A Vatican 2 "did you know?"

Many people would probably argue that the Second Vatican Council had little or nothing to say about birth control -or- the "regulation of birth" but that is not so. They might even say the Council basically left it up to the conscience of the individual - also not so. The longest document that the Council produced is "The Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World" (Gaudium et Spes). In the first half of the document, a foundation is laid for the necessity of the Church's activity in the modern world and in the second half specific issues are examined including marriage, family life and birth control.
As you may be aware, the more definitive document on this topic is an encyclical written by Pope Paul VI in 1968 entitled "Humanae Vitae (Of Human Life)". But the council has a few things to say about it as well in the Pastoral Constitution. There are a few long paragraphs and sections dealing with conjugal love and I will quote just a couple of sentences. In section 51 this paragraph sums up what the Church wants all of humanity to be aware of in regards to these matters:
"For God, the Lord of life, has conferred on men the surpassing ministry of safeguarding life in a manner which is worthy of man. Therefore from the moment of its conception life must be guarded with the greatest care while abortion and infanticide are unspeakable crimes. The sexual characteristics of man and the human faculty of reproduction wonderfully exceed the dispositions of lower forms of life. Hence the acts themselves which are proper to conjugal love and which are exercised in accord with genuine human dignity must be honored with great reverence. Hence when there is question of harmonizing conjugal love with the responsible transmission of life, the moral aspects of any procedure does not depend solely on sincere intentions or on an evaluation of motives, but must be determined by objective standards. These, based on the nature of the human person and his acts, preserve the full sense of mutual self-giving and human procreation in the context of true love. Such a goal cannot be achieved unless the virtue of conjugal chastity is sincerely practiced. Relying on these principles, sons and daughters of the Church may not undertake methods of birth control which are found blameworthy by the teaching authority of the Church in its unfolding of the divine law." (emphasis added) 
When I was newly married and deciding about these matters I did not follow what the Church taught but arbitrarily made my own decisions - something I deeply regret today. As I read the documents now and understand more fully the Church's teaching on the human person and human sexuality I finally "get it". The Church is NOT our enemy regarding marital love but teaches in a way that allows the spouses to live it out in beautiful and meaningful ways. I challenge all who have read this post to go the links below and read all of Humanae Vitae and sections 47-52 in Gaudium et Spes.
Comment and let me know what you think. Do these teaching surprise you?
Humanae Vitae

Gaudium et Spes: