The child is the gift of life that supervenes on the spouses? mutual gift of self. It is not the direct product of their wills. What we intentionally make are things, property at our disposal. What we beget, are persons equal in dignity to us. The term procreation is used only of the way human beings come into existence. It draws attention to God the Creator who is active in the coming into being of each child, who directly creates each soul. It is His design that each child should be conceived within the conjugal act that expresses the love of the spouses. Couples may desire a baby. They should not make them or cause them to be made by others.
Rev. D. Vincent Twomey, SVD
via Irish blog Guard Me With Your Glory
"Begotten, not Made" can be ascribed not just to God, but to the creature in His image, man. Natural Law ethics in its contemporary form often has problems making its philosophical arguments complement theological ones. This essay, I think, shows how the two approaches can be intertwined, each illuminating the other.
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