Happy Anniversary Humanae Vitae!
Today
(July 25) is the 44th anniversary of Pope Paul VI’s landmark
encyclical Humanae Vitae (Of Human
Life). This encyclical, of course,
reaffirmed the Church’s constant teaching against the use of artificial contraception,
which is what it is known for. But it
said a lot more than just that.
I
was born eight years after the promulgation of Humanae Vitae and grew up in a post-sexual revolution culture that
had already been shaped by the very things that Humanae Vitae warned against, so it is hard for me to imagine
living in a world that upheld the standards celebrated by Pope Paul VI.
The
encyclical was written after the release of a report from a pontifical
commission that spent three years considering the issue of artificial
contraception. Though there were sharp
divisions within the commission, the majority suggested that Church teaching on
the issue should be changed. Pope Paul
VI, however, in what we can recognize as a confirmation of the charism of papal
infallibility, pronounced otherwise.
Humanae Vitae begins with an overview of
the background that led to its publication.
The pope then goes into an in-depth reflection on the issue. Contrary to the accusations of those unhappy
with the encyclical, the pope does not simply list off “Thou shalt not’s.” He shows that he clearly understands all
sides of the issue, as well as the challenges that modern married couples face
with regard to having children. In a
manner reminiscent of St. Thomas Aquinas, Paul VI demonstrates that he clearly understands
his opponents’ positions as well as possible objections to his teaching. Then he clearly and lovingly answers those
objections.
The
pope puts the marital act into the context of a total vision of man, and God’s
plan for life and love. He elevates
sexual intimacy between married couples and shows very clearly why such a
sacred act is incompatible with artificial contraception. He also affirms that couples can licitly have
recourse to Natural Family Planning (NFP) if they have serious reasons for
wanting to delay pregnancy, and explains why NFP is totally different than
artificial contraception on a human and moral level.
Finally,
Paul VI gives pastoral advice to priests, bishops, scientists, medical professionals,
public authorities, and especially to married couples. All this in one of the shortest papal
documents you are likely to read.
One
of the most famous sections of Humanae
Vitae consists of three short paragraphs in which Paul VI shows himself to
be a prophet, as he warns against the consequences of widespread acceptance of
artificial contraception.
The
pope suggests that artificial contraception will lead to a general lowering of
morality, and a lack of respect between man and woman, as men will begin to
regard women “as a mere instrument of selfish enjoyment, and no longer as his
respected and beloved companion.”
No
one can deny that when people began to (erroneously) believe they could remove
the risk of pregnancy from sexual encounters, promiscuity went through the
roof, along with marital infidelity, divorce and pornography. Simply remember that the pill was introduced
widely in 1960. Observe the social
trends since then.
The
pope also warns that if we accept artificial contraception, there will be grave
temptations for governments to misuse it, compelling people against their will
to make use of the most preferred method in order to try and achieve desired
social and demographic goals. The worst
case of this prophecy’s fulfillment is China’s one-child policy, which has
begun to spread. But President Obama,
with his HHS mandate, has now made this concern a reality even in the United
States.
Finally,
the pope suggests that once we fail to protect the “mission of generating life”
from our “arbitrary will,” other limits will come crashing down, “limits which
no man…may licitly surpass.” Sure enough,
the spread of artificial contraception has led to a massive increase in
abortion, in line with the thinking of Pope Paul VI, and not the promises of
the social engineers of the 1960s.
Humanae
Vitae has had a lasting effect on the Church. Besides giving us a greater understanding of the
meaning and sacredness of sexual intimacy, and the development of methods of
NFP that obliterate any artificial contraception in terms of effectiveness, much
dissent arose. Some pastors and
theologians were counseling Catholics, after the commission’s report, that the
pope would disavow the Church’s long-standing teaching, and in anticipation,
they could lawfully begin to use artificial contraception. When that didn’t happen, of course, the
response of many Catholics was to refuse to accept the teaching of the Church
on this issue. Then, like Paul VI warned
about limits coming crashing down, every teaching of the Church was up for
grabs based on one’s personal preferences.
This
negative effect, thanks to the fidelity and holiness of our recent Holy Fathers,
has begun to finally diminish. And Paul
VI reminded us that teachings given to us by Almighty God can not be changed by
the Church, even as the broader culture changes. The Church can more fully understand what she
has been given, but she has not the authority to contradict her Head, Jesus.
Most
Catholics, especially those who refuse to accept it, have not read Humanae Vitae. It is well worth a read, though. It is short and easy to read, but packed with
spiritual and philosophical wisdom. Even
those who have read it before would benefit from revisiting it. I always do.
It
can be found online at the Vatican’s Web site, www.Vatican.va,
or you can purchase it at many Catholic book stores, or at the link below.
