Humanae
Vitae...
A Hauntingly
Prophetic
Document
This Papal Encyclical was released on July 25, 1968, over three decades ago.
Pay particular attention to the prophetic and very accurate paragraph 17.
ENCYCLICAL LETTER OF HIS HOLINESS POPE PAUL Vl ON THE REGULATION OF BIRTH
Humanae Vitae
TO THE VENERABLE PATRIARCHS, ARCHBISHOPS AND BISHOPS AND OTHER LOCAL
ORDINARIES IN PEACE AND COMMUNION WITH THE APOSTOLIC SEE, TO PRIESTS, THE
FAITHFUL AND TO ALL MEN OF GOOD WILL
VENERABLE BROTHERS AND BELOVED SONS:
1. The most serious duty of transmitting human life, for which married
persons are the free and responsible collaborators of God the Creator,
has always been a source of great joys to them, even if sometimes
accompanied by not a few difficulties and by distress.
At all times the fulfillment of this duty has posed grave problems to the
conscience of married persons, but, with the recent evolution of society,
changes have taken place that give rise to new questions which the Church
could not ignore, having to do with a matter which so closely touches
upon the life and happiness of men.
2. The changes which have taken place are in fact noteworthy and of
varied kinds. In the first place, there is the rapid demographic
development. Fear is shown by many that world population is growing more
rapidly than the available resources, with growing distress to many
families and developing countries, so that the temptation for authorities
to counter this danger with radical measures is great. Moreover, working
and lodging conditions, as well as increased exigencies both in the
economic field and in that of education, often make the proper education
of a larger number of children difficult today. A change is also seen
both in the manner of considering the person of woman and her place in
society, and in the value to be attributed to conjugal love in marriage,
and also in the appreciation to be made of the meaning of conjugal acts
in relation to that love.
Finally and above all, man has made stupendous progress in the domination
and rational organization of the forces of nature, such that he tends to
extend this domination to his own total being: to the body, to psychical
life, to social life and even to the laws which regulate the transmission
of life.
3. This new state of things gives rise to new questions. Granted the
conditions of life today, and granted the meaning which conjugal
relations have with respect to the harmony between husband and wife and
to their mutual fidelity, would not a revision of the ethical norms, in
force up to now, seem to be advisable, especially when it is considered
that they cannot be observed without sacrifices, sometimes heroic
sacrifices?
And again: by extending to this field the application of the so-called
"principle of totality," could it not be admitted that the intention of a
less abundant but more rationalized fecundity might transform a
materially sterilizing intervention into a licit and wise control of
birth? Could it not be admitted, that is, that the finality of procreation
pertains to the ensemble of conjugal life, rather than to its single acts?
It is also asked whether, in view of the increased sense of responsibility
of modern man, the moment has not come for him to entrust to his reason and
his will, rather than to the biological rhythms of his organism, the task
of regulating birth.
4. Such questions required from the teaching authority of the Church a
new and deeper reflection upon the principles of the moral teaching on
marriage: a teaching founded on the natural law, illuminated and enriched
by divine revelation.
No believer will wish to deny that the teaching authority of the Church
is competent to interpret even the natural moral law. It is, in fact,
indisputable, as our predecessors have many times declared,[1] that Jesus
Christ, when communicating to Peter and to the Apostles His divine
authority and sending them to teach all nations His commandments,[2]
constituted them as guardians and authentic interpreters of all the
moral law, not only, that is, of the law of the Gospel, but also of the
natural law, which is also an expression of the will of God, the faithful
fulfillment of which is equally necessary for salvation.[3]
Conformably to this mission of hers, the Church has always provided--and
even more amply in recent times--a coherent teaching concerning both the
nature of marriage and the correct use of conjugal rights and the duties
of husband and wife.[4]
5. The consciousness of that same mission induced us to confirm and
enlarge the study commission which our predecessor Pope John XXIII of
happy memory had instituted in March, 1963. That commission which
included, besides several experts in the various pertinent disciplines
also married couples, had as its scope the gathering of opinions on the
new questions regarding conjugal life, and in particular on the
regulation of births, and of furnishing opportune elements of information
so that the magisterium could give an adequate reply to the expectation
not only of the faithful, but also of world opinion.[5]
The work of these experts, as well as the successive judgments and
counsels spontaneously forwarded by or expressly requested from a good
number of our brothers in the episcopate, have permitted us to measure
more exactly all the aspects of this complex matter. Hence with all our
heart we express to each of them our lively gratitude.
