Misplaced Pages

#801198

121-661: The Creighton Model FertilityCare System ( Creighton Model , FertilityCare , CrMS ) is a form of natural family planning which involves identifying the fertile period during a woman's menstrual cycle . The Creighton Model was developed by Thomas Hilgers, the founder and director of the Pope Paul VI Institute . This model, like the Billings ovulation method , is based on observations of cervical mucus to track fertility. Creighton can be used for both avoiding pregnancy and achieving pregnancy. Hilgers describes

242-412: A Lesser Festival on 28 January. The Catholic Church honours Thomas Aquinas as a saint and regards him as the model teacher for those studying for the priesthood. In modern times, under papal directives, the study of his works was long used as a core of the required program of study for those seeking ordination as priests or deacons, as well as for those in religious formation and for other students of

363-680: A saint . A monastery at Naples, Italy, near Naples Cathedral , shows a cell in which he supposedly lived. His remains were translated from Fossanova to the Church of the Jacobins in Toulouse , France, on 28 January 1369. Between 1789 and 1974, they were held in the Basilica of Saint-Sernin . In 1974, they were returned to the Church of the Jacobins, where they have remained ever since. When he

484-403: A 2021 study in of more than 2,000 married women, some of whom practised NFP within their marriage and some who practised contraception. The study found that women who practised NFP were 58% less likely than their peers who used contraception to get divorced. "Although there are lower odds of divorce among NFP users, the reason might be due to their religiosity." There are three main types of NFP:

605-418: A 95% effectiveness rating. Computer programs are available to help track fertility on a calendar. The lactational amenorrhea method (LAM) is a method of avoiding pregnancy based on the natural postpartum infertility that occurs when a woman is amenorrheic and fully breastfeeding . The rules of the method help a woman identify and possibly lengthen her infertile period. Roderick Hindery reported that

726-564: A Catholic physician published a book titled The Rhythm of Sterility and Fertility in Women describing the method, and the 1930s also saw the first U.S. Rhythm Clinic (founded by John Rock ) to teach the method to Catholic couples. It was during this decade that Rev. Wilhelm Hillebrand, a Catholic priest in Germany, developed a system for avoiding pregnancy based on basal body temperature . A minority of Catholic theologians continued to doubt

847-401: A collection of his responses to questions de quodlibet posed to him by the academic audience; and both Expositio super librum Boethii De trinitate ( Commentary on Boethius's De trinitate ) and Expositio super librum Boethii De hebdomadibus ( Commentary on Boethius's De hebdomadibus ), commentaries on the works of 6th-century Roman philosopher Boethius . By the end of his regency, Thomas

968-422: A conclusion given in advance is not philosophy, but special pleading . I cannot, therefore, feel that he deserves to be put on a level with the best philosophers either of Greece or of modern times. This criticism is illustrated with the following example: according to Russell, Thomas advocates the indissolubility of marriage "on the ground that the father is useful in the education of the children, (a) because he

1089-890: A culminating chapter on Thomas, in which Adams calls Thomas an "artist" and constructs an extensive analogy between the design of Thomas's "Church Intellectual" and that of the gothic cathedrals of that period. Erwin Panofsky later would echo these views in Gothic Architecture and Scholasticism (1951). Thomas's aesthetic theories, especially the concept of claritas , deeply influenced the literary practice of modernist writer James Joyce , who used to extol Thomas as being second only to Aristotle among Western philosophers. Joyce refers to Thomas's doctrines in Elementa philosophiae ad mentem D. Thomae Aquinatis doctoris angelici (1898) of Girolamo Maria Mancini, professor of theology at

1210-469: A distinction between "demonstrations" of sacred doctrines and the "persuasiveness" of those doctrines. The former is akin to something like "certainty", whereas the latter is more probabilistic in nature. In other words, Thomas thought Christian doctrines were "fitting" to reason (i.e. reasonable), even though they cannot be demonstrated beyond a reasonable doubt. In fact, the Summa Theologica

1331-470: A few secular thinkers". The Roman Catholic Church's first recorded official approval of periodic abstinence from 1853, where a ruling of the Church's Sacred Penitentiary addressed the topic. Distributed to confessors, the ruling stated that couples who had, on their own, begun the practice of periodic abstinence—if they had "grave reasons"—were not sinning by doing so. In the Catholic Church,

SECTION 10

#1732790178802

1452-549: A formula for use in aiding infertile women to time intercourse to achieve pregnancy. In 1930, John Smulders, a Roman Catholic physician from the Netherlands, used Knaus and Ogino's discoveries to create the rhythm method. Smulders published his work with the Dutch Roman Catholic medical association, and this was the official rhythm method promoted over the next several decades. While maintaining procreation as

1573-660: A good Catholic without obeying the Church's teaching on birth control. According to a nationwide poll of 2,242 U.S. adults surveyed online in September 2005 by Harris Interactive (they stated that the magnitude of errors cannot be estimated due to sampling errors , non-response , etc.), 90% of U.S. Catholics supported the use of birth control/contraceptives. A survey conducted in 2015 by the Pew Research Center among 5,122 U.S. adults (including 1,016 self-identified Catholics) stated 76% of U.S. Catholics thought that

1694-582: A grave/significant reason for using NFP can include social, economical, medical and other analogous reasons that may motivate a couple to practise it to postpone pregnancy. The Church holds that the motivations behind NFP should not be selfish or self-centered. In 1880, the Sacred Penitentiary reaffirmed the 1853 ruling and went slightly further. It suggested that, in cases where the couple was already practising artificial birth control and could not be dissuaded to cease attempting birth regulation,

1815-401: A life of celibacy. According to the official records for his canonization, Thomas drove her away wielding a burning log—with which he inscribed a cross onto the wall—and fell into a mystical ecstasy; two angels appeared to him as he slept and said, "Behold, we gird thee by the command of God with the girdle of chastity, which henceforth will never be imperilled. What human strength can not obtain,

