Reimagining the Discipleship of Marriage Through the Lens of Mark: A Theological Reflection for Bioethical Decision-Making on Contraception in Catholic Healthcare and Marital Life

Abstract

Mark 10:13–16, interpreted within the broader context of the Gospel of Mark, using a moral exegetical framework, provides a lens for what welcoming the children refers to in sacramental marital discipleship. Building upon the narrative ethics of Mark, the words and deeds of Jesus, magisterial teachings and writings allow these verses to be reimagined to unveil an interpretation and a praxis for marital and moral life. Accepting the gift of a child in the natural order paves the way for discipleship and ushers in the kingdom of God. Just as Jesus welcomed the children, parents are called to welcome them through unhindered conjugal love. These reflections form a Catholic theology of married life and sexuality and a theology of children that the couple shares with Christ's thoughts and actions.

And people were bringing children to him that he might touch them, but the disciples rebuked them.¹³ When Jesus saw this he became indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not prevent them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.¹⁴ Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it.”¹⁵ Then he embraced them and blessed them, placing his hands on them¹⁶ (Mark 10:13–16).

Introduction

In contemporary life, the contraceptive controversy persists as a deeply personal issue with ramifications in political, legal, medical, and religious forums. Contraception in marriage remains an ongoing bioethical issue for Catholics. While secular views on contraception changed radically with the decline of religious influence, the sexual revolution of the 1960s, and the advent of medical innovations and oral contraceptives, especially the pill, there is consistent clarity in the magisterial writings over time about the impermissibility of contraception and its relationship to marriage, family formation, and healthcare.

The significance of the biblical scripture as the Word of God lies in its truth and ability to be extrapolated throughout the ages. The Markan Gospel on the invitation to discipleship through the advent of the kingdom of God in the person of Jesus Christ illustrates the relevance of biblical studies to the theology of marital discipleship. Limitations in new exegesis and studies have left a gap in understanding what Mark and Jesus are calling one to do in marital discipleship. Specifically, Mark 10:13–16, interpreted within the broader context of the Gospel of Mark using a moral exegetical framework, provides a lens for what welcoming the children refers to in sacramental marital discipleship. Building upon the narrative ethics of Mark, the words and deeds of Jesus, magisterial teachings, and writings allow these verses to be reimagined to unveil a praxis for marital and moral life. Accepting the gift of a child in the natural order paves the way for discipleship and ushers in the kingdom of God. As Jesus welcomed children, parents are called to welcome them through unhindered conjugal love. These reflections form a Catholic theology of married life and sexuality and a theology of children that the couple shares with Christ's thoughts and actions.

The Context of Mark in the Canonical Literature

Understanding the interpretation of “The Blessing of the Children” in Mark 10:13–16 requires considering the Gospels and Mark's place in them. The four Gospels of the New Testament canon, the story of the entry of God's relationship with humanity through his son Jesus Christ, tells the account of the restoration of the kingdom of God. Senior (1992, 48⁾ claims, “Every New Testament scholar would agree that the central theme of Jesus’ ministry was the kingdom of God.” In his words and deeds, Jesus invites humankind to respond to the possibility of a relationship with him and the Father through the Spirit and to enter the kingdom through discipleship. Overberg (2006, 6⁾ agrees that for Christians the Bible is the most important source for understanding what it means to be truly human. Historical models of human beings who have realized the full potentialities of mature human nature assist in this assessment. According to Ashley, Deploy, and O’Rourke (2007, 40⁾ not everyone will agree on choosing a model but Jesus Christ is certainly the noblest historical figure.

In the Gospels, explicit moral teachings, stories, symbols, and social structures reveal the ethos of the people at that time. Each Gospel possessed a message for their immediate audience. For instance, Matthew methodically wrote an apologetic to the Jews and Gentiles to show that Jesus is king and the fulfillment of Old Testament scripture. Luke wrote to the Jews and Gentiles who rejected Jesus by emphasizing Jesus as a man. John's central message used direct teaching to stress the divinity of Jesus, who has been God for all time. The once-ignored Markan Gospel (Strauss 2017) portraying Jesus as a servant has now been elevated to the most popular Synoptic for scholars in the twentieth century and the most reliable historical source of the historical Jesus (Johnson 2010, 144), although it is deeply symbolic as well (Deppe 2018).