6. The conclusions at which the commission arrived could not,
nevertheless, be considered by us as definitive, nor dispense us from a
personal examination of this serious question; and this also because,
within the commission itself, no full concordance of judgments concerning
the moral norms to be proposed had been reached, and above all because
certain criteria of solutions had emerged which departed from the moral
teaching on marriage proposed with constant firmness by the teaching
authority of the Church.
Therefore, having attentively sifted the documentation laid before us,
after mature reflection and assiduous prayers, we now intend, by virtue
of the mandate entrusted to us by Christ, to give our reply to these
grave questions.
7. The problem of birth, like every other problem regarding human life,
is to be considered, beyond partial perspectives-- whether of the
biological or psychological, demographic or sociological orders--in the
light of an integral vision of man and of his vocation, not only his
natural and earthly, but also his supernatural and eternal vocation. And
since, in the attempt to justify artificial methods of birth control,
many have appealed to the demands both of conjugal love and of
"responsible parenthood," it is good to state very precisely the true
concept of these two great realities of married life, referring
principally to what was recently set forth in this regard, and in a
highly authoritative form, by the Second Vatican Council in its pastoral
constitution "Gaudium et Spes."
8. Conjugal love reveals its true nature and nobility when it is
considered in its supreme origin, God, who is love,[6] "the Father, from
whom every family in heaven and on earth is named."[7]
Marriage is not, then, the effect of chance or the product of evolution
of unconscious natural forces; it is the wise institution of the Creator
to realize in mankind His design of love. By means of the reciprocal
personal gift of self, proper and exclusive to them, husband and wife
tend towards the communion of their beings in view of mutual personal
perfection, to collaborate with God in the generation and education of
new lives.
For baptized persons, moreover, marriage invests the dignity of a
sacramental sign of grace, inasmuch as it represents the union of Christ
and of the Church.
9. Under this light, there clearly appear the characteristic marks and
demands of conjugal love, and it is of supreme importance to have an
exact idea of these.
This love is first of all fully human, that is to say, of the senses and
of the spirit at the same time. It is not, then, a simple transport of
instinct and sentiment, but also, and principally, an act of the free
will, intended to endure and to grow by means of the joys and sorrows of
daily life, in such a way that husband and wife become one only heart and
one only soul, and together attain their human perfection.
Then, this love is total, that is to say, it is a very special form of
personal friendship, in which husband and wife generously share
everything, without undue reservations or selfish calculations. Whoever
truly loves his marriage partner loves not only for what he receives, but
for the partner's self, rejoicing that he can enrich his partner with the
gift of himself.
Again, this love is faithful and exclusive until death. Thus in fact do
bride and groom conceive it to be on the day when they freely and in full
awareness assume the duty of the marriage bond. A fidelity, this, which
can sometimes be difficult, but is always possible, always noble and
meritorious, as no one can deny. The example of so many married persons
down through the centuries shows, not only that fidelity is according to
the nature of marriage, but also that it is a source of profound and
lasting happiness.
And finally this love is fecund for it is not exhausted by the communion
between husband and wife, but is destined to continue, raising up new
lives. "Marriage and conjugal love are by their nature ordained toward
the begetting and educating of children. Children are really the supreme
gift of marriage and contribute very substantially to the welfare of
their parents."[8]
10. Hence conjugal love requires in husband and wife an awareness of
their mission of "responsible parenthood," which today is rightly much
insisted upon, and which also must be exactly understood. Consequently it
is to be considered under different aspects which are legitimate and
connected with one another.
In relation to the biological processes, responsible parenthood means the
knowledge and respect of their functions; human intellect discovers in
the power of giving life biological laws which are part of the human
person.[9]
In relation to the tendencies of instinct or passion, responsible
parenthood means that necessary dominion which reason and will must
exercise over them.
In relation to physical, economic, psychological and social conditions,
responsible parenthood is exercised, either by the deliberate and
generous decision to raise a numerous family, or by the decision, made
for grave motives and with due respect for the moral law, to avoid for
the time being, or even for an indeterminate period, a new birth.
Responsible parenthood also and above all implies a more profound
relationship to the objective moral order established by God, of which a
right conscience is the faithful interpreter. The responsible exercise of
parenthood implies, therefore, that husband and wife recognize fully their
own duties towards God, towards themselves, towards the family and towards
society, in a correct hierarchy of values.