1936-530: A master's degree in theology. He lectured on the Bible as an apprentice professor, and upon becoming a baccalaureus Sententiarum (bachelor of the Sentences ) he devoted his final three years of study to commenting on Peter Lombard 's Sentences . In the first of his four theological syntheses, Thomas composed a massive commentary on the Sentences entitled, Scriptum super libros Sententiarium ( Commentary on

2057-518: A non-infallible document, "the doctrinal authority of the Pope and the Bishops is not limited to infallible teaching. The duty of obedience is not restricted to definitions of faith". Theological opposition has come from some denominations of Protestant Christianity. The Reformed theologian John Piper 's Desiring God ministry states of NFP, "There is no reason to conclude that natural family planning

2178-626: A number of Western Catholics have voiced significant disagreement with the Church's stance on contraception. In 1968, the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops issued what many interpreted as a dissenting document, the Winnipeg Statement , in which the bishops recognized that a number of Canadian Catholics found it "either extremely difficult or even impossible to make their own all elements of this doctrine" (that of Humanae vitae ). Additionally, in 1969, they reasserted

2299-506: A number of years, and by the late 1960s had performed clinical trials and begun to set up teaching centers around the world. The Vatican II Constitution on the Church in the Modern World declared: "While not making the other purposes of matrimony of less account, the true practice of conjugal love, and the whole meaning of the family life which results from it, have this aim: that the couple be ready with stout hearts to cooperate with

2420-514: A parent of another, whenever the spouses give of themselves in the sexual embrace. Edward Sri makes an additional commentary on Love and Responsibility in Men, Women, and the Mystery of Love , claiming the openness to life within marriage bolsters an emotional intimacy to supplement physical intimacy. These claims about how contraception can negatively impact fidelity within marriage are supported by

2541-413: A pastoral directive to scientists: "It is supremely desirable... that medical science should by the study of natural rhythms succeed in determining a sufficiently secure basis for the chaste limitation of offspring." This is interpreted as favoring the then-new, more reliable symptoms-based fertility awareness methods over the rhythm method. Just a few years later, in 1971, the first organization to teach

SECTION 20

#1732790178802

2662-694: A record of the length of previous menstrual cycles. They include the Rhythm Method and the Standard Days Method. The Standard Days method was developed and proven by the researchers at the Institute for Reproductive Health of Georgetown University. CycleBeads, unaffiliated with religious teachings, is a visual tool based on the Standard Days method. According to the Institute of Reproductive Health, when used as birth control, CB has

2783-486: A science, by which he meant a field of study in which humanity could learn more by its own efforts (as opposed to being totally dependent on having divine revelation planted into our minds). For Thomas, the raw material data of this field consists of written scripture and the tradition of the Catholic Church. These sources of data were produced by the self-revelation of God to individuals and groups of people throughout history. Faith and reason, being distinct but related, are

2904-825: A secret escape from detention was less damaging than an open surrender to the Dominicans. Thomas was sent first to Naples and then to Rome to meet Johannes von Wildeshausen , the Master General of the Dominican Order . In 1245, Thomas was sent to study at the Faculty of the Arts at the University of Paris , where he most likely met Dominican scholar Albertus Magnus , then the holder of the Chair of Theology at

3025-548: A series of important disputations on the power of God, which he compiled into his De potentia . Nicholas Brunacci [1240–1322] was among Thomas's students at the Santa Sabina studium provinciale and later at the Paris studium generale . In November 1268, he was with Thomas and his associate and secretary Reginald of Piperno as they left Viterbo on their way to Paris to begin the academic year. Another student of Thomas's at

3146-668: A symptothermal method, using both mucus and temperature observations, was started. Now called Couple to Couple League International , this organization was founded by John and Sheila Kippley, lay Catholics, along with Dr. Konald Prem. During the following decade, other now-large Catholic organizations were formed: Family of the Americas(1977), and the Creighton Model as part of the Pope Paul VI Institute (1985), both mucus-based systems of NFP. Use of

3267-604: A way in which generation is impossible in itself as is the case in every emission of the semen without the natural union of male and female: wherefore such sins are called 'sins against nature.' But if it is by accident that generation cannot follow from the emission of the semen, the act is not against nature on that account, nor is it sinful; the case of the woman being barren would be a case in point." Protestant Reformers such as Martin Luther and John Calvin were opposed to unnatural birth control. Centuries later, John Wesley ,

3388-467: A way that is fitting to the instruction of beginners." While there he also wrote a variety of other works like his unfinished Compendium Theologiae and Responsio ad fr. Ioannem Vercellensem de articulis 108 sumptis ex opere Petri de Tarentasia ( Reply to Brother John of Vercelli Regarding 108 Articles Drawn from the Work of Peter of Tarentaise ). In his position as head of the studium , Thomas conducted

3509-408: A woman is likely to be fertile ; this information may be used in attempts to either avoid or achieve pregnancy. Effectiveness can vary widely, depending on the method used, whether the users were trained properly, and how carefully the couple followed the protocol. Pregnancy can result in up to 25% of the user population per year for users of the symptoms-based or calendar-based methods, depending on

3630-559: A woman's saliva, or a mixture of these symptoms. From these symptoms, a woman can learn to assess her fertility without use of a computerized device. Some systems use only cervical mucus to determine fertility. Two well-known mucus-only methods are the Billings ovulation method and the Creighton Model FertilityCare System . If two or more signs are tracked, the method is referred to as a symptothermal method. Two popular symptothermal systems are taught by

3751-500: Is Aeterni Patris , the 1879 encyclical by Pope Leo XIII stating that Thomas's theology was a definitive exposition of Catholic doctrine. Leo XIII directed the clergy to take the teachings of Thomas as the basis of their theological positions. Leo also decreed that all Catholic seminaries and universities must teach Thomas's doctrines, and where Thomas did not speak on a topic, the teachers were "urged to teach conclusions that were reconcilable with his thinking." In 1880, Thomas Aquinas

