Denver, Colo., Jul 25, 2019 / 02:35 pm (CNA).- NFP, or Natural Family Planning, is an oft misunderstood thing.
So much so that, to kick off NFP Awareness Week, one user joked in the “Catholic NFP TTA” Facebook group on Tuesday that she was celebrating the week with a drinking game.
“Take a shot every time a commenter opines about grave reasons. Another shot for when someone jokes that they’re bad at NFP. What would you take a shot for?” she asked. The joke struck a chord, and other group members chimed in with more than 100 additional comments.
“‘How far is too far when you’re abstaining?’ EVERYONE DRINKS” one commenter proposed. “Take a shot whenever someone claims Marquette is the perfect method for postpartum/everyone. Take another when someone argues with that person,” suggested another.
This post, and its comments, illustrate not that NFP users are proponents of binge drinking, but rather that they are accustomed to being misunderstood – even, sometimes, by their fellow users of NFP – and that they’ve developed a sense of humor about it.
NFP is the umbrella term for a host of natural methods used to plan and space children that rely on charting a woman’s menstrual cycle and related symptoms, including basal (resting) temperature, cervical mucus and hormone levels, among other things. The methods can be used to either achieve or avoid pregnancy, and are considered the only moral method of family planning by the Catholic Church; thus, many NFP users are Catholic.
So when The Outline, a secular, online publication, published last week an NFP article entitled “The Facebook groups where Catholic women shame each other about sex,” women who use NFP were disappointed, but not surprised, they told CNA.
“Women join these groups to find support as they navigate the complicated and sometimes conflicting rules around family planning as Catholics, only to be met with judgment or contempt when they admit they may be struggling,” wrote Mary Meisenzahl, the author of The Outline piece.
“NFP groups, as you might imagine, are also where women go to police each other’s bodies and sexual lives.”
The article included no interviews with NFP users, instructors or Facebook group administrators, and proffered a handful of posts from only one NFP Facebook group – a secret, private group entitled “NFP: Catholic Style” – as proof that the culture of Catholic NFP is one of shame and judgment.
It concludes with a recommendation that the Catholic Church change its teaching on sexuality and contraception, “as many members of these groups are getting their feelings of shame directly from the church.”
CNA spoke with multiple Catholic women and users of NFP who felt differently.
The only place where NFP is talked about freely
“These Facebook groups, as flawed as they may be, are the only places we may feel safe and open enough to simply talk about all things NFP in respect to our faith,” Virginia Pride, an administrator for “Catholic NFP TTA” Facebook group, told CNA.
“TTA” is an abbreviation in NFP for “Trying To Avoid”, and refers to couples abstaining from sex to avoid a pregnancy during the fertile windows of a woman’s cycle.
Pride told CNA that since the article was published, some women have been afraid to post openly in groups they had previously assumed were friendly to NFP and all that it entails.
“Many women in our groups now are afraid to share information with other members and admins; this in turn affects how much help they receive. Knowing how little support NFP users already receive in the real world, and you have a serious case of isolation on our hands,” Pride said.
“Perhaps Ms. Meisenzahl felt that she is doing Catholic women a favor by attempting to ‘liberate’ us from our own beliefs on sexuality and family planning, by way of intruding our communities for nefarious reasons, and using our stories and experiences without our consent for her biased articles,” Pride added.
“Whatever the case, her blind acceptance of anti-NFP and anti-Catholicism has only furthered the difficulties that Catholic women face, rather than help alleviate the issue,” she said.
A grain of salt and a sense of community
Laura Golden is a registered nurse and mother who lives in northern Minnesota. Golden has practiced the Creighton model of NFP for several years, and is training to become a Creighton NFP instructor. She told CNA that she credits the method for helping her achieve two pregnancies after experiencing difficulties.
While Golden is not an administrator of any NFP Facebook group, she said she is a member of two – one that is Creighton-specific, and the larger, more general Catholic NFP group referenced in Meisenzahl’s article. Golden currently instructs 13 couples in their use of the Creighton model – some Catholic, some not.
Golden said that she relies more on the Creighton-specific Facebook group; each NFP method comes with it’s own “jargon”, she said, and it can be easy to confuse the different terminology.
She also cautions those she instructs to take what is said in the Facebook groups with a grain of salt.