In the task of transmitting life, therefore, they are not free to proceed
completely at will, as if they could determine in a wholly autonomous way
the honest path to follow; but they must conform their activity to the
creative intention of God, expressed in the very nature of marriage and
of its acts, and manifested by the constant teaching of the Church.[10]
11. These acts, by which husband and wife are united in chaste intimacy,
and by means of which human life is transmitted, are, as the Council
recalled, "noble and worthy,"[11] and they do not cease to be lawful if,
for causes independent of the will of husband and wife, they are foreseen
to be infecund, since they always remain ordained towards expressing and
consolidating their union. In fact, as experience bears witness, not
every conjugal act is followed by a new life. God has wisely disposed
natural laws and rhythms of fecundity which, of themselves, cause a
separation in the succession of births. Nonetheless the Church, calling
men back to the observance of the norms of the natural law, as
interpreted by their constant doctrine, teaches that each and every
marriage act (quilibet matrimonii usus) must remain open to the
transmission of life.[12]
12. That teaching, often set forth by the magisterium, is founded upon
the inseparable connection, willed by God and unable to be broken by man
on his own initiative, between the two meanings of the conjugal act: the
unitive meaning and the procreative meaning. Indeed, by its intimate
structure, the conjugal act, while most closely uniting husband and wife,
capacitates them for the generation of new lives, according to laws
inscribed in the very being of man and of woman. By safeguarding both
these essential aspects, the unitive and the procreative, the conjugal
act preserves in its fullness the sense of true mutual love and its
ordination towards man's most high calling to parenthood. We believe that
the men of our day are particularly capable of seeing the deeply
reasonable and human character of this fundamental principle.
13. It is in fact justly observed that a conjugal act imposed upon one's
partner without regard for his or her condition and lawful desires is not
a true act of love, and therefore denies an exigency of right moral order
in the relationships between husband and wife. Likewise, if they consider
the matter, they must admit that an act of mutual love, which is
detrimental to the faculty of propagating life, which God the Creator of
all, has implanted in it according to special laws, is in contradiction
to both the divine plan, according to whose norm matrimony has been
instituted, and the will of the Author of human life. To use this divine
gift destroying, even if only partially, its meaning and its purpose is
to contradict the nature both of man and of woman and of their most
intimate relationship, and therefore it is to contradict also the plan of
God and His will. On the other hand, to make use of the gift of conjugal
love while respecting the laws of the generative process means to
acknowledge oneself not to be the arbiter of the sources of human life,
but rather the minister of the design established by the Creator. In
fact, just as man does not have unlimited dominion over his body in
general, so also, with particular reason, he has no such dominion over
his generative faculties as such, because of their intrinsic ordination
towards raising up life, of which God is the principle. "Human life is
sacred," Pope John XXIII recalled; "from its very inception it reveals
the creating hand of God."[13]
14. In conformity with these landmarks in the human and Christian vision
of marriage, we must once again declare that the direct interruption of
the generative process already begun, and, above all, directly willed and
procured abortion, even if for therapeutic reasons, are to be absolutely
excluded as licit means of regulating birth.[14]
Equally to be excluded, as the teaching authority of the Church has
frequently declared, is direct sterilization, whether perpetual or
temporary, whether of the man or of the woman.[15] Similarly excluded is
every action which, either in anticipation of the conjugal act, or in its
accomplishment, or in the development of its natural consequences,
proposes, whether as an end or as a means, to render procreation
impossible.[16]
To justify conjugal acts made intentionally infecund, one cannot invoke
as valid reasons the lesser evil, or the fact that such acts would
constitute a whole together with the fecund acts already performed or to
follow later, and hence would share in one and the same moral goodness.
In truth, if it is sometimes licit to tolerate a lesser evil in order to
avoid a greater evil or to promote a greater good,[17] it is not licit,
even for the gravest reasons, to do evil so that good may follow
therefrom;[18] that is, to make into the object of a positive act of the
will something which is intrinsically disorder, and hence unworthy of the
human person, even when the intention is to safeguard or promote
individual, family or social well-being. Consequently it is an error to
think that a conjugal act which is deliberately made infecund and so is
intrinsically dishonest could be made honest and right by the ensemble of
a fecund conjugal life.
