The Couple to Couple League of Arkansas is ready to help Catholic engaged or married couples who want to follow more authentically the encyclical “Humanae Vitae” and Pope John Paul II’s theology of the body.
CCL, the largest provider in the state of training in natural family planning, recently updated its courses to appeal to couples in their 20s and 30s who are accustomed to computer-animated DVDs, full-color graphics and interactive classes.
Kathy Nauman, who along with her husband Tom is the presiding couple for CCL, said she is hopeful that the younger generation will respond to the revamped classes, especially because Pope John Paul II’s theology is woven throughout the materials.
“When they hear the teaching, they are pretty open to it. It makes a lot of sense to them,” said Nauman, a member of the St. John Latin Mass Community in North Little Rock. “Catholics need to be aware of the teachings. When they study the theology of the body, the teaching will be clearer to them. … We are helping couples get right with the Church.”
Andy Alderson, CCL executive director formerly from North Little Rock, said, “’Because the Church says so’ is not good enough anymore. They need to be reached in a new manner and engaged on multiple levels.”
The Naumans, who will mark their 27th anniversary as a teaching couple in October, said despite the many updates, the basics of the Sympto-Thermal Method for fertility awareness have not changed and should not affect couples already practicing NFP.
“It was simplified so there are fewer rules,” she said. “All of the research has been updated. Some of the terminology changed. … The book is smaller and everything is in color.”
Referring to the previous thick reference manual and 35mm slides, Nauman said, “It really made us look dated … This is what the kids are used to. … Immediately we present a concept and then we practice it. It is real hands-on.”
Also, the teachings were reduced from four to three classes and an online forum is accessible to members who need support.
Currently the state has nine English-speaking teaching couples and two candidate teaching couples. Of those, seven have completed the online recertification process required by the Couple to Couple League in Cincinnati. Two couples provided teaching in Spanish, but are not required to be recertified at this time.
In spite of the number of teaching couples, CCL has only reached a small percentage of the married couples in the state. In 2007, 57 couples completed CCL classes. A handful of couples may get trained through other NFP providers, including the Billings Ovulation Method and Family of the Americas. In comparison, the diocese had 559 marriages last year.
Research has proven that the method is 99 percent effective and less than 5 percent of couples who practice NFP get divorced.
“You develop certain virtues that are good for marriage, like patience, understanding, communication. You don’t take your spouse for granted. You have God’s blessing because you are following his rules, not the world’s rules for sexuality.”
CCL classes are $135 per couple, which includes the student guide and chart book. For more information visit www.ccl-ar.org.
