NFP and Marriage Preparation

It seems some discussion has ensued among the paucity of traffic which has happened upon this blog. The most lively discussion is on my first post (on Marriage) and the question about Marriage Preparation, Natural Family Planning, and just what constitutes grave necessity. For what it is worth, this discussion is being carried on in the pages of Homiletic and Pastoral Review over the past several months. I would like to cite and excerpt from a comment posted below (on the Marriage post) for your consideration.

As for NOT requiring engaged couples to take NFP classes... I fear that promoting NFP so widely, as if it is a viable option for *every* couple (as IF every couple has a grave reason to avoid pregnancy?!?!) is akin to saying that all women should study the side effects of chemotherapy drugs. Not all married couples will "need" NFP just like not all women will need chemotherapy.

I see the commentators point, and I think a similar argument was made recently in HPR by Fr. Chad Ripperger, FSSP. Recently my HPR subscription was forwarded to my new residence and I notice a new article written on the question - this one addressing what is meant by grave necessity. I fully intend to post on that and address the comment above soon, but in the meantime I offer this to prime the pump of discussion.

Thoughts?

Apologies...

A family emergency at the end of June drew me away from my computer (and the blogosphere). To add to that, I returned to a new assignment (yes, I knew about it before I left!) and I am still getting settled in there. I may return to Blogging sometime after August 1 - but we will have to see. In the meantime, I offer you this interesting photograph. Bonus points if you can identify the church, the priests, etc. !