Similar to the other Synoptic gospels the overarching theme of the Gospel of Mark is the introduction of the kingdom of God through Jesus Christ (Dwyer 1995, 52). Mark's theological intention in the guise of a mystery narrative represents the partial restoration of how God intended relationships for all time. Jesus restored the order of things; the divine plan begun in the Garden of Eden, altered by the fall and regained through Jesus’ death and resurrection. In his account, Mark is primarily concerned with how those who want to follow Jesus must be profoundly changed (The Theology of Work Project 2016) by accepting the kingdom of God as a child. His narrative serves as both a medium and a message of discipleship. Through its apocalyptic symbolism for the past, present, and future, the early Christians of Rome, who formed Mark's original audience in the persecuted time of Emperor Nero and future generations are given much food for thought, action, and faith that could change one's world.

The Structure of the Gospel of Mark

Mark's literary genius finds expression in a new literary form called “Gospel.” As the now-recognized oldest Gospel, Mark belongs to the biblical narrative genre, resonating with Old Testament prophetic narratives that weave together diverse traditions, including the Old Testament, to create a unified story of the saving significance of the public life, death, and raising of Jesus of Nazareth” (Donahue and Harrington 2005, 16).

Moloney (2002, 336⁾ comments,

The simplicity of the literary structure, combined with the depth of the dramatic irony used to proclaim the truth of Jesus, Christ, King and Son of God on the cross, reflect a finely tuned Christian author. The figure that created literary history by inventing the literary form “gospel” did more than edit the received tradition. The narrative has prepared the reader for the Gospel's climax: that much-anticipated account of the resurrection of Jesus.

Some features that are distinctive to Mark include his plot, his writing style featuring the use of repetition, and the interrelated themes of wonder, discipleship, and the kingdom of God.

Mark's plot, known as the “messianic secret,” depicts Jesus as the suffering Son of Man and Son of God known to demons, angels, and the animals that ministered to him in the desert but ironically he was not seen by his disciples! Just as the true meaning of the parables Jesus used to teach was concealed and not understood, the marginal characters of Mark's Gospel—the blind, the centurion, and the children—could see Jesus for who he was. As a suffering servant Jesus took up his cross to enter the kingdom of God. Parker (2009, 14⁾ notes that Mark's portrait of Jesus emphasizes the cross and suffering of Jesus and that the most striking element of Mark's portrayal of Jesus is the difficulty the disciples have in understanding who Jesus is. Jesus is repeatedly rejected by the Jews and his hometown, his disciples, and Peter who is the new foundation of his church.

Wonder, an exclusive and effective theme in Mark, repeatedly characterized the people's reactions to the mystery of Jesus and his words and deeds (Dwyer 1995, 57). Wonder was a sign that the kingdom of God had come (Dwyer 1995, 57). Markan discipleship changed preconceived notions about the nature of the kingdom and what it meant to follow Jesus. The totality of the kingdom is that in which one participates in the divine life of God.

Mark's mystery-style narrative creates a sense of power and wonder as Jesus’ identity unfolds in parables of blindness and slowly restored sight found in Mark 8:22–26 and 10:46–52 (Senior and Collins 2006), culminating in his recognition by a Roman centurion as Jesus dies on the cross (Mark 15:39). The entire gospel serves to develop Mark's view of discipleship, the true nature of Jesus, and the mystery of the hidden kingdom of God embodied and inaugurated in Jesus. Mark intentionally shapes the image of Jesus according to a pattern of suffering and service to others and shows that discipleship follows the same pattern.

Whatever the first readers knew of the life-story of Jesus of Nazareth was subverted by the Markan story. They were not familiar with this plot: Jesus’ presence in Galilee, his single journey to Jerusalem to be rejected, tried, and crucified, the resurrection, and the surprising silence of the women. It saw the light of day for the first time when Mark invented it. It is this radical newness of the Markan story, which must be kept in mind. It is an original way of telling the story of Jesus, and its author must be credited with any equally original rationale for plotting the story in this way (Moloney 2002, 16–17).

