Growing up my mom took us to church; every week in fact. We were the typical "good Catholic family". Why is it that I know very little about my faith and what it teaches. Take for example birth control and other contraceptions. No one ever told me it was a grave sin. I found out from a friend and then I looked it up to be sure.
...Neither is it valid to argue, as a justification for sexual intercourse which is deliberately contraceptive, that a lesser evil is to be preferred to a greater one, or that such intercourse would merge with procreative acts of past and future to form a single entity, and so be qualified by exactly the same moral goodness as these... (HUMANAE VITAE #14)
What about in vitro fertilization (IVF)? How could something that helps to create life be considered a sin? Well it is.
...Artificial procreation, such as in vitro fertilization, he (Pope Benedict XVI) said, has given rise to "new problems," such as "the freezing of human embryos, embryonal reduction, pre-implantation diagnosis, stem cell research and attempts at human cloning". All these, he said, "clearly show how, with artificial insemination outside the body, the barrier protecting human dignity has been broken."...(Pope Addresses In-Vitro Fertilization and anti-life procedures By John-Henry Westen2/1/2008)
For a convert or a "cradle Catholic", this may shock and or anger you to find out what the church teaches. Our ignorance does not excuse of from committing these evils. I myself was guilty of these sins. Rather than rush to judgement, I suggest you do as I did and read and learn what the church teaches. If you are like me you will find that the reason the church has taken these positions is to ultimately preserve life and to give glory to God until we meet him in his eternal Heaven.
I challenge you to become a better Catholic. Don't just walk into church each week, listen to the readings, get communion and walk out. Learn about your faith. Teach your faith to others. This will be hard at first because it will require a harsh examination of your conscience which may reveal things you don't want to admit, but because our faith gives us the sacrament of Reconciliation, we can be healed.
Below are a few links to help you on your journey.
http://www.catholic.com/http://www.catholic.org/http://www.usccb.org/http://www.vatican.va/http://www.thatcatholicshow.com/http://www.rosaryarmy.com/
A few years ago, eight to be exact, my wife was going through RCIA. As part of the program all the candidates travel to the Cathedral of Mary our Queen for the Right of Initiation. When we went to that ceremony Archbishop Cardinal Keeler placed his hand on my wife pregnant stomach and I am sure said some type of blessing. We always thought that was special. Now there is an official blessing for babies in the womb.