Creighton Model FertilityCare System - Misplaced Pages Continue

3872-513: Is appropriate but that 'artificial' (non-abortive) means are not." Eastern Orthodox couple Sam and Bethany Torode, former advocates of NFP-only, have redacted their position to include barrier methods and explain their current theology this way: We also see honest congruity with the language of the body by saying "no" to conception with our bodies (via barrier methods or sensual massage) when our minds and hearts are also saying "no" to conception. We don't believe this angers God, nor that it leads to

3993-740: Is believed by some to have been some kind of supernatural experience of God. After taking to his bed, however, he did recover some strength. In 1274, Pope Gregory X summoned Thomas to attend the Second Council of Lyon . The council was to open 1 May 1274, and it was Gregory's attempt to try to heal the Great Schism of 1054, which had divided the Catholic Church in the West from the Eastern Orthodox Church . At

4114-432: Is distinct from contraception . Proponents justify this classification system by saying that NFP has unique characteristics not shared by any other method of birth regulation except for abstinence. NFP is open to life, it alters neither the fertility of the woman nor the fecundity of a particular sex act. That NFP can be used to both avoid or achieve pregnancy. The Catholic Church has often said that it considers

4235-603: Is known in Catholic theology as the Doctor Angelicus ("Angelic Doctor", with the title "doctor" meaning "teacher"), and the Doctor Communis ("Universal Doctor"). In 1999, John Paul II added a new title to these traditional ones: Doctor Humanitatis ("Doctor of Humanity/Humaneness"). Thomas Aquinas was most likely born in the family castle of Roccasecca , near Aquino , controlled at that time by

4356-550: Is little data on the worldwide use of natural family planning. In Brazil, NFP is the third most popular family planning method. The "safe period" method of fertility awareness is the most common family planning method used in India, although condoms are used by some. Of all American women surveyed nationally in 2002, only 0.9% were using "periodic abstinence" (defined as "calendar rhythm" and "natural family planning") compared to 60.6% using other contraceptive methods. In Italy, where

4477-481: Is more effective than the rhythm method. SDM is promoted by Georgetown University as a form of natural family planning. It is estimated that 2%–3% of the world's reproductive age population relies on periodic abstinence to avoid pregnancy. However, what portion of this population should be considered NFP users is unclear. Some Catholic sources consider couples that violate the religious restrictions associated with natural family planning to not be NFP users. There

4598-409: Is more rational than the mother, (b) because, being stronger, he is better able to inflict physical punishment." Even though modern approaches to education do not support these views, "No follower of Saint Thomas would, on that account, cease to believe in lifelong monogamy, because the real grounds of belief are not those which are alleged". Thomas Aquinas viewed theology, "the sacred doctrine ", as

4719-576: Is not evil in itself, then we should have to concede frankly that the Holy Spirit had been on the side of the Protestant churches in 1930 (when the encyclical Casti connubii was promulgated), in 1951 (Pius XII's address to the midwives), and in 1958 (the address delivered before the Society of Hematologists in the year the pope died). It should likewise have to be admitted that for a half century

4840-453: Is not to procreate children, but to satiate lust." About the year 401, St. Augustine wrote "Of the Good of Marriage" in which he affirmed married couples have the option of having sex without either of them intending procreation: "For, whereas that natural use, when it pass beyond the compact of marriage, that is, beyond the necessity of begetting, is pardonable in the case of a wife, damnable in

4961-526: Is now bestowed upon thee as a celestial gift." From then onwards, Thomas was given the grace of perfect chastity by Christ, a girdle he wore till the end of his life. The girdle was given to the ancient monastery of Vercelli in Piedmont, and is now at Chieri , near Turin . By 1244, seeing that all her attempts to dissuade Thomas had failed, Theodora sought to save the family's dignity, arranging for Thomas to escape at night through his window. In her mind,

Creighton Model FertilityCare System - Misplaced Pages Continue

5082-508: Is to study God. The ultimate goals of theology, in Thomas's mind, are to use reason to grasp the truth about God and to experience salvation through that truth. The central thought is " gratia non tollit naturam, sed perficit " (' grace does not destroy nature, but perfects it'). Thomas believed that truth is known through reason, rationality ( natural revelation ) and faith ( supernatural revelation ). Supernatural revelation has its origin in

5203-543: The Disputed Questions on Truth (1256–1259) and the Summa contra Gentiles (1259–1265). His commentaries on Christian Scripture and on Aristotle also form an important part of his body of work. He is also notable for his Eucharistic hymns, which form a part of the Church's liturgy. As a Doctor of the Church , Thomas Aquinas is considered one of the Catholic Church's greatest theologians and philosophers. He

5324-652: The Summa Theologiae , which he conceived specifically suited to beginner students: "Because a doctor of Catholic truth ought not only to teach the proficient, but to him pertains also to instruct beginners. As the Apostle says in 1 Corinthians 3:1–2, as to infants in Christ, I gave you milk to drink, not meat , our proposed intention in this work is to convey those things that pertain to the Christian religion in

5445-562: The Cistercian Fossanova Abbey after again falling ill. The monks nursed him for several days, and as he received his last rites he prayed: "I have written and taught much about this very holy Body, and about the other sacraments in the faith of Christ, and about the Holy Roman Church, to whose correction I expose and submit everything I have written." He died on 7 March 1274 while giving commentary on

5566-719: The Collegium Divi Thomae de Urbe . For example, Mancini's Elementa is referred to in Joyce's Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man . The influence of Thomas's aesthetics also can be found in the works of the Italian semiotician Umberto Eco , who wrote an essay on aesthetic ideas in Thomas (published in 1956 and republished in 1988 in a revised edition). Twentieth-century philosopher Bertrand Russell criticized Thomas's philosophy, stating that: He does not, like