Mark 10:13–16 Narrative Ethics and the Moral Imagination: A Reimagined Hermeneutic for Marital Praxis

The Old Testament is firmly in favor of procreation and against contraception. Children are to be welcomed, not rejected (Salza 2024). However, no biblical passage in any of the gospels comments on contraception. Just as it does not discuss most bioethical issues its fundamental themes of love and discipleship call for a response to the challenges of life that is consistent with basic Christian convictions. The narrative ethics paradigm provides a context for understanding bioethical issues and the Markan pericope.

The literary genre of Mark was the narrative eschatological story of Jesus of Nazareth. Narratives are models of human nature and pose moral questions. Narratives serve as an analytical tool for entering another person's life and moving toward a greater understanding of human life and transformation (Adams 2008, 175). The Markan narrative offers a framework for entering divine life by weaving the story of Jesus Christ, who teaches people what it means to be fully human and live as his disciples. Moral life replaces personal predilection and proffers the possibility of participating in divine life by entering the kingdom of God.

In concert with the narrative ethics framework the moral imagination paradigm is a complementary tool for exegesis. Dulles (1977) invites all into the exegetical process. He posits that if the Bible is to speak to us today, its meaning must be moderated through other authorities—the exegete, the pastor, or the believing community. The National Catholic Education Commission concurs that everyone can and should engage in exegesis, theological reflection, and what the Holy Spirit might ask one to do. These postulates provide a good starting point for analyzing the Markan pericope.

Spohn (2006, 50⁾ also convincingly argues for imagination's role in solving bioethical problems. He claims that imagination enables people of all times to envision gracefully and morally the behavior of Jesus, who allows the kingdom of God to break into everyday life, not through laws but through concrete conversations, confrontations, and the choices of actual people. He viewed the genuine discipline of moral theology as an action that requires imagination which could pave the way for faithful Christian ethics creatively. Mark's Gospel, written as a resource for ethical behavior, can be interpreted in an imaginative way that offers an authentic worldview of marital discipleship. Welcoming children into marriage invites wonder and initiates entry into the kingdom as the two in unitive and procreative mystery become one flesh.

And people were bringing children to him that he might touch them, but the disciples rebuked them.¹³ When Jesus saw this he became indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not prevent them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.¹⁴ Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it.”¹⁵ Then he embraced them and blessed them, placing his hands on them¹⁶ (Mark 10:13–16).

When one reads or hears the story of welcoming the children in the Synoptic gospels also found in Matthew 19:13–15 and Luke: 18:15–17, relatively simple explanations come to mind. The traditional exegesis of this Markan passage has been relatively literal. The children are considered sinless and innocent. One must become “childlike” to enter the kingdom of God. In the 1st century C.E., the children's “littleness” was mistaken for insignificance (Howard and Peabody 1998, 1354). In the social context of the text, a child was seen as a symbol of innocence and humility, without legal status, and therefore helpless as marginal people. Children had the lowest status (Barton and Muddiman 2001, 907). They were perceived as vulnerable, dependent, lowly, and powerless (Oderinde 2015). In these verses, however, Jesus admonishes his disciples and others when they hesitate to bring the children to him. In rebuking them, Jesus reinforces his own words of acceptance of the children through three powerful actions: He embraces them, blesses them, and lays his hands on them. Jesus negates the children's marginality and tells his disciples that they, too, must become like the receptive children to enter the kingdom; humility is the foundation for the people of God to enter the kingdom of God (Wiryadinata 2018, 87). The New Jerome Biblical Commentary notes that the disciples serve as a foil to Jesus’ positive teaching of the kingdom ultimately about the kingdom of God and the type of people who can expect to be part of it (Harrington 1990, 615). This discipleship is marked by service and receptivity (Moloney 2002, 197). There can be no barriers to getting to Jesus.

