The 20th century introduced many challenges to the Catholic Church’s longstanding doctrine that the purpose of sex is procreative, ranging from the invention of the birth control pill to the rise of a counterculture. These changes inspired Catholics all over the world to reconsider the role of sex, and therefore, family in their lives, not only in the Global North, but also in Mexico. The spirit of renewal inspired by Vatican II (1962-1965), the development of liberation theology in the late 1960s as well as continued anticommunism meant Mexican Catholics answered these questions in different ways. Rather than reduce the Church only to its bishops and cardinals, this panel centers on a variety of lay Catholic actors, ranging from the Catholic Right to Catholic women activists, thus illuminating the diversity of Catholicisms. Indeed, Mexican Catholics grappled with the turbulence of the 1960s and 1970s, reconsidering what these changes meant for their approaches to sex and family. Priests, layleaders, and activists alike debated what Catholic ideals of sex and family looked like in the 20th century.

Natalie Gasparowicz’s presentation explores how Jesuits debated the invention of the birth control pill in the pages of their magazine, Christus throughout the 1960s. Gasparowicz shows how priests were confused about the pill as they waited for the Pope to reveal his official stance. Herran Avila’s presentation analyzes Catholic Right publications and how its anticommunist rhetoric saw counterculture, women’s magazines, and rock music as a threat to the family. “Culture wars” became a tool for the Catholic Right to wage their battle. Mariana Gómez Villanueva, by focusing on women participants of the ecclesial base communities in the state of Morelos, explores how these women developed a feminist consciousness in the 1970s. These women, inspired by liberation theology, grappled with birth control, weighing the Church’s rhetoric of responsible parenthood, alongside the feminist message of voluntary motherhood.

Together, this panel shows the diversity of Catholic responses to contested questions over sex and family in 20th century Mexico. Herran Avila’s focus on the Catholic Right and Gómez Villanueva’s on feminist consciousness illuminate more politicized responses. On the other hand, Gasparowicz focuses more on the “in-between,” actors who wanted to uphold Church doctrine and struggled to do so. This panel illuminates not only how Mexican Catholics upheld the family ideal, a more familiar narrative, but also, how they debated and even, rejected Catholic ideals about sex and the family. Understanding the multi-faceted history of Catholic participation in these debates over sex and family is important to understanding today's battle over reproductive rights not only in Mexico and the US, but across the world.