“I tell them, if this is causing you anxiety, then delete it. If you need to turn off the notifications because it’s just too much in your face, do that,” Golden told CNA. She said that for couples trying to achieve pregnancy, these groups can be overwhelming, since waiting each month to find out whether a pregnancy has been achieved can already lead to stress.
However, she added, these groups can also offer an important sense of community to NFP users who live in remote areas, or who do not personally know other NFP users.
“I live in a really small town and there’s probably three couples in our parish that are of childbearing years and are using a fertility method that I’m aware of at least,” Golden said. “So if you’re having an issue, you do feel really isolated because maybe you don’t know anyone else that has that issue or is even using a method that’s remotely familiar to you. And so when you are a part of this group, it does give you a lot of community.”
The article also missed the mark when describing the accuracy of NFP methods, Golden said. It cited a statistic from the Department of Health and Human Services, which states that NFP carries with it about a 25 percent chance of getting pregnant. However, it does not state the efficacy rates of each method of NFP, and it does not list the sympto-hormonal method of NFP (used in the Marquette Method, for example), on its list of method types.
In a study published by the National Institutes of Health, researchers tracked 204 women of childbearing years using the Marquette method of NFP over the course of a year. There were 12 pregnancies total in that year. The study found that the efficacy of the Marquette Method of NFP for avoiding pregnancy was 99.4% effective with “correct use”, and that it was 89.4% effective with “typical use” per 100 users.
To compare, birth control pills are about 93% effective with typical use, while condoms are about 87% effective with typical use, according to the CDC.
The “contraceptive mentality” and “just reasons” to avoid pregnancy
Mikayla Dalton is a Boston Cross Check method instructor and an admin for the Clearblue Monitor Methods (MM) NFP group on Facebook. She told CNA that her group has commenting guidelines that caution users against certain kinds of comments – those disparaging of others, those that attempt to start theological debates, those that are off topic, or those that encourage other users to go against the prescribed protocols of the Marquette Method, among other things.
The group tells members that any comments that go against the guidelines may be deleted, and that users may be muted or blocked if they are found to be hostile to the group. Dalton added that they also include a warning, telling women that while the group is closed, members are only lightly vetted, and that they should proceed with caution sharing personal sexual or intimate information in such a context.
“This warning strikes me as poignant now, after a person joined a group with the intent of surveilling its membership, to report on “the other,” having concealed – or not been upfront about – their identity and purpose in gathering information,” Dalton told CNA.
“Having a woman break the trust people had put in each other in the group, to get some kind of journalistic ‘scoop’ is disheartening. Accusing women of shaming other women… while shaming swathes of women… is ironic,” she added.
One kind of “shaming” comment in NFP groups that Meisenzahl mentioned in her article are those that accuse NFP users of using the methods with a “contraceptive mentality” – in other words, that they are using NFP to avoid having children for selfish or unserious reasons.
The term is incorrectly applied against users of NFP, Dalton said, and when she sees such comments in her group, she and many other members are quick to offer corrections.
“This particular phrase was used by Pope John Paul II in Evangelium vitae to refer specifically to a mentality arising from the use of contraception,” Dalton said, and he uses it in contrast to those who are following God’s plan for marriage and sexuality, under which the use of NFP falls.
Meisenzahl added in her article that: “Humanae vitae refers to ‘serious reasons’ and ‘just causes,’ for avoiding pregnancy, but the preferred translation among the more extreme members of the Facebook group is ‘grave reason.'”
“The Church doesn’t give a list of specific circumstances that are valid for avoiding pregnancy. For some Catholics, this means, as one user put it, ‘God understands your reasons. It’s up to Him to judge. What is in your heart?’, so each couple can make the choice that they feel is right for their specific situation. For others, though, a lack of concrete reasons means an opportunity to police and shame women who are actively trying to avoid children.”
Humanae vitae is an encyclical written by Pope Paul VI and published in 1968. The document was written to explain Church teaching regarding sexuality, contraception and marriage, and upheld NFP at a time when many within the Church were calling for the Church to change its teaching and accept contraception.
Dr. Janet Smith is a Catholic professor who holds the Father Michael J. McGivney Chair of Life Ethics at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit and has written and spoken extensively on Humanae vitae. She has written about many different aspects about NFP, including the “contraceptive mentality” and the reasons Catholic couples may legitimately use NFP to avoid pregnancy.
