Report
Diocesan Natural Family Planning Ministry National 2022 Profile Report (2023)
Diocesan Natural Family Planning Ministry National 2022 Profile Report
In January 2023, 196 dioceses were invited to participate in the annual Diocesan Natural Family Planning Ministry National Profile (Profile) survey. Sixty-four questionnaires, or 34%, completed the 2022 Profile survey.
Since the creation of the Profile, it has served several critical functions. The composite data has provided information on broad Natural Family Planning (NFP) programmatic trends, an annual glimpse of NFP efforts, which enabled the NFP Program staff of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) to develop appropriate strategies and supportive resources to support local diocesan NFP efforts. Because the Profile provides individual portraits of the diocesan NFP ministry, it has been a tool for diocesan staff to annually capture their information/statistics to compare with national trends.
Over four decades the Profile has captured strides in diocesan efforts to integrate NFP into all pastoral educational efforts treating human sexuality, marriage, and family life. At the same time, inconsistencies remain in NFP efforts across the country. Given the range of pastoral circumstances, NFP programs vary in availability and viability from diocese to diocese. The reasons for this inconsistency are complex. Frequently, as one diocese deepens its commitment to NFP educational efforts and financial support, another diocesan program is adversely impacted due to one or more challenging issues that could take in staff losses, budget cuts, changed episcopal support, and/or diocesan restructuring. It is worth noting that some smaller dioceses have more robust NFP programs than dioceses of much greater sizes. Again, this relates to multiple positive elements such as talent on the ground, diocesan funding, and the will of the local bishop.
The following 2022 Profile summary of responses to crucial questions gives a broad view of diocesan NFP ministry efforts across the United States. Since 1990, this Diocesan NFP Profile Report has identified a few positive national advances.