically go away. More often than not, people simply follow through on the ‘no’ they started when they had sex, and seek abortion.”

Held at Ottawa’s Lansdowne Park May 12-14, the conference will feature author and lecturer Dr. Janet Smith, an expert on contraception issues and the teachings of Humanae Vitae, along with other noted speakers on life issues.

Conference organizers emphasize that the material will have universal significance for all Christians and “people of good will.” Theological differences will not be a factor, since the issues discussed will encompass basic morality, science and other disciplines.

To visit the conference website, go to:
http://therosarium.ca/

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