“The best description for the kind of reasons needed is ‘just reasons’ and the best understanding is that the couple needs to take into account their current and foreseeable duties and obligations. Succinctly stated, the reasons must not be selfish,” Smith told CNA.
“Having another child is such a great good on so many levels, to seek to avoid pregnancy cannot be made for trivial reasons and should be made only after careful, prayerful discernment. The Church does identify categories of reasons – the couple should take into account the economic, physical, psychological and social conditions in which they live,” she added.
Those reasons could include, for example, “experiencing fatigue and anxiety that predictably impedes one’s ability to function at a reasonable level,” Smith noted.
“Decisions made on such a basis should be revisited regularly. People should be very hesitant to criticize the decisions couples make about their family size; the factors that need to be taken into account are not always accessible to outsiders,” she said.
The beauty of NFP
“You Me and NFP: Joy-filled living” is a website founded and run by four Catholic mothers, one of whom is a Marquette Method instructor. The intent for their website, and their social media groups, was to bring a more modern look and approach to the practice of NFP, some of the founders told CNA.
“We were researching NFP resources and they kind of have like a 1980s, 1990s kind of look to it,” Valerie Kelly, one of the founders, told CNA. “And we wanted to really brand it in a modern way while staying with traditional Church teaching. But we are really sharing it and evangelizing with it. We meet people where they are and are taking them where the Lord wants them to be.”
Their website is clean and pretty, with plenty of millennial pink sprinkled with gold accents. It includes written and video testimonials from women who share why they use NFP, a “FAQ” segment on NFP, and instruction in the Marquette Method through Sarah Tramonte, one of the co-founders.
The group has a Facebook page, but comments are closed. The four women, who are also mothers, said they worried about having enough time to regulate comments in the way they would like, so they decided not to allow them.
Their Instagram page does have comments though, and while they get the occasional naysayer or negative comment, it is by and large positive comments from women seeking advice or understanding, they told CNA.
However, they added, sometimes sharing the truth about the Church’s teaching may make people uncomfortable, even when it is done in a loving way.
“It’s never right to speak uncharitably, but it’s always right to charitably speak the truth,” Anneli Schraufnagel, one of the cofounders of You Me and NFP (YMNFP), told CNA.
“So a lot of these conversations that women are having, I think (they) are trying to, as sisters, come to the truth of their Catholic faith because the truth of their Catholic faith ultimately will bring them joy.”
That is something that can be easy to miss for an NFP outsider looking in – that practicing NFP, as a part of the Catholic faith, is something that brings many women and families peace and joy – even if they complain about some nitty gritty details along the way.
“Sometimes the Catholic Church’s teachings are hard, but sometimes hard things bring us happiness,” Schraufnagel said. “And…the ‘why’s’ behind the Catholic teaching, we need to talk about them.”
Besides some of the physical benefits of NFP, which include avoiding putting additional hormones or medical devices in one’s body, the “Why NFP” section of the YMNFP website includes women talking about the “joy” that NFP brings because of the sacrifices it requires, such as periodic abstinence. They also mention feeling at peace because they are able to plan their families according to what they believe is God’s plan for sexuality and marriage.
“I don’t want to sugarcoat NFP and say that it is all sunshine and daisies because it requires sacrifice and sacrifice is never easy! But the joy that grows out of selfless love, expressed through NFP, is one of the greatest blessings you can give to yourself and to your spouse,” reads one post from Ellen on YMNFP.
“I adore my husband, and by eliminating the pill I’m now so much more able to show him that. We are living, and loving each other, authentically,” reads another quote from Jen, an NFP user.
Couples who practice NFP also experience lower divorce rates, YMNFP notes. According to a study published by the National Institutes of Health, “among the women who ever used NFP only 9.6 percent were currently divorced compared with the 14.4 percent who were currently divorced among the women who never used NFP.” The study noted that the religiosity of the couples who practice NFP may be a contributing factor to the lower divorce rates.
Schraufnagel said the numerous benefits of NFP that she and her cofounders have experienced are the main reasons they started YMNFP.
“That’s a huge aspect of our team at You Me and NFP; we are really passionate because we see how beautiful the Catholic Church’s teachings are and how much joy is brought into our lives because of it, including, our family lives as well. And part of that is our sexuality,” she added.
“So I think it needs to be brought up and talked about in the culture that these truths are beautiful.”
