The Catholic Church does little to promote natural family planning in India, says Sister Catherine Bernard, a medical doctor.

The Cross of Chavanod nun is based in Chennai, capital of the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, 2,100 kilometers south of New Delhi.

She started and directs Service and Research Foundation of Asia on Family and Culture (SERFAC). For 34 years, she has been associated with John Billings of Australia, who pioneered the natural-family-planning method, popularly called Billings Ovulation Method. Billings died in April, at the age of 89.

In the following interview, she shares her views on her association with the late Australian and the impact of his work on marriage and family, especially among Indian Catholics. She also speaks of how the Church can popularize natural family planning in the country.

UCA NEWS: How did your association with Doctor Billings begin?

SISTER CATHERINE BERNARD: When I graduated from St. John’s Medical College and Hospital (in southern Bangalore) 43 years ago, I began working with its family-planning department as an intern. I knew the Church does not approve contraceptive methods and I started teaching natural-planning methods.

The Billings couple came to know about my work. When they came to India to present their findings, they met me and I began working with Billings’ family.

In those days, I used to work in rural areas to teach women natural planning. One day, a poor woman who was pregnant for a fifth time told me about her struggles with her drunkard husband, who was forcing her to abort.

After giving birth to the child, she began using the natural-family-planning method. She would tie a thermometer from the roof of her hut and monitored her body temperature every day (to identify her fertility cycle).

Slowly, her husband also changed and became understanding. Then I told myself, “If poor people have this type of motivation and love for life, then there must be something to it.” That something is what I have been discovering day after day for the past 34 years.

How did Billings influence you?

Doctor Billings and his wife influenced me tremendously and profoundly. As a couple, they themselves were witnesses to the truth. They were an example of genuine family love and love for humanity. Their life motivated me. In them, I found concrete expressions of God’s love for people. I said, “There has to be some good about it,” and I continue to discover that good.

What was their contribution to the Church?

The Billings’ greatest contribution to the Church, especially in the field of health, is the natural-family-planning method they introduced. The Billings method went through research for 25-30 years. They faced opposition, lack of funds and criticism from the medical fraternity, but they withstood the test of time. As the research continued, they met another researcher in the filed, Doctor Eric Odablade from Sweden. They found their findings complemented each other. They tested findings simultaneously in different parts of the world. That further strengthened the scientific basis of the Billings method, which is 100 percent scientific, reliable and natural in planning families.

What are its benefits and drawbacks?

People don’t ‘use’ the Billings method. They simply understand their fertility patterns and apply rules. No technology is involved. But with contraceptives, you allow technology and chemicals to dominate your life.

In the Billings method, women identify fertile days by monitoring bodily changes such as temperature and by interpreting cervical mucus. In contrast, the rhythm method is based on calculation of the calendar. The Billings method is scientifically proven effective for family planning.

When one wants to follow the Billings method, it must be followed in its entirety. Some doctors, even in India, made modifications, but then you can’t call it the Billings method. So when your modified method fails, do not call it a failure of the Billings method.

The most important advantage of this method is that it keeps a marriage together. Husband and wife learn to respect each other and their fertility. They begin to respect their combined fertility. Periodic abstinence makes their marriage stronger. Children become gifts of marriage. They begin to be life-givers in society.

As far as I am aware, it has no drawbacks, but there are two difficulties. One is that people have to maintain a chart. Some people find it cumbersome. The second is that its promotion is slow. We have to move from person to person, couple to couple, and follow it up.

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