These passages offer a symbolic and imaginative worldview of spousal discipleship by adding an important dimension to understanding Jesus’ teachings about the kingdom of God (Donahue and Harrington 2005, 301). The welcoming of the children is more than a metaphor; it initiates social change, in this case, by turning the social structures of inequality upside down (Spitaler 2009, 425). These verses are more than just an analogy; all are little children. All disciples are called to welcome children into their lives. Children's unhindered receptivity can be applied to the unhindered conjugal act that allows the kingdom of God to illuminate conjugal life.

Another key to interpreting this Markan pericope is to consider the structure of his writing. In place of direct comment or discourse on a passage, using sandwiching or intercalation, Mark ties narratives together to shine theological meaning on each other (Deppe 2018). Mark must be viewed as a continuous narrative to understand its theological message. In this way, the sum of the whole provides insight into how each part will be read (Crowe 2023).

For instance, adding to the interpretation of the pericope, Mark 10:13–16 is carefully sandwiched between the discourse on marriage and the story of the rich young man. In Mark 9: 36–37, Jesus prepares the disciples for an expanded concept of discipleship. When he places a child in their midst and puts his arms around it, he teaches, “Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but the one who sent me.” Then in 10:1–10 Jesus frames marriage as God's institution and talks about divorce and the indissolubility of marriage for one flesh cannot be separated (The Theology of Work Project 2016). Immediately following the story of the children, in Mark 10:17–31, Mark recounts the story of a rich young man seeking to learn what he must do to enter the kingdom. The young man is a slave to the things the children do not have—wealth and abundant status symbols—and he may miss out on the kingdom because of his status (The Theology of Work Bible Project ²⁰¹⁶). Jesus teaches that one must emulate the humility of the children, their trust, and their unencumberedness of wealth, status, and self-interest.

Contextually, these scenarios occur midway through the Gospel, specifically in the final week of Jesus's public ministry. Jesus clarifies in these interrelated stories of the child, marriage, the children, and the rich young man that one enters the kingdom through receptivity. Brown (1997, 141⁾ claims that most people think that the underlying theme in the passage about the children is the correction of a wrong attitude that would demand achievements, abilities, behavior, or status from those who desire the kingdom; however for Jesus, the kingdom of God requires only the receptivity of which the child is a good symbol. Moral life is measured by a model of one's relationship with God, neighbors, the world, and one's actions (Curan 1985, 12). The children model all adults who would want to enter the kingdom (Howard and Peabody 1988, 1354).

Geddert notes that juxtaposing narrative elements without comment with deliberate intent to influence the readers’ interpretations is a favorite Markan technique (Geddert 2015, 129, 256). Fowler agrees that we are given a riddle to solve and the key to unlock it, but the unlocking is left to us. He leaves the work to us but provides us with the necessary tools (Fowler 1996, 95). Those tools are the gospel, the intercalations, and Mark's themes of wonder, mystery, and discipleship. Given Mark's audience, his theological intention of discipleship, and his story as a continuous and complete narrative, a foundation has been laid for an expanded interpretation of Mark 10:13–16.

Specifically, in Mark's narrative, his verses on welcoming of children are simultaneously literal, symbolic, nuanced, and mysterious as Jesus models the world that God desires. These verses deserve reexamination, reflection, and reinterpretation, thus bridging the gulf from Mark's original audience of early persecuted Christians to the current historical–cultural moment with what might seem unrelated to the Gospel—contraception and conjugal chastity. The secular denial of sexuality as something sacred, grounded in natural law and based on the anthropology of the human person created in the image and likeness of God, is called into question by Jesus's countercultural behavior in this popular pericope. How to experience wonder at the gift of a child and wonder at the trusting response of a child in discipleship is a means of entering into the kingdom of God that every disciple must cultivate. Interestingly, although not explicitly mentioned by Mark, this passage was used by the early Church to justify infant baptism (Barton and Muddiman 2001, 907; Hahn and Curtis 2001, 36), another example of imaginative exegesis and praxis.

The Magisterium and Mark

Although the gospels predate the magisterial teaching, their foundational message is presented to the Church and its teaching authority in Peter. Many Church documents articulate the theology of marriage and are not inconsistent with this proposed imaginative exegesis, which is not intended to displace Church teaching but to enrich it through reflection. Married couples and Catholic healthcare providers must be aware of the Church's official teachings and its historical consistency. Mark's verses on welcoming of the children can be better appreciated by reminding couples of Church teaching in a succinct, symbolic, and easily understandable way.

