Coexist with contraception?

 

Any priest will tell you that if one spouse imposes contraception on the marriage, the innocent spouse may passively cooperate provided they inform the other of the sin. Previous Church promulgations are cited, especially the the Holy See's Vademecum For Confessors - 1997. It is taught to all seminarians that for grave cause, the VFC permits reluctant cooperation w/ the sin of contraception by the innocent spouse.

Lie too big to fail? The VFC describes the conjugal act as the "unitive act." The cooperation w/ contraception is justified today by classifying contraceptive relations as "marital relations." This is accomplished by de facto making the "unitive aspect" the primary purpose of the act. Thus contraceptive acts are "not already illicit," but become so after procreation is thwarted.

The text of the VFC states  "This cooperation can be licit when...the action of the cooperating spouse is not already illicit in itself; 47."

47 footnotes to Denzinger 2795 and 3634 which is

 Holy Office of April 19, 1853: 

 Q. “whether a wife can be knowingly passive in condomistic intercourse” 

A. “negative; for it would be an involvement in something intrinsically unlawful”

This means that any act which is intrinsically unlawful can never be cooperated with, because said act is "already illicit." 

One example of an act which is not already illicit would be the sin of Onan, because it begins naturally, but ends unnaturally.

Sacred Penitentiary April 3rd, 1916 regarding the imposed sin of Onan on the wife.

"..on her part she addresses herself to a lawful thing and

action, she is but permitting the sin of the husband for a serious cause which

excuses her:"

This means for grave cause she can reluctantly permit the sin of Onan because it is initiated as a "lawful thing." It is not "already illicit," but only concludes illicit.

The Vademecum For Confessors condemns any cooperation with contraception if procreation is the primary purpose of the act. The VFC allows (wink) cooperation with contraception if "love" is the primary purpose of the conjugal act.

 "The primary end of marriage is the procreation and the education of children." Casti Connubii 17

 "The primary end of marriage is "to express a most profound spiritual communion through the body." Christopher West. 

Catholics can never cooperate with contraception because it is "already illicit" since procreation is primary. Modernists can reluctantly cooperate with contraception because to them it is "not already illicit" since they say love is primary.