Humanae Vitae

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Humanae Vitae (Latin "Of Human Life") is an encyclical written by Pope Paul VI and promulgated on July 25, 1968. Subtitled "On the Regulation of Birth", it re-affirms the traditional teaching of the Roman Catholic Church regarding abortion, contraception, and other issues pertaining to human life. Mainly because of its prohibition of all forms of artificial contraception, the encyclical remains controversial even among Catholics. The document is sometimes described as prophetic by those who believe that its four predictions about the effects of contraception on society were accurate.

Contents

[edit] Summary

The encyclical opens with the observation that circumstances often dictate that married couples should limit the number of children, and that the sexual act between husband and wife is still worthy even if it can be foreseen not to result in procreation. Nevertheless, it is held that the sexual act must "retain its intrinsic relationship to the procreation of human life", and the "direct interruption of the generative process already begun" is unlawful.

Abortion, even for therapeutic reasons, is absolutely forbidden, as is sterilization, even if temporary. Similarly, every action specifically intended to prevent procreation is forbidden. This includes both chemical and barrier methods of contraception. All these are held to directly contradict the "moral order which was established by God".

Therapeutic means which induce infertility are allowed, if they are not specifically intended for that purpose (principle of double effect). Natural family planning methods (abstaining from intercourse during certain parts of the women's cycle) are allowed, since they take advantage of "a faculty provided by nature."

The acceptance of artificial methods of contraception is then claimed to result in several negative consequences, among them a "general lowering of moral standards" resulting from sex without consequences, and the danger that men may reduce women "to being a mere instrument for the satisfaction of [their] own desires".

The encyclical acknowledges that "perhaps not everyone will easily accept this particular teaching", but points out that the Church cannot "declare lawful what is in fact unlawful".

The encyclical closes with an appeal to public authorities to oppose laws which undermine the natural moral law (see natural law), an appeal to scientists to further study effective methods of natural birth control and appeals to doctors, nurses and priests to promote the method.

[edit] History

There had been a long-standing general Christian prohibition on contraception and abortion, with such Church Fathers as Clement of Alexandria and Saint Augustine condemning the practices. It was not until the 1930 Lambeth Conference that the Anglican Communion changed its long-standing position by allowing for contraception in limited circumstances. All other mainline Protestant denominations have since removed prohibitions against artificial contraception.

In a partial reaction, Pope Pius XI wrote the encyclical Casti Connubii (On Christian Marriage) in 1930, reaffirming the Catholic Church's belief in various traditional Christian teachings on marriage and sexuality, including the prohibition of artificial contraception even within marriage. While the emphasis in Casti Connubii is against contraception, it was controversially interpreted to allow moral use of one family planning method - the Rhythm Method. This interpretation was explicitly confirmed by Pope Pius XII in two 1951 addresses (English translation entitled Moral Questions Affecting Married Life).

With the appearance of oral contraceptives in the early 1960s, some voices in the Church argued for a reconsideration of these positions. In 1963 Pope John XXIII established a commission of six European non-theologians (including 3 laymen) to study questions of birth control and population.[1][2] After John's death in 1963, Pope Paul VI added theologians to the commission and over three years progressively expanded it from 6 to 13, 15, 58, and finally 72 members from five continents (including 16 theologians, 13 physicians and 5 women, with an executive committee of 9 bishops and 7 cardinals).[1][2] The commission produced a report in 1966, stating that artificial birth control was not intrinsically evil and that Catholic couples should be allowed to decide for themselves about the methods to be employed.[1][2][3][4]

One commission member, American Jesuit theologian John Ford (with the assistance of American theologian Germain Grisez) drafted a minority report working paper that was signed by Ford and 3 other conservative theologian priests on the commission, stating that the Church should not and could not change its long-standing teaching.[1][2][3][4] Even though intended for the Pope only, the commission's report and two working papers (the minority report and the majority's rebuttal to it) were leaked to the press in 1967, raising public expectations of liberalization.[3][5] However, Paul VI explicitly rejected his commission's recommendations in the text of Humanae Vitae, noting the 72 member commission had not been unanimous (4 theologian priests had dissented, and 1 cardinal and 2 bishops had voted that contraception was intrinsically evil--significantly Cardinal Ottaviani, the commission's president and Bishop Colombo, the papal theologian).[1][2][4] Humanae Vitae did, however, explicitly allow the modern forms of natural family planning that were then being developed.

