<p>^^^^^It’s not the religion that’s being “bashed,” but the influence of its leaders over public policy.</p>
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<p>I agree, but not because of the reasons you gave. It’s because nothing new has been added to the debate in several days. It’s pretty much been one particular poster saying the same things over and over and over…</p>
<p>Cardinal Fang, as a practicing Catholic, I’ll try to answer your questions in posts 746 and 756:</p>
<p>Some active Catholics feel guilty about using birth control, others are not troubled by it, and still others feel that it is not merely acceptable, it is a moral good. Sometimes, depending upon the vagaries of our personal and spiritual lives, we travel from one position to the next and then back again. 
On the whole, though, I’d say that the Catholic women and men that I know fall into the second and third categories.</p>
<p>Of course, I can’t know what individuals say in confession, but I can tell you this: My late uncle was a parish priest for 60 years. He said that for the last 30 of those years, confessions about birth control were a rare occurrence. Most couples do not consider birth control a sin. Many have come to this decision after careful thought, and this cannot be dismissed lightly, as the Church teaches that the individual’s conscience is the ultimate authority: “A well-formed conscience is upright and truthful. It formulates its judgments according to reason, in conformity with the true good willed by the wisdom of the Creator.”</p>
<p>Do married couples using birth control receive communion? Yes. Do divorced people receive communion? Yes. Do couples living together before marriage receive communion? Yes. Is this an issue for the priest or the other members of the faith community? No, not in my experience. A priest friend of mine told me that last weekend, a couple came up to him after mass and swore that they would never, ever use birth control. They’re gay. Was the priest shocked at their sense of humor? Did he lecture them on their sinful ways? Not at all. He threw back his head, laughed heartily, and said, “Good for you! See you next Sunday!” This is the reality of today’s Church, and this is the body of Christ. The bishops are not evil men. They are just completely out of touch with lived human experience.</p>