Contraception, as defined in Catholic Health Care Ethics, is any intervention by a married couple that directly and specifically intends to deprive the freely chosen marital act of one of its inherent natural ends, in this case, a child (Furton 2009, 91). To name a few, multiple contraceptive methods exist such as condoms and implants, chemicals including spermicides, pills, and patches, and surgical interventions such as sterilization in the form of vasectomies or tubal ligation (Furton 2009, 95). Modern-day oral contraceptives come in many forms, most preventing ovulation.^1–3 Some pills and IUDs allow fertilization to take place and, as abortifacients, force the woman's body to reject the preborn human embryo (Mitchell 2022). ⁴

According to Catholic moral tradition, prominent theologians, and Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops 2018, 16), the Church cannot approve of medical practices that violate the biological, moral, and psychological bonds upon which the strength of marriage and the family depends in this case, contraception which not only changes and redirects nature but also goes against the divine purpose of sexuality. These premises are enunciated in Church teachings that espouse a worldview that has been dissonant with most cultures for centuries, as well as in the medical field that frames contraception as a healthcare issue, as opposed to a moral one consonant with sacramental sexuality.

In Acta Apostolicae Sedis, his address to midwives in 1951, Pius XII understandingly noted that the spacing of children and circumstantial difficulties in married life are reasons for using family planning that does not offend moral principles (Pius XII, 1951, 43). In 1965, Gaudium et Spes by Paul VI articulated the divine nature of the conjugal act. He wrote, “All should be persuaded that human life and the task of transmitting it are not realities bound up with this world alone. Hence, they cannot be measured or perceived in terms of it, but always have a bearing on the eternal destiny of men.” That eternal destiny is the kingdom chosen by conscience and enacted through discipleship. Unobstructed marital self-giving opens the portal to the life-giving kingdom.

Later in 1968, in Humanae Vitae (HV), he continued to spark the contraceptive controversy that persists to this day. In that writing, he laid out the Church's teaching that procreation is one good of the conjugal act and is part of nature's divine order. Conjugal love has a dual, inseparable nature: the unitive and the procreative. The critical use of the word “and” links the two aspects of the conjugal act as interrelated, mysterious, and divine. That is, the significance of the marital act is not exclusively unitive nor exclusively procreative. The moral object of the conjugal act is clear—holistic spousal unity left open to the possibility of conception and “the will of the Author of life” (Paul VI HV #13 ¹⁹⁶⁸). He continued, “Every marital act must retain its intrinsic relationship to the procreation of human life and any action that intends to render procreation impossible is evil. Humane Vitae instructs couples of the possibility of participating as responsible co-creators of life and stewards of fertility. His moral teaching that married people collaborate freely and responsibly with God, the Creator, is based on natural law and is illuminated and enriched by divine revelation” (Paul VI HV #4 ¹⁹⁶⁸). Additionally, he advanced important counsel that married couples have the right to expect doctors and nurses to support lines of actions by faith and reason (Paul VI HV #27 ¹⁹⁶⁸).

Paul VI claimed that artificial birth control would launch a contraceptive revolution bound to weaken family structure and create broken homes. He rejected arguments for contraception such as the fear of overpopulation, warned against state enforced contraception, and foresaw a collapse of sexual morality. Later, Eberstadt (2008) identified empirical evidence, largely derived from the social sciences, that supported the predictions of Paul VI. Through her longitudinal appraisal of Paul VI's forecasts, she connected historical dots, at least as a correlation of these new social realities, if not a causation. Over forty years later, Eberstadt questioned whether anyone cares about or appreciates the relevance and respect for life expressed in HV.