[…]
By all means, reach out to “influencers,” now that the bishops—as Successors of the Apostles—have been synodally type-cast as “primarily facilitators” (the Vademecum guidelines).
But, surely the tallied responses to multiple choice questions will reveal the assumed sensus fidei and the guidance of the Holy Spirit! This, given the premised “universal call to holiness,” and even conceding the fact that Akin’s audience “may or may not be active Catholics” and includes “many non-Catholics, agnostics and atheists.” Roll it all up and throw it on the stack…
But be of good cheer, when it’s globally “compiled and aggregated”, the relator general of the 2023 Synod on Synodality, Cardinal Hollerich from Luxembourg, will toil into the night to discern the global “synthesis.”
And, in February, Hollerich signaled already a possible final straw on the camel’s back, calling for a rejection of Church teaching on homosexuality and sexual morality: “I believe that the sociological-scientific foundation of this teaching is no longer true” (the synod’s “scientific” foundation surely will include the very up-to-date synodal survey results!). https://www.aol.com/news/liberal-cardinal-calls-revised-catholic-135429645-181222377.html
As for the synodal camel? A camel is a horse designed by a committee.
The sheer cringe-worthiness of this initiative is really quite an indication of where Rome is these days. It is not merely moral corruption and loss of faith. It is soulless, bureaucratic stupidity.
True
Well done! Totally concise, and much more to the point than my entries…
Yours truly has been wondering whether to raise the very general question whether persistent “stupidity” is a grave sin against the Fifth Commandment, even if those so afflicted or addicted are simply too clueless and habitual to be responsible.
About which, this:
Even the relatively innocuous addiction and overindulgence in digital and virtual reality games is found to produce corresponding neuro-chemical and possibly cellular changes in the brain itself, e.g., dopamine which is responsible for reward-driven behavior. A recent study completed at University College London (using MRI technology) strongly implies that a habit of lying [self-inflicted virtual reality, and stupidity?] tends to suppress the part of the brain (the amygdala) that responds emotionally to a “slippery slope” pattern of small and then larger lies (Garrett/Ariely/ Laxxaro, Nature Neuroscience Journal, October 24, 2016; reported by Erica Goode, New York Times, October 25, 2016).
Gee, comtemplating today’s Vatican, I use the word idiocy a lot. I hope that doesn’t land me in hell.
Next year will be ten years since Pope Benedict quit.
I find it harder and harder not to resent him for putting us in the hands of the present Bishop of Rome.
If he was going to abdicate, he should have at least buried the Argentine in some tedious archival position after the Regensburg matter.
The Vatican is getting to the point of being exceedingly laughable. Gone are the days when I took the Vatican seriously. Gone are the days when it mattered what came out of the Vatican. Gone are the days when they even made me angry. Now, they are nothing more than a bloody joke.
When referring to the current US political leadership, I have bemoaned we are ruled (not governed) by unserious people. (Although I think behind the scences, we are ruled by very serious, very dangerous, people.)
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Alas, I think the same my be true of the current hierarchy
Can you please do me a personal favor? I have a pet peeve.
Never refer to elected or appointed political figures as “leaders” or “leadership”.
They are supposed to be representatives. The idea that an election or an appointment makes craven ambition into sagacious statesmanship is one of the most dangerous notions, rendering us mere pawns on their chessboard.
Noted
Senators and congressmen are representatives as are those in state legislatures but governors and presidents have executive powers. So I don’t know if they’re leaders per say but they do have a special level of authority.
I am old and disenchanted, but not with Catholicism. I am disenchanted with our leadership. Participate and reply so the evidence is there, but don’t be optimistic that it will matter much.
Interesting article at a site about the motives for the war on the part of Russia being from the mistaken yet widely held beliefs that the country has the destiny to bring forth a world wide kingdom .That would not be suprsing – seeing in same the ploys of the enemy who ever tries to counter The Truth , esp. in the role given to The Church to help bring forth the Kingdom of the Divine Will, in the role of the Holy Spirit through The Mother for these times .
The good will and trust from many , in giving heed to The Mother ,in her invitation as to how to enhance the relationships in the Holy Spirit might go a long way to counter the kingdom of lies and its effects, even as the mustard seed of faith does .
FIAT !
“Having your voice heard is better than not having it heard at all,” Akin said.