5687-536: The Complutenses and others. During the 19th century, a movement that came to be known as neo-scholasticism revived Catholic scholarly interest in scholasticism generally and Thomas in particular, as well as the work of the Thomists of second scholasticism. The systematic work of Thomas was valued in part as a foundation for arguing against early modern philosophers and "modernist" theologians. A good example

5808-784: The Couple to Couple League and the Fertility Awareness Method (FAM) with Toni Weschler . A study completed in Germany in 2007 found that the symptothermal method has a method effectiveness of 99.6%. A study by the World Health Organization involving 869 fertile women from Australia, India, Ireland, the Philippines, and El Salvador found that 93% could accurately interpret their body's signals regardless of education and culture. A symptohormonal method of NFP developed at Marquette University uses

5929-588: The Kingdom of Sicily (in present-day Lazio , Italy), c.  1225 . He was born to the most powerful branch of the family, and his father, Landulf of Aquino, was a man of means. As a knight in the service of Emperor Frederick II , Landulf of Aquino held the title miles . Thomas's mother, Theodora, belonged to the Rossi branch of the Neapolitan Caracciolo family. Landulf's brother Sinibald

6050-474: The Song of Songs . In 1277, Étienne Tempier , the same bishop of Paris who had issued the condemnation of 1270, issued another more extensive condemnation. One aim of this condemnation was to clarify that God's absolute power transcended any principles of logic that Aristotle or Averroes might place on it. More specifically, it contained a list of 219 propositions, including twenty Thomistic propositions, that

6171-466: The mendicant orders , which had come under attack by William of Saint-Amour . During his tenure from 1256 to 1259, Thomas wrote numerous works, including: Quaestiones Disputatae de Veritate ( Disputed Questions on Truth ), a collection of twenty-nine disputed questions on aspects of faith and the human condition prepared for the public university debates he presided over during Lent and Advent ; Quaestiones quodlibetales ( Quodlibetal Questions ),

SECTION 50

#1732790178802

6292-549: The 20th century, as seen in the praise offered by Pope John Paul II in the 1998 encyclical Fides et ratio , and similarly in Pope Benedict XV 's 1921 encyclical Fausto Appetente Die. Some modern ethicists within the Catholic Church (notably Alasdair MacIntyre ) and outside it (notably Philippa Foot ) have recently commented on the possible use of Thomas's virtue ethics as a way of avoiding utilitarianism or Kantian "sense of duty" (called deontology ). Through

6413-733: The Averroists ) in which he reprimands Averroism as incompatible with Christian doctrine. During his second regency, he finished the second part of the Summa and wrote De virtutibus and De aeternitate mundi, contra murmurantes ( On the Eternity of the World, against Grumblers ), the latter of which dealt with controversial Averroist and Aristotelian beginninglessness of the world. Disputes with some important Franciscans conspired to make his second regency much more difficult and troubled than

6534-418: The Catholic concept of NFP, these methods are often referred to simply as fertility awareness-based methods rather than NFP. The three primary signs of a woman's fertility are her basal body temperature (BBT), her cervical mucus, and her cervical position. Computerized fertility monitors , such as Lady-Comp , may track basal body temperatures, hormonal levels in urine, changes in electrical resistance of

6655-582: The Catholic principle of primacy of conscience , a principle that they said should be properly interpreted. They insisted that "a Catholic Christian is not free to form his conscience without consideration of the teaching of the magisterium , in the particular instance exercised by the Holy Father in an encyclical letter." Catholics for a Free Choice claimed in 1998 that 96% of U.S. Catholic women had used contraceptives at some point in their lives and that 72% of U.S. Catholics believed that one could be

6776-613: The Church should allow Catholics to use birth control. In 2003, the BBC 's Panorama claimed that Church officials have taught that HIV can pass through the membrane of the latex rubber from which condoms were made. It was considered not true according to the World Health Organization , despite a 2000 report by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) stating that consistent use of latex condoms reduced

6897-533: The ClearBlue Easy fertility monitor and cycle history to determine the fertile window. The monitor measures estrogen and LH to determine the peak day. This method is also applicable during postpartum, breastfeeding, and perimenopause, and requires less abstinence than other NFP methods. Some couples prefer this method because the monitor reading is objective and is not affected by sleep quality as BBT can be. Calendar-based methods determine fertility based on

7018-463: The College of St. James in Paris. When Albertus was sent by his superiors to teach at the new studium generale at Cologne , in 1248, Thomas followed him, declining Pope Innocent IV 's offer to appoint him abbot of Monte Cassino as a Dominican. Albertus then appointed the reluctant Thomas magister studentium . Because Thomas was quiet and did not speak much, some of his fellow students thought he

7139-649: The Creighton Model as being based on "a standardized modification of the Billings ovulation method (BOM)", which was developed by John and Evelyn Billings in the 1960s. The Billingses issued a paper refuting the claim that the CrMS represents a standardization of the BOM. According to the Billingses said that those concepts are two different methods and should not be seen as interchangeable. For avoiding pregnancy,

7260-468: The Order at the Church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva began in 1255 as a community for women converts but grew rapidly in size and importance after being given over to the Dominicans friars in 1275. In 1288, the theology component of the provincial curriculum for the education of the friars was relocated from the Santa Sabina studium provinciale to the studium conventuale at Santa Maria sopra Minerva, which

7381-437: The Platonic Socrates, set out to follow wherever the argument may lead. He is not engaged in an inquiry, the result of which it is impossible to know in advance. Before he begins to philosophize, he already knows the truth; it is declared in the Catholic faith. If he can find apparently rational arguments for some parts of the faith, so much the better; if he cannot, he need only fall back on revelation. The finding of arguments for