15. The Church, on the contrary, does not at all consider illicit the use
of those therapeutic means truly necessary to cure diseases of the
organism, even if an impediment to procreation, which may be foreseen,
should result therefore, provided such impediment is not, for whatever
motive, directly willed.[19]
16. To this teaching of the Church on conjugal morals, the objection is
made today, as we observed earlier (no. 3), that it is the prerogative of
the human intellect to dominate the energies offered by irrational nature
and to orientate them towards an end conformable to the good of man. Now,
some may ask: in the present case, is it not reasonable in many
circumstances to have recourse to artificial birth control if, thereby,
we secure the harmony and peace of the family, and better conditions for
the education of the children already born? To this question it is
necessary to reply with clarity: the Church is the first to praise and
recommend the intervention of intelligence in a function which so closely
associates the rational creature with his Creator; but she affirms that
this must be done with respect for the order established by God.
If, then, there are serious motives to space out births, which derive
from the physical or psychological conditions of husband and wife, or
from external conditions, the Church teaches that it is then licit to
take into account the natural rhythms immanent in the generative
functions, for the use of marriage in the infecund periods only, and in
this way to regulate birth without offending the moral principles which
have been recalled earlier.[20]
The Church is coherent with herself when she considers recourse to the
infecund periods to be licit, while at the same time condemning, as being
always illicit, the use of means directly contrary to fecundation, even
if such use is inspired by reasons which may appear honest and serious.
In reality, there are essential differences between the two cases; in the
former, the married couple make legitimate use of a natural disposition;
in the latter, they impede the development of natural processes. It is
true that, in the one and the other case, the married couple are
concordant in the positive will of avoiding children for plausible
reasons, seeking the certainty that offspring will not arrive; but it is
also true that only in the former case are they able to renounce the use
of marriage in the fecund periods when, for just motives, procreation is
not desirable, while making use of it during infecund periods to manifest
their affection and to safeguard their mutual fidelity. By so doing, they
give proof of a truly and integrally honest love.
17. Upright men can even better convince themselves of the solid grounds
on which the teaching of the Church in this field is based, if they care
to reflect upon the consequences of methods of artificial birth control.
Let them consider, first of all, how wide and easy a road would thus be
opened up towards conjugal infidelity and the general lowering of
morality. Not much experience is needed in order to know human weakness,
and to understand that men--especially the young, who are so vulnerable
on this point--have need of encouragement to be faithful to the moral law,
so that they must not be offered some easy means of eluding its
observance. It is also to be feared that the man, growing used to the
employment of anti-conceptive practices, may finally lose respect for the
woman and, no longer caring for her physical and psychological
equilibrium, may come to the point of considering her as a mere instrument
of selfish enjoyment, and no longer as his respected and beloved
companion.
Let it be considered also that a dangerous weapon would thus be placed in
the hands of those public authorities who take no heed of moral
exigencies. Who could blame a government for applying to the solution of
the problems of the community those means acknowledged to be licit for
married couples in the solution of a family problem? Who will stop rulers
from favoring, from even imposing upon their peoples, if they were to
consider it necessary, the method of contraception which they judge to be
most efficacious? In such a way men, wishing to avoid individual, family,
or social difficulties encountered in the observance of the divine law,
would reach the point of placing at the mercy of the intervention of
public authorities the most personal and most reserved sector of conjugal
intimacy.
Consequently, if the mission of generating life is not to be exposed to
the arbitrary will of men, one must necessarily recognize insurmountable
limits to the possibility of man's domination over his own body and its
functions; limits which no man, whether a private individual or one
invested with authority, may licitly surpass. And such limits cannot be
determined otherwise than by the respect due to the integrity of the
human organism and its functions, according to the principles recalled
earlier, and also according to the correct understanding of the
"principle of totality" illustrated by our predecessor Pope Pius XII.[21]
18. It can be foreseen that this teaching will perhaps not be easily
received by all: Too numerous are those voices--amplified by the modern
means of propaganda--which are contrary to the voice of the Church. To
tell the truth, the Church is not surprised to be made, like her divine
Founder, a "sign of contradiction",[22] yet she does not because of this
cease to proclaim with humble firmness the entire moral law, both natural
and evangelical. Of such laws the Church was not the author, nor
consequently can she be their arbiter; she is only their depositary and
their interpreter, without ever being able to declare to be licit that
which is not so by reason of its intimate and unchangeable opposition to
the true good of man.
