The Importance of Humanae

Vitae
Sr. M. Crucis fmdm
What it’s all
about…

A
A baby
baby at
at 20
20 weeks
weeks in
in the
the womb.
womb.
 The Role of the Family:

““By
By far
far the
the most
most important
important
channel
channel ofof transmission
transmission of of
culture
culture remains
remains the the family;
family; andand
when
when family
family life
life fails
fails to
to play
play its
its
part,
part, we
we must
must expect
expect our
our culture
culture
to
to deteriorate.”
deteriorate.”
T.S.
T.S. Eliot,
Eliot, ‘Notes
‘Notes Towards
Towards the
the
Definition
Definition of
of Culture,’
Culture,’ 1948
1948
 How did we get here?
• Margaret Sanger • Protestantism
• Founder of National Birth Control • Before August 14th, 1930, no Christian
League churches accepted unnatural methods
• Started Planned Parenthood of birth control as morally permissible.
• Opened first abortion clinic in New
York • Church of England was the first to
• A proponent of Eugenics, later adopted change position (at the 7th Lambeth
by Nazi Germany Conference), allowing the use of
unnatural forms of birth control as
• Wrote many books to champion morally licit.
“women’s liberation”

• Marie Stopes doing similar work in • Within 30 years, most mainline

UK. Protestant Denominations allowed for
contraception, and by 1995, some 88%
• Proponent of anti-Semitist Nazism, of non-Catholic Christians stated their
Eugenics approval of contraception as morally
right.
• Separation of morality from scientific
discovery
• “Enlightenment”
• “Modernism”
• Political agendas
 Myths of the Contraceptive Pill
• Easy to take and does not
require any abstinence from sex
• Enables couples to limit the
size of their families
• Does not interfere with
spontaneous lovemaking as
other methods do e.g. condom
• Relieves the anxiety of an
‘unwanted pregnancy’
• Reduces the need for abortion
• Gives the woman control over
her own fertility
• Is easily reversible- a woman
can get pregnant anytime she
wants!
• No significant unpleasant ‘side
effects’
• Enables couples to plan their
families as they wish
• Secures the harmony and peace
of the family and better
conditions for the education of
the children
Pope Paul VI
• Prophetic message of
Humanae Vitae, or “Of
Human Life” on 25th July
1968
• Response to the legalisation
of abortion in many countries,
as well as the development
and promotion of
contraceptive pill
 Humanae Vitae
• Reaffirms Traditional
teaching of the Church
• That “contraception was a
grave attack on human life”
• Prohibits all forms of
artificial contraception
• Reinforces the beauty of, and
reaffirms the dignity, of the
call to a vocation to married
life.
• Offers practical guidance to
married people on how to
faithfully live the Church’s
teachings.
 A Message of Controversy…
•The publication of Humanae Vitae marks the first time in the
twentieth century that open dissent about teachings of the Church
was voiced widely and publicly.
•Criticized by development organisations and others who
claimed that it limits the methods available to fight
population growth and struggle against AIDS.
•Dissident theologians and Bishops rebelled against the
teaching, issuing a statement claiming that Catholics’
individual consciences should prevail in such a personal and
private issue. e.g. Washington Statement (USA).
•Canadian “Winnipeg Statement,” and the Dutch and German
Catechisms supported the role of individual conscience.
•Only support of note came from Latin America.
 Prophetic Message…
•Pope gave 4 predictions, regarded by many as prophetic, of the
effects of artificial contraception on society:
•It will be easy for many to justify behaviour leading to
marital infidelity and a general gradual weakening of morals
•Husbands will become accustomed to contraceptive
practices, will lose respect for their wives, and use their wives
as serving their own desires
•A dangerous power will be put into the hands of rulers who
care little about the moral law to use contraception to solve
certain problems affecting the nation
•Man will come to believe that he has unlimited dominion
over his own body, and over the natural operations of his
body.
 Some facts…
• Increased marital breakup

• Less people getting married

• preference is to having a “partner”

• Increase in STIs including HIV/AIDS in Britain

• Increased teenage pregnancy rates

• Increased abortion rates

• More violent crimes committed by young people and women

• Lack of parenting?
• Who is the father? Britain’s legislation removing father from picture
completely

• Increased infertility rates

 What is happening?
• Liberalism/ modernism/ relativism
• Sexual Revolution
• “Equal Rights” for Women
• Denies natural feminine beauty and role
in favour of emasculation
• Post-Christian Era
• Fueled by media, the minority can push
atheistic agenda on majority
• Loss of sense of sin
• Environmentalism
• Shift from care for the human person in
favour of “saving the planet”
• “Over-population” as a reason to
promote contraceptives and abortion
• Reducing carbon footprint– 1.7
children is the optimum per couple
• Societal Desert
 Magisterial teachings on Life…
• Pope Pius XI
• Casti Connubii- 1930, four
months after Lambeth
Conference
• Marriage as not only
procreative, but unitive
• Pope John XXIII
• Mater et Magistra- 1961
• “Human life is sacred: from
its very inception”
• Pope Paul VI
• Humanae Vitae- 1968
• Second Vatican Council
• Gaudium et Spes- 1965
• Sections 27 and 51
• Pope John Paul II
• Familiaris Consortio-1981
• Sollictudo Rei Socialis-1987
• Mullieris Dignitatem-1988
• Christifideles Laici-1988
• Centesimus Annus-1991
• Veritatis Splendor-1993
• Evangelium Vitae-1995
• Love and Responsibility-1960 (Wojtyla)
• “Man and Woman He Created Them: A
Theology of the Body”
• Series of 129 Catechesis sessions delivered
between September 5, 1979 and November
28, 1984
• Congregation for the Doctrine of the
Faith
• Donum Vitae-1987
• Pope Benedict XVI
• Deus Caritas Est- 2005
 The “JP2” Generation…
•Hope in the wake of liberal response to the teachings of the
Successors of Peter, and the lack of correct implementation of
Vatican II.
•Lay Theologians and Catholic Writers have picked up the
banner and kept it waving:
•Janet E. Smith
•Kimberly Hahn
•Christopher West
•Mary Shivanandan
•Jacqueline Kasun and Others
 Further Reading…
•Hahn, Kimberly. Life Giving Love.
•Kippley, John F. Sex and the Marriage Covenant: A Basis for Morality.
•Rubio, Julie Hanlon. Beyond the Liberal/ Conservative Divide on Contraception
•Sacks, Jonathan. The Politics of Hope
•Shivanandan, Mary. Crossing the Threshold of Love: A New Vision of
Marriage.
•Smith, Janet. Why Humanae Vitae Was Right: A Reader.
•Smith, Janet. Humanae Vitae a Generation Later.
•West, Christopher. Theology of the Body for Beginners.
•West, Christopher. Theology of the Body Explained.
•West, Christopher. Good News About Sex and Marriage.
•Wjotyla, Karol. Love and Responsibility.
•Woodall, George. Humanae Vitae: Forty Years On.
•John Paul II. Man and Woman He Created Them: A Theology of the Body.