In 1977, John Paul II, in his The Theology of the Body, Human Love in the Divine Plan, summarized many concepts in HV and explained that birth control and contraception are fundamentally different. He clarified that fertility regulation is morally correct and is often needed for human health and flourishing, harmony, and peace of the family without offending moral principles through infecund periods and periodic abstinence (John Paul II 1977, 433). The Church teaches couples that they can reasonably regulate their number of children in a manner that respects the dignity of all persons, such as by refraining from sex or practicing periodic abstinence during fertile periods, and that they should be instructed on such methods (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops 2018, 16).

In 1995, in Evangelium Vitae (EV), John Paul II affirmed the Church's position as that of Paul VI, whereby contraception contradicts the full truth of the marital act as the proper expression of conjugal love (John Paul E #13 ¹⁹⁹⁵). As an act of choice, contraception violates human dignity by subverting the moral object of marital love. He posited that impeding the possibility of a new life is intrinsically disordered, morally wrong, and contrary to reason, nature, and divine revelation; it is opposed to the virtue of chastity and implies a self-centered concept of freedom that regards procreation as an obstacle to personal fulfillment.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains the problem of contraception by linking it to the divine purpose of human sexuality. They note, “Sexuality, in which man and woman give themselves to one another through the acts which are proper and exclusive to spouses, is not something simply biological, but concerns the innermost being of the human being as such” (#2361). They continue referring to HV #11, that “it is necessary that each and every marriage act remained ordered, per se, to the procreation of human life.” Referring to HV, the Catechism (#2370) maintains that using infertile periods for sexual activities is a free act that is natural, respectful, and tender (United States Catholic Conference 1997, 16, 14).

In 2016, a more recent and compassionate framework to counteract a modern-day rebuke of conjugal love was found in the papal encyclical Amoris Laetitia, The Joy of Love by Pope Francis. This document reflects on family life and acknowledges the goods of marriage including the joy, passion, and union that is complete when it is open. Francis realizes the complexities of married life and reminds the Church that informed individual conscience needs to be better incorporated into Church practice in certain situations (Francis 2016 #303). He writes,

We have long thought that simply by stressing doctrinal, bioethical and moral issues, without encouraging openness to grace, we were providing sufficient support to families, strengthening the marriage bond and giving meaning to marital life. We find it difficult to presenting marriage more as a dynamic path to personal development and fulfillment than as a lifelong burden. We also find it hard to make room for the consciences of the faithful, who very often respond as best they can to the Gospel admid their limitations, and are capable of carrying out their own discernment in complex situations. We have been called to inform consciences, not to replace them (Francis 2016, #37).

In short, magisterial teachings, Church writings, and the Compendium on the Social Doctrine of the Church encompass part of the vast Catholic heritage on the sanctity of life and the theology of marriage and family (Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace 2006, 221–251).

Family Planning

Contraception fundamentally differs from natural family planning (NFP). The NFP, of which there are several types, such as the Sympto-Thermal Method and the Ovulation Method, is based on observing natural law. While associated with Roman Catholics, natural law tradition originated in Protestant nations and is found in other cultures (Pope 2001, 92–93). Parenthood practiced through NFP utilizes intelligence and marries people to the wisdom of nature and the totality of marriage. “NFP brings sex into the realm of the sacred because it links it to virtue, procreative power, and symbolic representation of God” (Rubio 2005, 289). Whether fertile or infertile, the conjugal act allows an encounter with God.

Procreation is responsible stewardship of our bodies (Goodson 1992, 45). In God's redemptive plan, the physical serves as a sign of the spiritual reality (Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education 1983, 198). The union of husband and wife was intended to reflect the divine mystery of inner-Trinitarian love and to foreshadow and sacramentally signify Christ's redemptive love for his Church (McDermott 2005, 247). The difference between NFP and contraception concerns the ethical issues regarding the proper direction of human freedom. Official Church teaching remains historically consistent on the dignity of sexual acts according to the divine plan and is life-affirming.

Moloney captures the sentiments in Church teaching and sums up its connection to Mark's receptivity and discipleship.

