The Lambeth Report-Resolution 15

Extract

Let us introduce this subject with a quotation from the Church Times.

At the Lambeth Conference of 1920, the Bishops issued ‘an earnest warning-against the use of any unnatural means by which conception is frustrated.’ Their Report continued : ‘We are aware that many persons of undoubted sincerity, whose opinions are entitled to respect, do not share this view, considering the whole matter as chiefly a question of expediency, to be determined on medical, financial and social grounds. This contention we cannot admit, as we believe that the question cannot be separated from the moral and religious issues involved.’

That was ten years ago. This year the Bishops have met again and this time the question of Marriage and the use of Contraceptives found a definite place in the Agenda. Their findings are now familiar. For after saying that:

The Conference affirms (a) the duty of parenthood and the glory of married life; (b) the benefit of a family as a joy in itself, as a vital contribution to the nation’s welfare, and as a means of character-building for both parents and children; (c) the privilege of discipline and sacrifice to this end