SECTION 60

#1732790178802

7502-399: The Santa Sabina studium provinciale was Blessed Tommasello da Perugia. Thomas remained at the studium at Santa Sabina from 1265 until he was called back to Paris in 1268 for a second teaching regency. With his departure for Paris in 1268 and the passage of time, the pedagogical activities of the studium provinciale at Santa Sabina were divided between two campuses. A new convent of

7623-399: The Sentences ). Aside from his master's writings, he wrote De ente et essentia ( On Being and Essence ) for his fellow Dominicans in Paris. In the spring of 1256, Thomas was appointed regent master in theology at Paris and one of his first works upon assuming this office was Contra impugnantes Dei cultum et religionem ( Against Those Who Assail the Worship of God and Religion ), defending

7744-427: The Spirit failed to protect Pius XI, Pius XII, and a large part of the Catholic hierarchy from a very serious error. This would mean that the leaders of the Church, acting with extreme imprudence, had condemned thousands of innocent human acts, forbidding, under pain of eternal damnation, a practice which would now be sanctioned. The fact can neither be denied nor ignored that these same acts would now be declared licit on

7865-404: The University of Paris for a second time, a position he held until the spring of 1272. Part of the reason for this sudden reassignment appears to have arisen from the rise of " Averroism " or "radical Aristotelianism " in the universities. In response to these perceived errors, Thomas wrote two works, one of them being De unitate intellectus, contra Averroistas ( On the Unity of Intellect, against

7986-401: The University of Paris when the Dominicans from his home province called upon him to establish a studium generale wherever he liked and staff it as he pleased. He chose to establish the institution in Naples and moved there to take his post as regent master. He took his time at Naples to work on the third part of the Summa while giving lectures on various religious topics. He also preached to

8107-455: The abbey in early 1239, Landulf and Theodora had Thomas enrolled at the studium generale ( university ) established by Frederick in Naples . There, his teacher in arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and music was Petrus de Ibernia . It was at this university that Thomas was presumably introduced to Aristotle , Averroes and Maimonides , all of whom would influence his theological philosophy. During his study at Naples, Thomas also came under

8228-674: The altar alongside the Bible and the Decretals . This happened within the historical timeframe of the " second scholasticism ", a trend during the 16th and 17th centuries that saw renewed interest in the works of scholars of the 12th, 13th, and 14th centuries, in spite of humanism as a contrary trend. Second scholasticism gave special emphasis to the works of Thomas Aquinas and John Duns Scotus , with more Franciscans following Duns Scotus, and more Dominicans and Carmelites following Thomas. "Thomists", or those following Thomas, included Francisco de Vitoria , Thomas Cajetan , Franciscus Ferrariensis , Domingo de Soto , Domingo Báñez , João Poinsot ,

8349-446: The bishop had determined to violate the omnipotence of God. The inclusion of the Thomistic propositions badly damaged Thomas's reputation for many years. By the 1300s, however, Thomas's theology had begun its rise to prestige. In the Divine Comedy (completed c. 1321), Dante sees the glorified soul of Thomas in the Heaven of the Sun with the other great exemplars of religious wisdom. Dante asserts that Thomas died by poisoning, on

8470-409: The case of an harlot; that which is against nature is execrable when done in the case of an harlot, but more execrable in the case of a wife." Saint Thomas Aquinas wrote in his Summa Contra Gentiles : "Hence it is clear that every emission of the semen is contrary to the good of man, which takes place in a way whereby generation is impossible; and if this is done on purpose, it must be a sin. I mean

8591-587: The commandment condemning murder, in addition to breaking the commandment which forbids adultery. ... Protecting oneself against sickness or death is an act of prevention. Morally, it cannot be judged on the same level as when a condom is used to reduce the number of births." In 2009, Pope Benedict XVI asserted that handing out condoms is not the solution to combating AIDS and actually makes the problem worse. He proposed "spiritual and human awakening" and "friendship for those who suffer" as solutions. Artificial family planning proponent Stephen D. Mumford claimed that

8712-616: The concept: The use of the term "Natural Family Planning" has come under sharp attack from traditional Catholic writers in recent years because it implies the right of the couple to "plan" their family; whereas the Catholic norm is to let God plan one's family and to accept the children when (and if) God gives them—as a blessing from Him on the marital union and on society. Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas OP ( / ə ˈ k w aɪ n ə s / ə- KWY -nəs ; Italian : Tommaso d'Aquino , lit.   'Thomas of Aquino '; c.  1225 – 7 March 1274)

8833-415: The confessor might morally teach them of periodic abstinence. In 1905, Theodoor Hendrik van de Velde , a Dutch gynecologist, showed that women only ovulate once per menstrual cycle. In the 1920s Japanese gynecologist Kyusaku Ogino and Austrian Hermann Knaus independently made the discovery that ovulation occurs about fourteen days before the next menstrual period. Ogino used his discovery to develop

8954-457: The earliest Christian writing about periodic abstinence was by Clement of Alexandria . He wrote, "Let the Educator (Christ) put us to shame with the word of Ezekiel: 'Put away your fornications' [Eze. 43:9]. Why, even unreasoning beasts know enough not to mate at certain times. To indulge in intercourse without intending children is to outrage nature, whom we should take as our instructor." In

9075-585: The early 20th century in the nouvelle théologie movement (meaning "new theology"). It was closely associated with a movement of ressourcement , meaning "back to sources", echoing the phrase " ad fontes " used by Renaissance humanists. Although nouvelle théologie disagreed with neo-scholasticism about modernity, arguing that theology could learn much from modern philosophy and science, their interest in also studying "old" sources meant that they found common ground in their appreciation of scholastics like Thomas Aquinas. The Second Vatican Council generally adopted

9196-413: The effect of extending Thomas's detention. Thomas passed this time of trial tutoring his sisters and communicating with members of the Dominican Order. Family members became desperate to dissuade Thomas, who remained determined to join the Dominicans. At one point, two of his brothers resorted to the measure of hiring a prostitute to seduce him, presumably because sexual temptation might dissuade him from

