The recent events in Massachusetts following the Supreme Court decision requiring that same sex marriages be allowed in the State of Massachusetts are likely to provoke a wave of similar struggles throughout the nation. Many within the Catholic Church and outside of the Church have called for an amendment to the United States Constitution defining marriage as a union of one man and one woman. This would exclude the possibility of a legal marriage between two persons of the same sex in all states.

While such an effort may well be a worthy one, we must admit that passing such an amendment is like closing the floodgates after the waters have poured out and done their destructive work. Had the Church listened with open hearts and minds to the prophetic message of Pope Paul VI when he wrote Humanae Vitae, we would likely find ourselves in a much different position. Perhaps the trend of our society would have brought us to the point of same sex marriages had the Church been more open to the message of Pope Paul VI, but the Church would have been in a better position to raise its voice in opposition.

The connection between artificial contraception, abortion and homosexual marriage may not be immediately evident, but with further reflection, the connection is not difficult to see. Increasingly among those defending the sanctity of the unborn, the contraceptive mentality has been identified as a root cause of the pro-abortion mentality. Once a pregnancy becomes a failure of contraception and the baby an unwanted intruder into the woman’s body, it is not a far step to justifying the removal of the intruder.

Contraception introduces a subtle shift in our understanding of the sexual relationship. When there is no longer an openness to life and sexual relations are not seen as leading to conception, it is only a small shift to be in seeing sexual intimacy as acceptable outside of marriage. When the possibility of conceiving new life is done away with through contraception, the importance of sexual intimacy being between persons of the opposite sex is lost. If sexual expression is only about expression of love between two people, those two people can be anyone, married or unmarried, heterosexual or homosexual.

With contraception, we have redefined the meaning of the sexual expression of human love. While it was not intended by most proponents of contraception, we now find ourselves in a place that almost any form of sexual behavior is seen as acceptable as long as it is between consenting partners. In addition, while children are no longer seen as a natural part of marriage, it is no longer seen to be necessary to be married to have children.

Passing an amendment may be necessary, but the battle will not be won through new laws and constitutions. The struggle will be won through returning to the wisdom that was so widely rejected when Pope Paul VI wrote Humanae Vitae. Pope Paul VI taught us that human sexual expression must never be separated from the possibility of being life giving. The only exception to this is, according to the long tradition of the Church, is when the rhythms and cycles of the human body are understood and utilized to postpone conception at a given time for weighty reasons.

The road back will be neither brief nor easy. The redefinition of human sexuality that has taken place in our society is deep-rooted and very pervasive. There are powerful forces that do not want to see a reversal of the loose understanding of sexual morality that has become so acceptable in our culture. However, we Christians, who are called to be "salt of the earth" and "light of the world", hold a treasure that is much needed by the human family. The sexual mores that have come from the contraceptive mentality will not bring the happiness that people seek. Instead, the contemporary sexual mores will only continue to bring an endless and fruitless search for meaning and fulfillment. Lives and relationships will continue to be broken and destroyed. The family, as the stable union of husband and wife, eager for the gift of children and ready to raise them well, will continue to be less common.