Letter: Sexual imperialism

Sir: Deborah Orr, try as she may, just can't bring herself to agree with the Catholic Church ("Exporting a new imperialism", 2 July).

She realises that "the liberalisation of British family planning has impacted most disastrously on the poor of this country" and suggests that "the potential for mayhem in the Third World is even greater".

And yet she finds it "possible to feel quite certain that the position of the Catholic Church is wrong". The Catholic Church which rejects this imperialism in favour of a true democratic respect for every human person, both before and after their birth. The Church which offers a real and positive alternative to the self-destructive lifestyles which lead to the spread of Aids, abortions and childhood pregnancies by saying to people, "You are worth more than that."

Family planning campaigners assured us that relationships would improve, families blossom, unplanned pregnancies fall, etc. And who was right? In our own country, the divorce rate now approaches one marriage in two.

People who reject contraception and instead use natural fertility awareness (NFA) to plan their families have been shown to have divorce rates of between 1 in 8 and 1 in 150, because using NFA requires real generosity and communication which inevitably spreads to the rest of the marriage.

Dr DAVID KINGSLEY

Southport, Lancashire