Wednesday 9 July 2008

Over the last decade, every international gathering of World Youth Day has seen protests about the Church's teachings on sexuality and contraception by the handing out of condoms to pilgrims as they gather for the event. It happened in Rome, Toronto and Germany and no doubt they are gearing up for World Youth Day in Sydney. Interestingly, despite the thousands of young people there to celebrate their belief in the Church, it is the condom peddlers who tend to catch the eye of the media.
 
But this time we're ready for them! To rival the condom promotion the Australian Council of Natural Family Planning (ACNFP) has decided to distribute their own material promoting the sympto-thermal method (STM) of natural family planning.
 
Despite popular belief, the Church isn't against sexuality – on the contrary, the Church wants everyone to develop a deeper, richer understanding of the meaning of sex and sexuality.
 
The Church promotes the sympto-thermal method as a healthy, natural, effective alternative to contraception for married couples. Recent research shows STM as 99% effective for couples wishing to space their children. It is a method which fits perfectly with the Church's teaching on life and love.
 
Brian Maher, President of ACNFP, says “We believe young people want to make healthy decisions about sexuality and relationships. We want them to know they have healthy options available.”
 
Advocates of Natural Family Planning will be handing out material before the final WYD Mass at Randwick.
 
Sympto-thermal NFP Centres are available across Australia. Their educators promote healthy Church teachings to young people in schools and to couples prior to marriage through community and professional groups.

FREECALL
Australia wide 1800 114 010

www.acnfp.com.au
 
Australian Council of Natural Family Planning,
a Catholic-Church based organisation under the auspices of the
Australian Catholic Bishops' Conference