In the popular mind, the Roman Catholic Church is widely identified with opposition to population-control measures and with repression of those who practice them or advocate their use. Like most generalizations, however, this one contains elements of both truth and distortion, and the distinction can be discerned only if one apprehends the Roman Catholic value system apart from the particular means that may be chosen to implement it. It is to an elucidation of this distinction that this article has been directed.