In defending conjugal morals in their integral wholeness, the Church
knows that she contributes towards the establishment of a truly human
civilization; she engages man not to abdicate from his own responsibility
in order to rely on technical means; by that very fact she defends the
dignity of man and wife. Faithful to both the teaching and the example of
the Savior, she shows herself to be the sincere and disinterested friend
of men, whom she wishes to help, even during their earthly sojourn, "to
share as sons in the life of the living God, the Father of all men."[23]
19. Our words would not be an adequate expression of the thought and
solicitude of the Church, Mother and Teacher of all peoples, if, after
having recalled men to the observance and respect of the divine law
regarding matrimony, we did not strengthen them in the path of honest
regulation of birth, even amid the difficult conditions which today
afflict families and peoples. The Church, in fact, cannot have a
different conduct towards men than that of the Redeemer: She knows their
weaknesses, has compassion on the crowd, receives sinners; but she cannot
renounce the teaching of the law which is, in reality, that law proper to
a human life restored to its original truth and conducted by the spirit
of God.[24]
20. The teaching of the Church on the regulation of birth, which
promulgates the divine law, will easily appear to many to be difficult or
even impossible of actuation. And indeed, like all great beneficent
realities, it demands serious engagement and much effort, individual,
family and social effort. More than that, it would not be practicable
without the help of God, who upholds and strengthens the good will of
men. Yet, to anyone who reflects well, it cannot but be clear that such
efforts ennoble man and are beneficial to the human community.
21. The honest practice of regulation of birth demands first of all that
husband and wife acquire and possess solid convictions concerning the
true values of life and of the family, and that they tend towards
securing perfect self-mastery. To dominate instinct by means of one's
reason and free will undoubtedly requires ascetical practices, so that
the affective manifestations of conjugal life may observe the correct
order, in particular with regard to the observance of periodic
continence. Yet this discipline which is proper to the purity of married
couples, far from harming conjugal love, rather confers on it a higher
human value. It demands continual effort yet, thanks to its beneficent
influence, husband and wife fully develop their personalities, being
enriched with spiritual values. Such discipline bestows upon family life
fruits of serenity and peace, and facilitates the solution of other
problems; it favors attention for one's partner, helps both parties to
drive out selfishness, the enemy of true love; and deepens their sense of
responsibility. By its means, parents acquire the capacity of having a
deeper and more efficacious influence in the education of their
offspring; little children and youths grow up with a just appraisal of
human values, and in the serene and harmonious development of their
spiritual and sensitive faculties.
22. On this occasion, we wish to draw the attention of educators, and of
all who perform duties of responsibility in regard to the common good of
human society, to the need of creating an atmosphere favorable to
education in chastity, that is, to the triumph of healthy liberty over
license by means of respect for the moral order.
Everything in the modern media of social communications which leads to
sense excitation and unbridled customs, as well as every form of
pornography and licentious performances, must arouse the frank and
unanimous reaction of all those who are solicitous for the progress of
civilization and the defense of the common good of the human spirit.
Vainly would one seek to justify such depravation with the pretext of
artistic or scientific exigencies,[25] or to deduce an argument from the
freedom allowed in this sector by the public authorities.
23. To Rulers, who are those principally responsible for the common good,
and who can do so much to safeguard moral customs, we say: Do not allow
the morality of your peoples to be degraded; do not permit that by legal
means practices contrary to the natural and divine law be introduced into
that fundamental cell, the family. Quite other is the way in which public
authorities can and must contribute to the solution of the demographic
problem: namely, the way of a provident policy for the family, of a wise
education of peoples in respect of moral law and the liberty of citizens.
We are well aware of the serious difficulties experienced by public
authorities in this regard, especially in the developing countries. To
their legitimate preoccupations we devoted our encyclical letter
Populorum Progressio. But with our predecessor Pope John XXIII, we
repeat: no solution to these difficulties is acceptable "which does
violence to man's essential dignity" and is based only on an utterly
materialistic conception of man himself and of his life. The only
possible solution to this question is one which envisages the social and
economic progress both of individuals and of the whole of human society,
and which respects and promotes true human values.[26] Neither can one,
without grave injustice, consider divine providence to be responsible for
what depends, instead, on a lack of wisdom in government, on an
insufficient sense of social justice, on selfish monopolization, or again
on blameworthy indolence in confronting the efforts and the sacrifices
necessary to ensure the raising of living standards of a people and of
all its sons.[27]
May all responsible public authorities--as some are already doing so
laudably--generously revive their efforts. And may mutual aid between all
the members of the great human family never cease to grow: This is an
almost limitless field which thus opens up to the activity of the great
international organizations.
