Did Fulton Sheen take a permissive stand on contraception?
The short answer
No. There is no substantive evidence he rejected the Church's teaching; he defended it before and after Humanae Vitae. In his 1969 interview with David Frost he called it "the law," while expressing sympathy for those who struggle, and his books Three to Get Married and The World's First Love firmly oppose contraception.
Faithful before and after Humanae Vitae
There is no substantive evidence that Sheen rejected Church teaching on contraception. He defended it both before and after Paul VI's 1968 encyclical. Had he dissented, he would have been held up by those who undermined the teaching; he was not.
The David Frost interview
Perhaps the claim comes from his 1969 interview with David Frost, as excerpted in Thomas Reeves's biography America's Bishop. Reeves argues that Sheen wavered under repeated questioning after defending the teaching. But Sheen closed by affirming his solidarity with Paul VI — "This is the law. Not all of us keep the law" — while expressing sympathy for hard cases and urging trust in God's mercy and prayer.
His books
In The World's First Love he wrote that so-called birth control rests on the idea that love has no obligations. In Three to Get Married he called "planned unparenthood" a deliberate decision to deny God the chance to create another in his image.
Rochester
As Bishop of Rochester (1966–1969) he wrote essays for his diocesan newspaper defending the Church's teaching after Humanae Vitae.
Continue exploring
- Does the Church allow birth control in certain circumstances?Q&A
- How is NFP different from the sin of Onan?Q&A
- May we use birth control to avoid a difficult pregnancy?Q&A
- Am I required to have a large family?Q&A
- Are marital relations not supposed to be pleasurable, since they are for reproduction?Q&A
- Can homologous artificial insemination be permitted as a treatment for male infertility?Q&A