9317-540: The existence of God and his Attributes (Unity, Truth, Goodness, Power, Knowledge) through reason, certain specifics may be known only through the special revelation of God through Jesus Christ . The major theological components of Christianity, such as the Trinity , the Incarnation , and charity are revealed in the teachings of the church and the scriptures and may not otherwise be deduced. However, Thomas also makes

9438-456: The feast of Corpus Christi are still sung today, such as the Pange lingua (whose final two verses are the famous Tantum ergo ), and Panis angelicus . Modern scholarship has confirmed that Thomas was indeed the author of these texts, a point that some had contested. In February 1265, the newly elected Pope Clement IV summoned Thomas to Rome to serve as papal theologian. This same year, he

9559-443: The first. A year before Thomas re-assumed the regency at the 1266–67 Paris disputations, Franciscan master William of Baglione accused Thomas of encouraging Averroists, most likely counting him as one of the "blind leaders of the blind". Eleonore Stump says, "It has also been persuasively argued that Thomas Aquinas's De aeternitate mundi was directed in particular against his Franciscan colleague in theology, John Pecham ." Thomas

9680-482: The grounds of principles cited by the Protestants, which popes and bishops have either condemned or at least not approved. It is said that none of the instances cited falls under the domain of papal infallibility; the Pope is not considered infallible except in the rare, solemn occasions when he is speaking ex cathedra . According to M. R. Gagnebet, though the encyclical Humanae vitae is considered by some to be

9801-644: The influence of John of St. Julian, a Dominican preacher in Naples, who was part of the active effort by the Dominican Order to recruit devout followers. At the age of nineteen, Thomas resolved to join the Dominican Order. His change of heart, however, did not please his family. In an attempt to prevent Theodora's interference in Thomas's choice, the Dominicans arranged to move Thomas to Rome, and from Rome, to Paris. However, while on his journey to Rome, per Theodora's instructions, his brothers seized him as he

9922-536: The inspiration of the Holy Spirit and is made available through the teaching of the prophets, summed up in Holy Scripture, and transmitted by the Magisterium , the sum of which is called "Tradition". Natural revelation is the truth available to all people through their human nature and powers of reason. For example, he felt this applied to rational ways to know the existence of God. Though one may deduce

10043-518: The larger of these three studies, 75% of couples trying to conceive received additional hormonal stimulation such as clomiphene . Natural family planning Periodic abstinence , the crux of NFP, is deemed moral by the Church for avoiding or postponing pregnancy for just reasons. When used to avoid pregnancy, couples may engage in sexual intercourse during a woman's naturally occurring infertile times such as during portions of her ovulatory cycle . Various methods may be used to identify whether

10164-517: The leader of the Methodist movement said that unnatural birth control could destroy one's soul. If the Manichaeans had an accurate idea of the fertile portion of the menstrual cycle, such knowledge died with them. Documented attempts to prevent pregnancy by practicing periodic abstinence do not appear again until the mid-19th century, when various calendar-based methods were developed "by

10285-638: The love of the Creator and the Savior. Who through them will enlarge and enrich His own family day by day" (50). Beyond that the council of bishops was told to leave to the Pontifical Commission on Birth Control the task of advising Pope Paul VI on the issue. 64 of the 68 Commission members who voted recommended allowing other means of contraception, but Paul VI determined otherwise. Humanae Vitae , published in 1968 by Pope Paul VI , addressed

10406-513: The meeting, Thomas's work for Pope Urban IV concerning the Greeks, Contra errores graecorum , was to be presented. However, on his way to the council, riding on a donkey along the Appian Way , he struck his head on the branch of a fallen tree and became seriously ill again. He was then quickly escorted to Monte Cassino to convalesce. After resting for a while, he set out again but stopped at

10527-443: The meridionale during the first several decades of the order's life. The new studium provinciale at Santa Sabina was to be a more advanced school for the province. Tolomeo da Lucca , an associate and early biographer of Thomas, tells us that at the Santa Sabina studium Thomas taught the full range of philosophical subjects, both moral and natural. While at the Santa Sabina studium provinciale , Thomas began his most famous work,

10648-456: The method used and how carefully it was practised. Natural family planning has shown very weak and contradictory results in pre-selecting the sex of a child, with the exception of a Nigerian study at odds with all other findings. Because of these remarkable results, an independent study needs to be repeated in other populations. In ancient history, some Christian writers were against abstinence to prevent childbirth and some allowed it. Possibly

10769-588: The morality of periodic abstinence. Some historians consider two speeches delivered by Pope Pius XII in 1951 to be the first unequivocal acceptance of periodic abstinence by the Catholic Church. The 1950s also saw another major advance in fertility awareness knowledge: Dr. John Billings discovered the relationship between cervical mucus and fertility while working for the Melbourne Catholic Family Welfare Bureau. Billings and several other physicians studied this sign for

10890-762: The order of Charles of Anjou ; Villani cites this belief, and the Anonimo Fiorentino describes the crime and its motive. But the historian Ludovico Antonio Muratori reproduces the account made by one of Thomas's friends, and this version of the story gives no hint of foul play. When the devil's advocate at his canonization process objected that there were no miracles , one of the cardinals answered, " Tot miraculis, quot articulis "—"there are as many miracles (in his life) as articles (in his Summa )". Fifty years after Thomas's death, on 18 July 1323, Pope John XXII , seated in Avignon , pronounced Thomas

11011-727: The people of Naples every day in Lent of 1273. These sermons on the Commandments, the Creed, the Our Father, and Hail Mary were very popular. Thomas has been traditionally ascribed with the ability to levitate and as having had various mystical experiences. For example, G. K. Chesterton wrote that "His experiences included well-attested cases of levitation in ecstasy; and the Blessed Virgin appeared to him, comforting him with

11132-494: The perfect-use failure rate of Creighton was 0.5%, which means that for each year that 1,000 couples using this method perfectly, that there are 5 unintended pregnancies. The typical-use failure rate, representing the fraction of couples using this method that actually had an unintended pregnancy, is reported as 3.2%. For achieving pregnancy, no large clinical trials have been performed comparing ART and NaProTechnology. Only observational one-arm studies have been published so far. In

11253-464: The primary function of intercourse, the December 1930 encyclical Casti connubii by Pope Pius XI gave recognition to a secondary—unitive—purpose of sexual intercourse. This encyclical stated that there was no moral stain associated with having marital intercourse at times when "new life cannot be brought forth". This referred primarily to conditions such as current pregnancy and menopause. In 1932,

11374-410: The primary motivation behind the Church's continued opposition to contraceptive use is the impossibility to make changes without spoiling papal authority with regards to papal infallibility . Mumford gives as an example the citation made by dissident theologian August Bernhard Hasler of a minority report co-authored by Pope John Paul II prior to his papacy: If it should be declared that contraception

11495-420: The principles of Christianity. Aquinas' natural law theory has been influential in shaping ideas about human liberty and the moral limits of government authority . He has been described as "the most influential thinker of the medieval period " and "the greatest of the medieval philosopher -theologians". Thomas's best-known works are the unfinished Summa Theologica , or Summa Theologiae (1265–1274),

11616-416: The risk of HIV transmission by approximately 85% relative to risk when unprotected, not 100% safe. In an interview on Dutch television in 2004, Belgian Cardinal Godfried Danneels argued that the use of condoms should be supported to prevent AIDS if sex with a person infected with HIV should take place, though it is to be avoided. According to Danneels, "the person must use a condom in order not to disobey

11737-458: The sacred disciplines (philosophy, Catholic theology, church history, liturgy, and canon law ). Pope Pius V proclaimed St. Thomas Aquinas a Doctor of the Church on 15 April 1567, and ranked his feast with those of the four great Latin fathers: Ambrose , Augustine of Hippo , Jerome , and Gregory . At the Council of Trent , Thomas had the honour of having his Summa Theologiae placed on

11858-399: The slippery slope of relativism or divorce. We strongly disagree with the idea that this is a mortal sin.... It's a theological attack on women to always require that abstinence during the time of the wife's peak sexual desire (ovulation) for the entire duration of her fertile life, except for the handful of times when she conceives. Traditionalist Catholic priest Francis Ripley criticizes

11979-552: The so-called Augustinians, were fearful that this introduction of Aristotelianism and the more extreme Averroism might somehow contaminate the purity of the Christian faith. In what appears to be an attempt to counteract the growing fear of Aristotelian thought, Thomas conducted a series of disputations between 1270 and 1272: De virtutibus in communi ( On Virtues in General ), De virtutibus cardinalibus ( On Cardinal Virtues ), and De spe ( On Hope ). In 1272, Thomas took leave from

12100-423: The stance of the theologians of nouvelle théologie, but the importance of Thomas was a point of agreement. The council's decree Optatam Totius (on the formation of priests, at No. 15), proposed an authentic interpretation of the popes' teaching on Thomism, requiring that the theological formation of priests be done with Thomas Aquinas as teacher. General Catholic appreciation for Thomas has remained strong in

12221-664: The symptoms-based methods, the calendar-based methods, and the breastfeeding or lactational amenorrhea method . Symptoms-based methods rely on biological signs of fertility, while calendar-based methods estimate the likelihood of fertility based on the length of past menstrual cycles. Clinical studies by the Guttmacher Institute found that periodic abstinence resulted in a 25.3 percent failure under typical conditions, though it did not differentiate between symptom-based and calendar-based methods. Some methods of NFP track biological signs of fertility. When used outside of

12342-483: The term natural family planning to describe calendar-based methods is considered incorrect by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops , which considers such methods "inaccurate". Some organizations have considered calendar-based methods to be forms of NFP. For example, in 1999 the Institute for Reproductive Health at Georgetown University developed the Standard Days Method (SDM), which

12463-460: The two primary tools for processing the data of theology. Thomas believed both were necessary—or, rather, that the confluence of both was necessary—for one to obtain true knowledge of God. Thomas blended Greek philosophy and Christian doctrine by suggesting that rational thinking and the study of nature, like revelation, were valid ways to understand truths pertaining to God. According to Thomas, God reveals himself through nature, so to study nature

12584-458: The use of contraception not to conform with God's will for Catholic marriage, in that it interrupts the procreative aspect of the sexual union, making it unnatural and counter to what God has outlined for married couples. Pope John Paul II said in Love and Responsibility that an integral aspect of the love between husband and wife is the openness to the real potential of becoming a parent, or becoming

12705-766: The vast majority of citizens claims to be Catholic, NFP methods are rarely taught. In 2002, Sam and Bethany Torode, then a Protestant Christian couple, published a book advocating NFP use. Many NFP clinics and teaching organizations are associated with the Catholic Church, as well as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and some members of the Muslim faith. Some fundamental Christians espouse Quiverfull theology, eschewing all forms of birth control, including natural family planning. Some proponents of NFP differentiate it from other forms of birth control by labeling them artificial birth control. Other NFP literature holds that natural family planning

12826-620: The welcome news that he would never be a Bishop." It is traditionally held that on one occasion, in 1273, at the Dominican convent of Naples in the chapel of Saint Nicholas , after Matins , Thomas lingered and was seen by the sacristan Domenic of Caserta to be levitating in prayer with tears before an icon of the crucified Christ. Christ said to Thomas, "You have written well of me, Thomas. What reward would you have for your labor?" Thomas responded, "Nothing but you, Lord." On 6 December 1273, another mystical experience took place. While Thomas

