> If you are
> Roman Catholic and can cite anything from the church (I believe there is
> something out there--I'm not RC) that would be great too.



Here's my response -- Catholic style :)

Subject: Catholics should be PRO-breastfeeding

[image: Virgin Mary nursing infant Jesus by DaVinci]

 "Dearest sister in Jesus. I, Catherine, servant of the servants of Jesus, 
write to you in His Precious Blood, wishing only that you feed yourself with 
God's love and nourish yourself with it as at a mother's breast. Nobody in 
fact can live without this milk!... Even if all the gossiping tongues were 
to set us in a bad light we would not worry; we rejoice and are delighted by 
all things because we live in God, our rest, and we taste the milk of his 
love. As a child who sucks the milk from his mother's breast, likewise we, 
in love with God, draw love from Jesus crucified, always following His 
footsteps and walking with Him on the path of humiliation, pain and 
insults." 

--From the "Letters" of St Catherine of Sienna (1347-1380) (letter no. 165 
to Bartolomea, wife of Salviato of Lucca). 

 In the family which a woman establishes with her husband she enjoys the 
unique role and privilege of motherhood. In a special way it belongs to her 
to nurture the new life of the child from the moment of conception. The 
mother in particular enwraps the newborn child in love and security, and 
creates the environment for its growth and development. Society should not 
allow woman's maternal role to be demeaned, or count it as of little value 
in comparison with other possibilities. Greater consideration should be 
given to the social role of mothers…**

-- From *MESSAGE TO UN POPULATION FUND DIRECTOR*, From the Vatican, 18 March 
1994

* *

"So human and natural is this bond that the Psalms use the image of the 
infant at its mother's breast as a picture of God's care for man (cf. Ps 
22:9)." 

-- *ADDRESS ON BREASTFEEDING*, John Paul II, Friday, May 12, 1995

  Does God care for us only when it won't embarrass passers-by? When we cry 
out for God, does He make us wait until He can hide in a restroom? Would 
Mary have done that to Jesus? Do you suppose Mary waited until the wise men 
and shepherds were safely out of eyesight before she would nurse her Son? I 
sure hope not.

 Why should any woman have to hide in order to nourish her child? As a Roman 
Catholic, I stand firmly on my God-given right to breastfeed my child 
whenever and wherever she and I see fit. I refuse to let rhetoric founded in 
Puritan Protestant anti-body sentiments or in corporate money-making 
propaganda stop me from feeding my child when she requests it, no matter the 
situation.

 And please, go brush up on your knowledge of the Church's teachings on 
birth control and the practical aspects of following that teaching as a 
nursing mother. Breastfeeding naturally spaces babies, but in order to 
follow NFP as a nursing mom it is imperative that no substitute nipples are 
used. All feeding and sucking comfort must happen at the breast. As a Church 
that supports families and couples, we all need to support those women who 
stand against the anti-breastfeeding sentiments and feed their babies 
proudly, wherever they are, whomever they're with!

 I will pray to God for you, with Mary, Catherine, and all the saints, that 
you will see the truth and the beauty of breastfeeding, anywhere and 
everywhere. I will also pray that your comments have not discouraged any 
women breastfeeding their babies.

Blessings,

Anne FitzMedrud