[edit] The role of Karol Wojtyła

The final language of the encyclical was heavily influenced by the Bishop of Kraków, Karol Wojtyła, who would later become Pope John Paul II. Bishop Wojtyła had earlier defended the traditional church position from a philosophical standpoint in his 1960 book Love and Responsibility.

As reported in George Weigel's biography of John Paul II, Wojtyła had in fact been named by Paul VI to the commission to study the question. However, the Communist authorities in Poland would not permit him to travel to Rome to take part in the key meeting of June 1966 in which the majority decision of the commission was made.

After he became pope in 1978, John Paul II gave a series of lectures, entitled the Theology of the Body, that further developed themes in Humanae Vitae and Love and Responsibility.

[edit] Reception

Many Catholics disagree with the prohibition on artificial birth control and continue to use these methods. The publication of the encyclical marks the first time in the twentieth century that open dissent about teachings of the church was voiced widely and publicly[citation needed]. The teaching has been criticized by development organizations and others who claim that it limits the methods available to fight world-wide population growth and struggle against AIDS.

Within two days of the encyclical's release, a group of dissident theologians, led by Rev. Charles Curran, then of The Catholic University of America, issued a statement affirming that Catholics' individual consciences should prevail in such a personal and private issue.

Two months later, the controversial "Winnipeg Statement" issued by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops stated that those who cannot accept the teaching should not be considered shut off from the Catholic Church, and that individuals can in good conscience use contraception as long as they have first made an honest attempt to accept the difficult directives of the encyclical.

Pope John Paul II responds to such an argument in his 1993 encyclical Veritatis Splendor. He reaffirms Humanae Vitae, and specificially mentions the practice of artificial contraception as an act that is not permitted by Catholic teaching in any circumstances. The same encyclical also clarifies the use of conscience in arriving at moral decisions, including the use of contraception.

More recently, there has been a degree of resurgence of support for the teaching in the Church. Catholic lay writers, including Janet E. Smith, Kimberly Hahn, and Mary Shivanandan have all written extensively in support of the teaching, and on the reasons behind it. Also, the advent of high-speed digital basal thermometers, along with improved fertility awareness related to a woman's menstrual cycle, have enhanced the success rate and acceptance of natural methods of birth control.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e Shannon, William Henry (1970). “VII. The Papal Commission on Birth Control”, The lively debate: response to Humanae vitae. New York: Sheed & Ward, pp. 76-104. ISBN 0-8362-0374-7.
  2. ^ a b c d e McClory, Robert (1995). Turning point: the inside story of the Papal Birth Control Commission, and how Humanae vitae changed the life of Patty Crowley and the future of the church. New York: Crossroad. ISBN 0-8245-1458-0.
  3. ^ a b c (1967-04-19) "Reveal papal birth control texts". National Catholic Reporter 3 (25): pp. 1, 3, 8-12.
  4. ^ a b c (1968) “I. Documents from the Papal Commission”, Hoyt, Robert G. (ed.): The birth control debate. Kansas City: National Catholic Reporter, pp. 15-111.
  5. ^ Kneeland, Douglas E. (1967-04-17). "Majority report seeks papal shift on contraception". New York Times: p. 1.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] Further reading

  • Wojtyła, Karol, Love and Responsibility, Ignatius Press, ISBN 0-89870-445-6, 1993.
  • Smith, Janet, Why Humanae Vitae Was Right: A Reader, Ignatius Press, ISBN 0-89870-433-2, 1993.
  • Shivanandan, Mary, Crossing the Threshold of Love: A New Vision of Marriage, Catholic University of America Press, ISBN 0-8132-0941-2, 1999.
  • Hahn, Kimberly, Life-Giving Love, Charis Books, ISBN 0-8132-0941-2, 2002.
  • McClory, Robert, Turning point: the inside story of the Papal Birth Control Commission, and how Humanae Vitae changed the life of Patty Crowley and the future of the church, Crossroads Publishing, ISBN 0-8245-1458-0, 1995.
  • Rubio, Julie Hanlon. "Beyond the LIberal/Conservative Divide on Contraception." Horizons: The Journal of the College Theology Society Villanova University, Volume 32, Number 2. Fall 2005.
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