24. We wish now to express our encouragement to men of science, who "can
considerably advance the welfare of marriage and the family, along with
peace of conscience, if by pooling their efforts they labor to explain
more thoroughly the various conditions favoring a proper regulation of
births."[28] It is particularly desirable that, according to the wish
already expressed by Pope Pius XII, medical science succeed in providing
a sufficiently secure basis for a regulation of birth, founded on the
observance of natural rhythms.[29] In this way, scientists and especially
Catholic scientists will contribute to demonstrate in actual fact that,
as the Church teaches, "a true contradiction cannot exist between the
divine laws pertaining to the transmission of life and those pertaining
to the fostering of authentic conjugal love."[30]
25. And now our words more directly address our own children,
particularly those whom God calls to serve Him in marriage. The Church,
while teaching imprescriptible demands of the divine law, announces the
tidings of salvation, and by means of the sacraments opens up the paths
of grace, which makes man a new creature, capable of corresponding with
love and true freedom to the design of his Creator and Savior, and of
finding the yoke of Christ to be sweet.[31]
Christian married couples, then, docile to her voice, must remember that
their Christian vocation, which began at baptism, is further specified
and reinforced by the sacrament of matrimony. By it husband and wife are
strengthened and as it were consecrated for the faithful accomplishment
of their proper duties, for the carrying out of their proper vocation
even to perfection, and the Christian witness which is proper to them
before the whole world.[32] To them the Lord entrusts the task of making
visible to men the holiness and sweetness of the law which unites the
mutual love of husband and wife with their cooperation with the love of
God the author of human life.
We do not at all intend to hide the sometimes serious difficulties
inherent in the life of Christian married persons; for them as for
everyone else, "the gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to
life."[33] But the hope of that life must illuminate their way, as with
courage they strive to live with wisdom, justice and piety in this
present time,[34] knowing that the figure of this world passes away.[35]
Let married couples, then, face up to the efforts needed, supported by
the faith and hope which "do not disappoint . . . because God's love has
been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given
to Us"[36]; let them implore divine assistance by persevering prayer;
above all, let them draw from the source of grace and charity in the
Eucharist. And if sin should still keep its hold over them, let them not
be discouraged, but rather have recourse with humble perseverance to the
mercy of God, which is poured forth in the sacrament of Penance. In this
way they will be enabled to achieve the fullness of conjugal life
described by the Apostle: "husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the
Church . . . husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who
loves his wife loves himself. For no man ever hates his own flesh, but
nourishes and cherishes it, as Christ does the Church . . . this is a
great mystery, and I mean in reference to Christ and the Church. However,
let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that
she respects her husband."[37]
26. Among the fruits which ripen forth from a generous effort of fidelity
to the divine law, one of the most precious is that married couples
themselves not infrequently feel the desire to communicate their
experience to others. Thus there comes to be included in the vast pattern
of the vocation of the laity a new and most noteworthy form of the
apostolate of like to like; it is married couples themselves who become
apostles and guides to other married couples. This is assuredly, among so
many forms of apostolate, one of those which seem most opportune
today.[38]
27. We hold those physicians and medical personnel in the highest esteem
who, in the exercise of their profession, value above every human
interest the superior demands of their Christian vocation. Let them
persevere, therefore, in promoting on every occasion the discovery of
solutions inspired by faith and right reason, let them strive to arouse
this conviction and this respect in their associates. Let them also
consider as their proper professional duty the task of acquiring all the
knowledge needed in this delicate sector, so as to be able to give to
those married persons who consult them wise counsel and healthy
direction, such as they have a right to expect.
28. Beloved priest sons, by vocation you are the counselors and spiritual
guides of individual persons and of families. We now turn to you with
confidence. Your first task--especially in the case of those who teach
moral theology--is to expound the Church's teaching on marriage without
ambiguity. Be the first to give, in the exercise of your ministry, the
example of loyal internal and external obedience to the teaching
authority of the Church. That obedience, as you know well, obliges not
only because of the reasons adduced, but rather because of the light of
the Holy Spirit, which is given in a particular way to the pastors of the
Church in order that they may illustrate the truth.[39] You know, too,
that it is of the utmost importance, for peace of consciences and for the
unity of the Christian people, that in the field of morals as well as in
that of dogma, all should attend to the magisterium of the Church, and
all should speak the same language. Hence, with all our heart we renew to
you the heartfelt plea of the great Apostle Paul: "I appeal to you,
brethren, by the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree and
that there be no dissensions among you, but that you be united in the
same mind and the same judgment."[40]
29. To diminish in no way the saving teaching of Christ constitutes an
eminent form of charity for souls. But this must ever be accompanied by
patience and goodness, such as the Lord himself gave example of in
dealing with men. Having come not to condemn but to save,[41] he was indeed
intransigent with evil, but merciful towards individuals.
