Catholic Church newsletter claims IVF is a 'sin'
Communities in rural New South Wales are outraged over a newsletter being circulated by the Catholic Church, which claims in vitro fertilisation is a sin.
The document was handed out in mass and also at schools around the areas of Griffith, Wagga Wagga and Murrumbidgee this week.
In the letter, a whole page dedicated to a ‘checklist’ of the conscience includes a paragraph surrounding matters of childbirth.
Under the subheading “You shall not kill”, the reader is presented with the following questions:
“Have I mutilated myself through any form of sterilisation? Have I encouraged or condoned sterilisation? Have I engaged, in any way, in sins against human life such as artificial insemination or in vitro fertilisation?”
The paper also questioned the use of contraception and birth control.
Members of the local community were angered by the statements, with many interpreting the message to mean that children conceived through IVF were born into sin.
"It’s very upsetting for me as a mother – the children who see this and feel persecuted, it’s sad," one concerned woman told local media The Area News.
Another woman said she would boycott the church despite being a devout member for years.
"Why judge kids, an innocent child having a judgement made on them that they are sinful, it doesn’t add up," she said.
"The worry is that this is being preached to children here who are impressionable and literal, if you are teaching that sort of thing to children it leads to huge confusions in their lives which can be damaging."
In a statement, the Diocese of Wagga Wagga said the newsletter was intended for adults who were preparing for confession for the first time.
"The message uses the Ten Commandments as a basis to examine one's conscience," the statement read.
"At one point, the reader is asked: ‘Have I engaged, in any way, in sins against human life such as artificial insemination or in vitro fertilisation? Have I participated in or approved of euthanasia?’
"At no time does the priest make derogatory statements about children conceived through IVF."
The Bishop of Wagga Wagga also apologised to anyone who was “offended or made to feel unwelcome as a result of the media coverage the story had received”.
News break – September 1