So I guess it was really Hitler’s benevolent outreach to Judaism to have high ranking bureaucrats sit around at Wansee and discuss how best to hate Jews and how best to exterminate them.
You know, I wouldn’t put it past Francis to use this to declare the entire deposit of faith null and void and complete his project of syncetism.
Here’s all we need to know, and it happened on Day 1 of this pontificate:
A. In late 2010, Cardinal (Danneels) from Belgium was retired in disgrace, as Archbishop and head of the Belgian Bishops’ Conference, after being exposed in Aug 2010 by the Belgian newspapers (De Standaard…among others) for protecting and coverup for his friend Bishop Roger Vanguelwhe, a homosexual predator who was found to have raped his own little nephew, and siding with his predator friend against the entire Vanguelwhe family, who were asking the Bishops Conference for justice.
2. In 2013, Cardinal Danneels takes a leading role in promoting the election of Cardinal Bergoglio as pontiff in the 2013 conclave, along with other notorious predators and coverup Cardinals, including McCarrick and Mahony of the US. Bergoglio wins the conclave election in 2013, his second attempt at the papal throne, having been the runner-up in the 2005 conclave (promoted in 2005 by Danneels et al).
3. On the evening that the Pontiff Francis is introduced to the world, two men stand beside him among the small cohort on the balcony: they are Cardinal Danneels, and Cardinal Becciu. Becciu, now on trial accused of gigantic financial fraud, is reported to whisper audibly to the new Pontiff (by the then breathless marketeering progressive Catholic media pundits), the PR talking point: “Remember the poor!”
4. Cardinal Danneels is restored to help “guide” Church affairs by the Pontiff Francis, and the man who was known worldwide to have been caught red-handed protecting the sex predator Bishop Vanguelwhe, is placed on the guidance committee for: The 2014 Synod on the Family.
That’s all you need to really know.
The rest simply follows the same pattern, with the new Belgian Cardinal Hollerich now in 2022 outright promoting the embrace of homosexual acts for the 2023 “Synod on Synodality.”
Pure, unadulterated evil…
Absolutely! Well said.
In 2009 my parish did 2 surveys with questions listed below here. Sheet A was a “registration” sheet with name and contact and “pastoral priorities”. Sheet B was anonymous with name given as optional.
A few years after the 2009 surveys the diocese went into “parish clustering” with “designated missionary disciples” working through the new way of organizing.
Subsequently, since that time the preaching content and theme-ing hasn’t really changed or been altered.
Surveys can be antithetical to Church and can reveal poor understanding and lifelessness. At that point the survey returns can’t really fill those voids. They also highlight the danger of what happens when the Parish Council steps in for or replaces the pastor.
I find the progression in surveying very strange given that the Holy Father has been warning against clericalism and the mentality of being “administrative” and of “living in dead traditions”.
A
1. Do you wish to be contacted by email?
2. What do you consider to be your skills?
3. What do you consider to be your vocation?
4. If you could serve well where would you be best suited?
5. What are the Pastoral Priorities?
B
1. Age bracket? Male or Female?
2. What religious things or practices do you most associate with being Catholic?
3. What beliefs do you most associate with being Catholic.
4. What real life behaviours should we most associate with being Catholic? How does this differ from reality?
5. How do your practices, beliefs and behaviours differ from those of other age groups?
6. What in your list would you say is specific to Catholics of this nation?
Back in the early 2000’s, our then parish did this listening session with “hired” (I do not know if they really got paid) navigator/consultant/organizer/moderator at every table. Each table discussed what was imporant to them, following some checklist of talking points. Then, each table’s moderator would anounce to the gorup at large what the main points of concern were at each table. The parish would then come to some consesus of what was important, some “vision” or something.
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When it was time for our moderator to speak, it became clear to me he had an agenda of his own (or one that was most likely assigned to him by higher up), because what he said was not what I heard at that table.
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There is a term for that kind of “stealth” meeting guidance; I cannot think of that term though. It is dishonest since the outcome is pre-determined and participants are guided along to the desired conclusion. This Synod on Synodality strikes me as that kind of activity
I followed Jorge Bergoglio’s papacy from day one.
The best thing to answer the request is Bergoglio’s actions/sayings, and and what he said to young Catholics: “make a mess.” And a mess, they are making, in a big way. One could mention many, many issues with this pope, and most are destroying the Church.