In their difficulties, may married couples always find, in the words and
in the heart of a priest, the echo of the voice and the love of the
Redeemer.
And then speak with confidence, beloved sons, fully convinced that the
spirit of God, while He assists the magisterium in proposing doctrine,
illumines internally the hearts of the faithful inviting them to give
their assent. Teach married couples the indispensable way of prayer;
prepare them to have recourse often and with faith to the sacraments of
the Eucharist and of Penance, without ever allowing themselves to be
discouraged by their own weakness.
30. Beloved and venerable brothers in the episcopate, with whom we most
intimately share the solicitude of the spiritual good of the People of
God, at the conclusion of this encyclical our reverent and affectionate
thoughts turn to you. To all of you we extend an urgent invitation. At
the head of the priests, your collaborators, and of your faithful, work
ardently and incessantly for the safeguarding and the holiness of
marriage, so that it may always be lived in its entire human and
Christian fullness. Consider this mission as one of your most urgent
responsibilities at the present time. As you know, it implies concerted
pastoral action in all the fields of human activity, economic, cultural
and social; for, in fact, only a simultaneous improvement in these
various sectors will make it possible to render the life of parents and
of children within their families not only tolerable, but easier and more
joyous, to render the living together in human society more fraternal and
peaceful, in faithfulness to God's design for the world.
31. Venerable brothers, most beloved sons, and all men of good will,
great indeed is the work of education, of progress and of love to which
we call you, upon the foundation of the Church's teaching, of which the
successor of Peter is, together with his brothers in the episcopate, the
depositary and interpreter. Truly a great work, as we are deeply
convinced, both for the world and for the Church, since man cannot find
true happiness--towards which he aspires with all his being--other than
in respect of the laws written by God in his very nature, laws which he
must observe with intelligence and love. Upon this work, and upon all of
you, and especially upon married couples, we invoke the abundant graces
of the God of holiness and mercy, and in pledge thereof we impart to you
all our apostolic blessing.
Given at Rome, from St. Peter's, this 25th day of July, feast of St.
James the Apostle, in the year 1968, the sixth of our pontificate.
PAULUS PP.VI.
FOOTNOTES
1. Cf. Pius IX, encyclical Qui Pluribus, Nov. 9, 1846; in PII IX P. M.
Acta, I, pp. 9-10; St. Pius X, encyc. Singulari Quadam, Sept. 24, 1912;
in AAS IV (1912), p. 658; Pius XI, encyc. Casti Connubii, Dec. 31, 1930;
in AAS XXII (1930), pp. 579-581; Pius XII, allocution Magnificate Dominum
to the episcopate of the Catholic world, Nov. 2, 1954; in AAS XLVI
(1954), pp. 671-672; John XXIII, encyc. Mater et Magistra, May 15, 1961;
in AAS LIII (1961), p. 457.
2. Cf. Matt. 28: 18-19.
3. Cf. Matt. 7: 21.
4. Cf. Catechismus Romanus Concilii Tridentini, part II, ch. VIII; Leo
XIII, encyc. Arcanum, Feb. 19 1880; in Acta Leonis XIII, Il (1881), pp.
26-29; Pius Xl, encyc. Divini Illius Magistri, Dec. 31, 1929, in AAS XXII
(1930), pp. 58-61; encyc. Casti Connubii, in AAS XXII (1930), pp.
545-546; Pius XII, alloc. to the Italian medico-biological union of St.
Luke, Nov. 12, 1944, in Discorsi e Radiomessaggi, VI, pp. 191-192; to the
Italian Catholic union of midwives, Oct. 29, 1951, in AAS XLIII (1951),
pp. 857-859; to the seventh Congress of the International Society of
Haematology, Sept. 12, 1958, in AAS L (1958), pp. 734-735; John XXIII,
encyc. Mater et Magistra, in AAS LIII (1961), pp. 446-447; Codex luris
Canonici, Canon 1067; Can. 1968, S 1, Can. 1066 S 1-2; Second Vatican
Council, Pastoral constitution Gaudium et Spes, nos. 47-52.
