The late 1960s was a turbulent time of assassinations, the Vietnam War, the "Summer of Love," urban riots and Woodstock.Amid this social upheaval, Pope Paul VI promulgated his landmark encyclical, "Humanae Vitae (On Human Life)," on July 25, 1968.
The letter to Catholics and "all men of good will" has proved to be as prophetic as it was -- and still is -- controversial.
In a nutshell, Humanae Vitae reiterated the Catholic Church's rejection of contraception and abortion.
For those who expected the pope to change church teaching, they failed to see that, as Humanae Vitae explains, the church did not make natural or moral laws.
Therefore, "she cannot be their arbiter -- only their guardian and interpreter."
Large family
Lest anyone think that Paul ignored modern economic and social structures that make it difficult to provide for a large family, Humanae Vitae does not call on married couples to have as many children as physically possible. Couples may decide for serious reasons to postpone having children, even indefinitely.
The encyclical is more than a "no" to artificial birth control and abortion. It is a life-affirming "yes" to married love and sexuality. Paul beautifully explained that when the unitive and procreative aspects of the sexual act are separated, disrespect for human life follows. Marital infidelity, lower moral standards, degradation of women and government regulation of births were among the consequences of artificial birth control foreseen by the pope.
Predictions confirmed
The statistics and policies over the last 40 years confirm these predictions. According to the Guttmacher Institute, more than 45 million legal abortions occurred in the United States from 1973 through 2005. Fifty-four percent of women who have abortions used a contraceptive method (usually the condom or the pill) during the month they became pregnant.
More than 80 percent of women having abortions are unmarried and 22 percent of pregnancies ended in abortion in 2005. In China, the country's "one-child" policy has resulted in forced abortions and infanticide, a tragic example of government regulation of births.
How can we avoid another 45 million abortions in the next 40 years? We need to re-evaluate the meaning of sexuality and the practice of contraception. Picking up Paul's thread, Pope John Paul II pointed out in his 1995 encyclical, "Evangelium Vitae," that contraception and abortion are closely connected.
Avoided
Both are based on a "mentality unwilling to accept responsibility in matters of sexuality. The life that could result from a sexual encounter thus becomes an enemy to be avoided at all costs and abortion becomes the only possible decisive response to failed contraception."
To change this prevailing attitude, we need to transform our culture to one that values compassion over efficiency, views pregnancy and children as gifts rather than mistakes and burdens, and accepts consequences for actions instead of rationalizing injustice under the facade of choice.
Paul noted in "Humanae Vitae" that not everyone would accept the church's teaching on contraception and abortion. "But," he wrote, "it comes as no surprise to the church that she, no less than her divine Founder, is destined to be a "sign of contradiction.' +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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