Former Irish President Fights to End Contraception Ban

IrishCentral (Sept. 19, 2016): Former Irish President McAleese Calls on Pope to End Contraception Ban, by James O'Shea:

A "Scholars Statement" that includes the signature of former president of Ireland Mary McAleese (1997-2011) calls on Pope Francis and the Catholic Church to bring its ban on contraception to an end.  The statement cites the "[t]he damage inflicted particularly on the poor, on women, on children, on relationships, on health, on society and not least on the church itself" as a compelling reason to end the ban but more importantly notes that the ban has no basis in divine law.  

McAleese's participation in the statement stems in part from her upbringing.  She has eight siblings and at least 60 cousins, all 69 produced by her mother and her mother's siblings.  Growing up, McAleese and her siblings were dissuaded by her parents from having such a large family.  Her parents, she concludes, and all Catholics who have blindly followed the 1969 encyclical to be fruitful and multiply, have been "infantilized and robbed" by the church.

Today, the vast majority of Catholics worldwide ignore the contraception ban.