The Catholic community and family planning.

This paper touches upon 3 points in respect to family planning: the Catholic community the Sympto-Thermic Technique of contraception and the couple-to-couple world-wide movement. At present Roman Catholic teaching leaves the decision of family size up to the individual couple and instructs them to consider their responsibilities to God themselves the children they have brought into the world and the community. Although many in the Churchs hierarchy still maintain that all chemical and mechanical contraceptives are not permissible a number of clergy at the pastoral level have disagreed with this position and have counciled couples to make their own choice. Many Catholics practice family planning by means of all the methods currently available. The authors of this paper are members of the Family Life Information Center. They instruct couples to control fertility by the Sympto-Thermic method which depends on detecting a shift in basal body temperature (denoting the presence of progesterone) to determine the end of the ovulation period. In addition to family planning instruction the couples are also informed about the interrelationship of a womans psychological feelings and hormonal changes; this has pertinence for understanding and communication between marriage partners.