I pray for his speedy departure.
I am equally skeptical of all this survey business.
Chris in Maryland – I am equally disgusted with Cdl. Danneels and disturbed by his role in promoting Bergolio. (I believe it was the recently-deceased Cdl. Hummus who came up with the “Remember the poor” quote). I have just skimmed the present article in CWR on understanding the loneliness of Gen. Z. This is research, including surveys, I think I can trust as non-manipulative, motivated by an honest search for understanding and generally worth my time and attention.
https://www.catholicworldreport.com/2022/08/11/walking-with-generation-z-understanding-the-loneliest-generation/ – Providential that the above insightful article appears almost in tandem , helping to clarify areas including the endearing remark by the Holy Father on the occasion of the World Youth Day , ‘to make a mess ‘ ,blessing the youth , to sing joyfully trusting that each of them is loved
‘infinintly ‘- the guiding theme of his pontificate, as his first encyclical – Joy of the Gospel .
A chosen witness to the Eucharistic Miracle of Argentina, he very likely also relates well to the sufferings of these times that are taken unto the Two Hearts to have them transformed … into ways of compassion , hope and trust , not excluding any , esp. those most in need .. the trials of his own life allowed , to help him bring all such unto The Mother , for her to multiply such unto graces for his chosen role for these times ..
and if at times he is seen with those who have sensed the miracle of transforming holiness of Love in The Spirit in him ,
? a spirit of envy making many to accuse him of being smelly like the sheep …
his mercy towrds such too – to make him more trusted by the many needy ones , who thirst to be set free, from the desert like loneliness,as noted in the article ,
? as an effect of the genertaional evils of fear and hatred for life , in the contraceptive mentality and all that has come with it ..
His inviting The Church as a Loving Family , to come up with ways to help is what is also echoed in the Synodal process , to help persons to look within themselves , as like in a process of discernment of spirits /issues , using such a charism for our times ..
for persons to be blessed to reject , renounce and rebuke what need to be …
in the power of The Precious Blood .. and we have been blessed with special focus on same , as given to a 17 Y.O , another youth , chosen to ‘make a mess’ of rejoicing in the Power of The Lord , for freedom from addictions , depressions ..which are also likely at the root of what is afflicting the culture – addicted to ‘spirits’ of hatreds, pride , selfishness , greed , lusts , fears …
https://aleteia.org/2021/01/20/need-healing-an-exorcist-recommends-this-12-word-prayer/
The scorn towards the Holy Father , ? a ploy of the enemy to damage the trust and love that many of all age groups have towards him , sensing his goodness and compassion ..
? that scorn in itself to also help discern if there are spirits of ‘addictions’ at work …..
Mercy !
I just don’t think that I must participate in such surveys J.P.G. / M.; and I think I shouldn’t. Your direction does not correlate with the situation.
So the root of willful evil are simply mental afflictions that can not be helped? And cultivating feel-goodism would be the way out of all this willful evilness? Then how could evil be willful if it is something outside of human accountability and culpability? And when we achieve this universal understanding of everyone “feeling good,” who exactly is going to do the WORK so we are all able to do such things as eat, and cloth ourselves, and put roofs over ourselves, and survive? And what would happen if Christians didn’t think it would be wonderful to have tyrants make it all happen?
First of all I do not hate homosexuals but I do know that until they are completely eliminated from the ranks of priests,bishops,cardinals or anyone with authority in the church we cannot ever have a successfully functioning church.They are fully welcome in the church but may act as laymen only as most of us do.The scandals they have caused in our church make it nearly impossible to draw new members. Think of all terrible things that have happened to young boys (altar boys) . Surely many of them have along with their families lost their faith in God .
If I had a tweeter account I would have simply told akin it was absolute BS like any Francis initiative.
Does he really think that the echelons of power in the Vatican really care what people think? It’s as rigged as any third world country election.
Just think what happened to that supposed survey about the Latin Mass.
I am reminded of the episode of Yes Prime Minister….
Bernard – “Survey shows people are in favor of national service”
Sir H – “so have another one done that shows they’re against it”
Question 1
what do you think of Pope Francis ?
A. He’s wonderful
B. He’s super wonderful
C. It’s about time we had a pope who is so wonderful
D. All of the above
If you didn’t answer D to question 1, You’re a bad person and we don’t care what you think.