The most intimate of human experiences, the union between a woman and man, can lead to the cross. The suffering and self-denial that were Jesus’ own destiny (and the destiny of all who would claim to be his followers) are shown to be greater than mere words. Jesus’ new law in a new situation of God-human relationships, where the original creative design of God is restored, can be costly. Being a disciple of Jesus does not remove the need for service and receptivity from the continual demand to give oneself unswervingly within the bonds of God's design for men and women in marriage. Jesus’ teaching on this matter is as idealistic, countercultural, and difficult today as it was in the time of Jesus, but Mark has taken this element from Jesus’ teaching and used it to point out to the disciples that the cross, service, and receptivity are not simply theory. They come into play in one of the most fundamental structures of their day-to-day lives: in man-woman relationships (Moloney 2002, 196).

The Gospel of Mark clarifies that discipleship requires faith and carrying the cross. Preventing conception can be a heavy cross for the married couple. While NFP is not unproblematic and conflicts with unreflective sexual freedom, it is an example of following Mark, who welcomes a child who is not hindered by contraceptive methods. In the consensual marital act, persons choose respect and reverence for the body's natural rhythms sometimes with the sacrifice of abstinence, in a receptive spirit of discipleship.

Nonmagisterial Voices of Dissent and a Response

Disparate views on contraception provoke healthy tension and critical engagement. These voices contest long-held Church traditions and lack the imagination of Gospel themes such as discipleship. While official Church teaching is clear, an overwhelming rejection by the laity of Church teaching on contraception points to the dissonance between dogma and everyday life, a chasm requiring mending. The Pastoral Council on the Church in the Modern World warns of the split between the faith that many confess and their daily lives as one of the more serious errors of the modern world (Paul VI 1965, #21). This is problematic when the preponderance of the faithful reject theological arguments that they see as being out of touch with their reality. Murphy (2011, 143⁾ agreed that contraception can be a source of personal, interpersonal, and communal disintegration precisely because sexual inclination operates under the logic of self or mutual gratification.

The most intimate human experience, the physical union between man and woman, is a communion of two whole persons. Ashley, Deploy, and O’Rourke (2007, 48⁾ surmise that “Because Christians hope for a kingdom that has not yet been realized on Earth and that will last forever, they are willing to undergo a more rigorous discipline (asceticism) of their natural biological drives for pleasure.” Still, strong evidence suggests that the predominant worldview and value system of modern American culture deeply influences Catholics, a culture that starkly opposes the worldview and value system of the Church (Ashley, Deploy, and O’Rourke 2007, 103–104).

In 2011, data from the Guttmacher Institute showed that 99% of sexually experienced Catholic women chose at some point to use a contraceptive method other than NFP (Guttmacher Statistic on Catholic Women's Contraceptive Use, 2012). Sixty-eight percent of Catholic women have used highly effective contraception methods such as male or female sterilization, the IUD, the pill, or other hormonal methods. Furthermore, 15% relied on condoms, 4% on withdrawal, and 2% on NFP. In an update in 2017, 99% of Catholic women had used a contraceptive method, 25% used sterilization, 15% used long-acting reversible contraceptives like IUDS, and 25% used hormonal methods such as birth controls pills (Guttmacher Institute 2020).

One argument, proportionalism, a form of consequentialism, attests that the morality of actions—in this case, contraception—is based on whether it produces good or bad consequences. In this ideology, consequentialists do not see the nature of the act of contraception as immoral. This philosophy alleges that the end justifies the means. For instance, the ends, “to not conceive,” and the means, “any number of contraceptive behaviors,” are considered licit. Other reasons advanced by dissenting theologians include the prevention of the transmission of infectious diseases, such as HIV/AIDS, or the prevention of the inheritance of genetic diseases by future children (May 2013, 145). Salzman and Lawler (2008) contend that contraception is not immoral but rather the intentionality of the people involved in marital acts. According to them, immoral behavior is an action that damages the complimentary and loving relationship between couples.

Some who favor contraception deem the Church to have an overly obsessive biological view of the conjugal act, yet the exact opposite is true. The Church views the body as sacred and does not separate it from the spirit (Cahill 1988, 88). Rather, those who emphasize the physical act of sex for physical gratification have a dualistic concept of human behavior. Murphy (2011, 834) argues that this dualistic philosophy counteracts that controlling fertility through chemical means relegates the body–spirit union of the human person to an object to be manipulated. The same is true of the use of condoms, IUDs, and diaphragms. The nature of the intervention is problematic not because it is artificial but because it violates the vocation of man and woman, who are called to share divine life with God as Creator and Father through unitive and procreative sex (Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith 1987, #12).