5. Cf. Paul VI, allocution to the Sacred College, June 23, 1964, in AAS
LVI (1964 ), p. 588; to the Commission for Study of Problems of
Population, Family and Birth, March 27, 1965, in AAS LVII (1965), p. 388,
to the National Congress of the Italian Society of Obstetrics and
Gynaecology, Oct. 29, 1966, in AAS LVIII (1966), p. 1168.
6. Cf. I John 4: 8.
7. Cf. Eph. 3: 15.
8. Cf. II Vat. Council, Pastoral const. Gaudium et Spes, No. 50.
9. Cf. St. Thomas, Summa Theologica, I-II, q. 94, art. 2.
10. Cf. Pastoral Const. Gaudium et Spes, nos. 50, 51.
11. Ibid, no. 49.
12. Cf. Pius XI, encyc. Casti Connubii, in AAS XXII (1930), p. 560; Pius
XII, in AAS XLIII (1951), p. 843.
13. Cf. John XXIII, encyc. Mater et Magistra, in AAS LIII (1961), p. 447.
14. Cf. Catechismus Romanus Concilii Tridentini, part. II, Ch. VIII; Pius
XI, encyc. Casti Connubii, in AAS XXII (1930), pp. 562-564; Pius XII,
Discorsi e Radiomessaggi, VI (1944), pp. 191-192; AAS XLIII (1951), pp.
842-843; pp. 857-859; John XXIII, encyc. Pacem in Terris, Apr. 11, 1963,
in AAS LV (1963), pp. 259-260; Gaudium et Spes, no. 51.
15. Cf. Pius XI encyc. Casti Connubii, in AAS XXII (1930) p. 565; decree
of the Holy Office, Feb. 22, 1940, in AAS L (1958), pp. 734-735.
16. Cf. Catechismus Romanus Concilii Tridentini, part. II, Ch. VIII; Pius
XI, encyc. Casti Connubii, in AAS XXII (1930), pp. 559-561; Pius XII, AAS
XLIII (1951), p. 843; AAS L. (1958), pp. 734-735; John XXIII, encyc.
Mater et Magistra, in AAS LIII (1961), p. 447.
17. Cf. Pius XII, alloc. to the National Congress of the Union of
Catholic Jurists, Dec. 6, 1953, in AAS XLV (1953), pp. 798-799.
18. Cf. Rom. 3: 8.
19. Cf. Pius XII, alloc. to Congress of the Italian Association of
Urology, Oct. 8, 1953, in AAS XLV (1953), pp. 674-675; AAS L (1958) pp.
734-735.
20. Cf. Pius XII, AAS XLIII (1951), p. 846.
21. Cf. AAS XLV (1953), pp. 674-675; AAS XLVIII (1956), pp. 461-462.
22. Cf. Luke 2: 34.
23. Cf. Paul Vl, encyc. Populorum Progressio, March 26, 1967, No. 21.
24. Cf. Rom. 8.
25. Cf. 11 Vatican Council, decree Inter Mirifica, On the Media of Social
Communication, nos. 6-7.
26. Cf. encyc. Mater et Magistra in AAS LIII (1961), p. 447.
27. Cf. encyc. Populorum Progressio, nos. 48-55.
28. Cf. Pastoral Const. Gaudium et Spes, no. 52.
29. Cf. AAS XLIII (1951) , p. 859.
30. Cf. Pastoral Const. Gaudium et Spes, no. 51.
31. Cf. Matt. 11: 30.
32. Cf. Pastoral Const. Gaudium et Spes, no. 48; 11 Vatican Council,
Dogmatic Const. Lumen Gentium, no. 35.
33. Matt. 7: 14- cf. Heb. 11: 12.
34. Cf. Tit. 2 : 1 2.
35. Cf. I Cor. 7: 31.
36. Cf. Rom. 5: 5.
37. Eph. 5: 25, 28-29, 32-33.
38. Cf. Dogmatic Const. Lumen Gentium, nos. 35 and 41; Pastoral Const.
Gaudium et Spes, nos. 48-49; Il Vatican Council, Decree Apostolicam
Actuositatem, no. I[1].
39. Cf. Dogmatic Const. Lumen Gentium, no. 25.
40 Cf. I Cor. 1: 10.
41 Cf. John 3: 17.
Posted on April 20, 1999
Back to Home Page...