12947-466: The work of twentieth-century philosophers such as Elizabeth Anscombe (especially in her book Intention ), Thomas's principle of double effect specifically and his theory of intentional activity generally have been influential. The cognitive neuroscientist Walter Freeman has proposed that Thomism is the philosophical system explaining cognition that is most compatible with neurodynamics . Henry Adams 's Mont Saint Michel and Chartres ends with

13068-676: The year 388, St. Augustine wrote against the Manichaeans: "Is it not you who used to counsel us to observe as much as possible the time when a woman, after her purification, is most likely to conceive, and to abstain from cohabitation at that time...?" The Manichaeans (the group the early church father St. Augustine wrote of and considered to be heretics) believed that it was immoral to create any children, thus (by their belief system), trapping souls in mortal bodies. Augustine condemned them for their use of periodic abstinence during fertile periods: "From this it follows that you consider marriage

13189-460: Was abbot of Monte Cassino , the oldest Benedictine monastery . While the rest of the family's sons pursued military careers, the family intended for Thomas to follow his uncle into the abbacy; this would have been a normal career path for a younger son of Southern Italian nobility. At the age of five Thomas began his early education at Monte Cassino, but after the military conflict between Emperor Frederick II and Pope Gregory IX spilt into

13310-467: Was an Italian Dominican friar and priest , the foremost Scholastic thinker, as well one of the most influential philosophers and theologians in the Western tradition. He was from the county of Aquino in the Kingdom of Sicily . Thomas was a proponent of natural theology and the father of a school of thought (encompassing both theology and philosophy) known as Thomism . Central to his thought

13431-615: Was canonized, his feast day was inserted in the General Roman Calendar for celebration on 7 March, the day of his death. Since this date commonly falls within Lent , the 1969 revision of the calendar moved his memorial to 28 January, the date of the translation of his relics to Church of the Jacobins , Toulouse . Thomas Aquinas is honored with a feast day in some churches of the Anglican Communion with

13552-458: Was celebrating Mass, he experienced an unusually long ecstasy. Because of what he saw, he abandoned his routine and refused to dictate to his socius Reginald of Piperno . When Reginald begged him to get back to work, Thomas replied: "Reginald, I cannot, because all that I have written seems like straw to me" ( mihi videtur ut palea ). As a result, the Summa Theologica would remain uncompleted. What exactly triggered Thomas's change in behaviour

13673-615: Was declared the patron saint of all Catholic educational establishments. Similarly, in Pascendi Dominici gregis , the 1907 encyclical by Pope Pius X , the Pope said, "...let Professors remember that they cannot set St. Thomas aside, especially in metaphysical questions, without grave detriment." On 29 June 1923, on the sixth centenary of his canonisation, Pope Pius XI dedicated the encyclical Studiorum Ducem to him. In response to neo-scholasticism, Catholic scholars who were more sympathetic to modernity gained influence during

13794-476: Was deeply disturbed by the spread of Averroism and was angered when he discovered Siger of Brabant teaching Averroistic interpretations of Aristotle to Parisian students. On 10 December 1270, the Bishop of Paris, Étienne Tempier , issued an edict condemning thirteen Aristotelian and Averroistic propositions as heretical and excommunicating anyone who continued to support them. Many in the ecclesiastical community,

13915-409: Was drinking from a spring and took him back to his parents at the castle of Monte San Giovanni Campano . Thomas was held prisoner for almost one year in the family castles at Monte San Giovanni and Roccasecca in an attempt to prevent him from assuming the Dominican habit and to push him into renouncing his new aspiration. Political concerns prevented the Pope from ordering Thomas's release, which had

14036-821: Was ordered by the Dominican Chapter of Agnani to teach at the studium conventuale at the Roman convent of Santa Sabina , founded in 1222. The studium at Santa Sabina now became an experiment for the Dominicans, the Order's first studium provinciale , an intermediate school between the studium conventuale and the studium generale . Prior to this time, the Roman Province had offered no specialized education of any sort, no arts, no philosophy; only simple convent schools, with their basic courses in theology for resident friars, were functioning in Tuscany and

14157-570: Was redesignated as a studium particularis theologiae . This studium was transformed in the 16th century into the College of Saint Thomas ( Latin : Collegium Divi Thomæ ). In the 20th century, the college was relocated to the convent of Saints Dominic and Sixtus and was transformed into the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas , (aka the Angelicum ). In 1268, the Dominican Order assigned Thomas to be regent master at

14278-583: Was responsible for the pastoral formation of the friars unable to attend a studium generale . In Orvieto, Thomas completed his Summa contra Gentiles , wrote the Catena aurea ( The Golden Chain ), and produced works for Pope Urban IV such as the liturgy for the newly created feast of Corpus Christi and the Contra errores graecorum ( Against the Errors of the Greeks ). Some of the hymns that Thomas wrote for

14399-692: Was slow. But Albertus prophetically exclaimed: "You call him the dumb ox [ bos mutus ], but in his teaching he will one day produce such a bellowing that it will be heard throughout the world". Thomas taught in Cologne as an apprentice professor ( baccalaureus biblicus ), instructing students on the books of the Old Testament and writing Expositio super Isaiam ad litteram ( Literal Commentary on Isaiah ), Postilla super Ieremiam ( Commentary on Jeremiah ), and Postilla super Threnos ( Commentary on Lamentations ). In 1252, he returned to Paris to study for

14520-411: Was the doctrine of natural law , which he argued was accessible to human reason and grounded in the very nature of human beings, providing a basis for understanding individual rights and moral duties . He argued that God is the source of the light of natural reason and the light of faith. He embraced several ideas put forward by Aristotle and attempted to synthesize Aristotelian philosophy with

14641-415: Was working on one of his most famous works, Summa contra Gentiles . In 1259, Thomas completed his first regency at the studium generale and left Paris so that others in his order could gain this teaching experience. He returned to Naples where he was appointed as general preacher by the provincial chapter of 29 September 1260. In September 1261 he was called to Orvieto as conventual lector, where he

#801198