Another nonmagisterial position, the principle of the totality of the human act, insists that not every marital act must be open to conception. It requires the totality of marriage, which is not equivalent to the sum of its acts. Sexual pleasure and freedom, divorced as ends in and of themselves, are considered true human goods. Moral theologian May (2013, 134⁾ criticizes the moral methodology of these proportionalists and consequentialists, who describe chosen deeds in terms of their hoped-for benefits and obscure their true nature. The desired benefit might be the stability of the family or marital pleasure and union; however, using contraceptive methods is intended to avoid conception. To dissenting theologians and laity, the end might be what the couple considers to be just and loving.

Some theologians cite the rejection of HV by so many Catholics as proof that the Holy Spirit does not “approve” of the teaching. Dulles (1977, 341⁾ cautions that this “sense of the faithful,” (sensus fidelium), which the entire Church possesses, is not based upon a majority opinion. According to Dulles (1977, 341⁾, sensus fidelium is not a democratic or static process but an index of movement and there is a need for caution and discernment to avoid mistaking the influences of secular fashion for the inspiration of divine grace. As Paul VI perceived, such decisions are profoundly personal with far-reaching effects on individual health, family, and the fabric of an interdependent social life. He understood and underscored the nature of the conjugal act, as does Mark in his invitation of discipleship to discern what welcoming a child means in the context of one's life and marriage.

Summary

Contraception remains a popular topic in the religiopoliticosocial debates. As it concerns the basic human goods of dignity, marriage, family, sex and conscience, reexamination and reflection on these topics are timely and significant. Mark's story of the children, mysterious and inviting, does not translate into every person's experience, including Christians who do not comprehend the full story told in the New Testament. Most of the world has strayed from the idea of procreation as participating in the divine life of God. For many, the mystery of conjugal love seems obsolete; the reality of the kingdom of God may be more countercultural than contraception.

In a pluralistic culture and global world, opportunities still abound for renewed hope, prophetic voices, and theological consensus building on the holistic dimension of marriage. Marriage is a rich theological resource for witnesses of human life, nature, dignity, fulfillment, and discipleship. In a consensual conjugal act, couples can choose respect and reverence according to the natural rhythms of the body, sometimes with the sacrifice of abstention.

The Gospel of Mark contains important messages about discipleship that influence modern perceptions of contraception and morality. Mark maintains that discipleship has a cost as a follower of Christ, who like Jesus, is called to be a suffering servant and child of God. Using the mysterious narrative ethics of the Markan Gospel, moral imagination, and magisterial teachings, one learns that openness to a child's gift is equivalent to the gift of the kingdom. Those who follow the normative behavior of Jesus witness his love not through moral maxims but rather by acting imaginatively as the person Jesus portrayed in the “Gospel of Welcome.” The case against contraception is met in the person of Jesus and the welcoming of the children and a receptive response.

If the Church doctrine does not compel Catholics to welcome children, there is a need for imaginative catechesis and reflection to unveil Mark's mystery and see children as blessings and portals to the kingdom. This reflection constitutes a Catholic theology of marital life, sexuality, and healthcare and a theology of children for bioethical decision-making. The question posed is in what ways are the children brought to Jesus? The implications reside in Mark's wondrous imagination.

Biographical Note

Skya Abbate, DBe, DOM, graduated from Loyola University Chicago (2016) with a Master's degree in Bioethics and Health Policy and later as a Doctor of Bioethics (2020). She holds a Master's degree in Pastoral Studies (2012) from Loyola University New Orleans, and a Master's degree in Sociology from the University of Rhode Island (1978). She is a Doctor of Oriental Medicine in New Mexico where she has taught acupuncture for 40 years. Her publications in bioethics are in principlism, patient autonomy in nursing homes, xenotransplantation, and issues connected with the intersection of theology and bioethical issues.