Aqui fica uma citação do discurso de Madre Teresa de Calcutá aquando da entrega do Prémio Nobel da Paz em 1979, em que fala sobre o amor de Deus, a Paz (de Cristo), os pobres, o aborto, e o planeamento familiar natural. Note-se que a Madre ensinou um método muito simples, que ainda assim resultou com bastante eficácia - muito mais que os contraceptivos.

Serve isto de exemplo para nós que, dispondo ainda de métodos naturais mais eficazes que os contraceptivos, não os usamos por pura preguiça, luxúria, má-vontade e/ou egoísmo. Em tudo, falta de amor e caridade, de abertura total a Deus.


"(...) I will tell you something terrifying. We are fighting abortion by adoption. We have saved thousands of lives. We have sent word to all the clinics, to the hospitals, police stations: "Please don't destroy the child; we will take the child". So every hour of the day and night there is always somebody - we have quite a number of unwedded mothers - tell them: "Come, we will take care of you, we will take care of the child from you, and we will get a home for the child". And we have a tremendous demand for families who have no children, that is the blessing of God for us. And also, we are doing another thing which is very beautiful. We are teaching our beggars, our leprosy patients, our slum dwellers, our people of the street, natural family planning.

And in Calcutta alone in six years - it is all in Calcutta - we have had 61 273 babies less from the families who would have had them because they practice this natural way of abstaining, of self-control, out of love for each other. We teach them the temperature method which is very beautiful, very simple. And our poor people understand. And you know what they have told me? "Our family is healthy, our family is united, and we can have a baby whenever we want". So clear - those people in the street, those beggars - and I think that if our people can do like that how much more you and all the others who can know the ways and means without destroying the life that God has created in us.

The poor people are very great people. They can teach us so many beautiful things. The other day one of them came to thank us and said: "You people who have evolved chastity; you are the best people to teach us family planning because it is nothing more than self-control out of love for each other." And I think they said a beautiful sentence. And these are people who maybe have nothing to eat, maybe they have not a home where to live, but they are great people. (...)"


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Um comentário à forma como Madre Teresa encarava o Planeamento Familiar Natural.


"Most people in the world - and especially non-christians - know Mother Teresa as the nun against abortion. Many also blame her for this fact and many refuse even to know anything more or to read something about her, blinded as they are by their 'justified' anger for so much ignorance.
Her big defense of the life of the unborn, her sayings as: "if you do not want your unborn child, bring it to us and we will raise it" have brought great anger to people who consider this kind of talk a big expression of blind stupidity, especially in undeveloped countries.

Together with this fight against abortion was - in their eyes - the fact that Mother was against contraception a second reason for anger and denial.

And I must say, that if your life is filled with consuming and living a full life of freedom, (or what you consider being so) you may think - even being a practising catholic - that what this people say, has a real ground and that Mother was definitely wrong.

It takes opening to God and His love, a continuous search for His will in our life and lot of prayer to discover why Mother Teresa was this stubborn in this opinion and where she found the reasons to believe this was something in Gods'plan.

To Mother the first thing in life each one of us has is the responsibility for his life and for his/her acts. If people decide to make love, they should know that it is possible that a child is born from this. Adults are adults because they know the possible consequences of their acts. They can measure profit and damage and act according to rules and social laws. Adults are capable to take that responsibility, because they can withhold, they can manage, they can postpone... When I know a plane will crash I don't take it. When I know winter will be hard, I buy warm clothes and if I know the road is wet, I drive slowly. In this cases it seems so obvious. But when it considers our sexuality we feel that full freedom and no limits should be there on the contrary.

(...)

Mother was against contraception when it was medicine and all the common western ways we use. She was NOT against the idea. But for her "contraception" was Natural Family Planning. This is a method that needs the co-operation of both partners, that needs the consent and the engagement of both, this is unlike our western ways of contraception.

Let us make a comparison between both:

Natural Family Planning

- Both partners consent and work together
- Demands the will of cooperation of both partners
- Both partners take a responsibility for abstention during a certain period and live out of respect for each other
- Both partners recognize that they can guide and live their sexuality
result is: responsible parenthood.
- Tenderness and respect are very important
- Expects people to be emotionally adults, because it demands character and both partners accept in maturity.


Western Contraception

- There is no consent needed. One of the partners can decide to take the pill, or sometimes demands it from the other.
- Cooperation is not really necessary.
- No abstention needed. Sexuality can be consumed like sweets or liquor. The will is not involved.
- Sexuality can guide the life.
- No responsibility is taken.
- Tenderness and respect are not necessarily involved
- Acting as an adult is not necessary. There are no or fewer consequences to consider.


This vision on life and contraception of Mother is according to God's vision on the world. She expects and hopes people will grow a mature personality and learn responsibility and charity before such important acts. We should think about the way we live our sexuality and use it with responsibility. Be master of it. When others give themselves to us we should accept it as a precious gift and give ours to others as precious gift. This includes a good and steady relationship with the partner. It is an appeal to all of us to live conscient of our call, conscient of our responsibilities for each other, conscient of the gift of our bodies and our minds, conscient and grateful for the gift of life. Mothers point of view is a call on us to be responsible and emotionally adult people.. or at least to strive to be. Taking responsibility for one another in this way, is a taking and learning an attitude of mutual attention in tenderness and meekness, in patience and hope, in forgiveness and love. And it is the right way for a happy life."

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