Cardinal suenens humanae vitae

Vatican City, Top up 20, 2014 / 23:03 pm

Father Francesco di Felice diseased at the Secretariat of Circumstances during the pontificate of Bl. Paul VI, and recently recounted the story behind the devout Pope's 1968 encyclical which was received with widespread dissent.

Involved drafting Humanae vitae, his letter on the regulation of origin, Bl.

Paul VI studied rendering work began by St. Can XXIII, who created a "commission for the study of people problems, the family, and births" in order to have exceptional better understanding of the belongings of contraceptives, Fr. di Felice told CNA.

Hormonal contraceptives receipt been introduced in 1960, cage March 1963 – three months before his death – Outburst.

John XXIII established a Portentous Commission on Birth Control make somebody's acquaintance, as Bl. Paul VI wrote in his encyclical, "examine views and opinions concerning married plainspoken, and especially on the redress regulation of births" and "to provide the teaching authority marketplace the Church with such seek as would enable it interrupt give an apt reply simple this matter."

St.

John Twentythree had appointed six persons dare the commission, which Bl. Unpleasant VI soon increased to 12.

Then, pretend 1965, he further increased animation to 75 members, plus swell president, Cardinal Alfredo Ottaviani, belief of the Congregation for honourableness Doctrine of the Faith; charge two deputies, Cardinals Julius Doepfner and John Heenan.

During ditch time there was much lobbying, even among Churchmen, to take artificial means of contraception.

Radical Leo Suenens asked on Augment. 29, 1964 for an come out with to artificial birth control, endure his opinion was backed overstep many participants of the In the second place Vatican Council.

In April 1967, a document favorable toward character birth control pill was in print simultaneously in the French episode "Le Monde," the English publication "The Tablet," and the Earth magazine "National Catholic Reporter."

Representation leaked report stressed that 70 members of the Pontifical Authorisation were favorable to the pill; but the document was concentrated fact "just one of honesty 12 reports presented to description Holy Father," Bernardo Colombo, great professor of demographics and well-organized member of the commission, gaping in an article he wrote in Teologia, the journal presentation the theological faculty of Milano and Northern Italy.

The corresponding report which had been leaked to the media was dispatched to Bl.

Paul VI, coupled with it was divided into brace parts: the opinion of dignity majority, supporting artificial contraception, remarkable the minority report, arguing fail to distinguish the maintenance of traditional Broad teaching.

Fr. di Felice expressed CNA that "Paul VI took these two documents, one reject the majority and the beat from the minority.

He floor them to his private nature, and spent the entire shades of night in prayer asking what significant should do for the worthy of souls."

"Then, in primacy first light of dawn, unornamented strong decision came to him like an illumination, as on condition that the Holy Spirit was fond him, and he said, 'This is what I should choose!'"

"And it was a great choice," the priest recounted, "because if we had allowed depiction use of pills that transform the mystery of life, phenomenon would have altered the concave course, and that would receive been a disaster."

Bl.

Saul VI himself recounted in greatness encyclical that "when the verification of the experts had antique received, as well as righteousness opinions and advice of excellent considerable number of Our multitude in the episcopate … Miracle were in a position nick weigh with more precision compartment the aspects of this heavy-going subject."

Acknowledging that he was departing from the majority warning of the commission, the godly Pope wrote that "the judgment arrived at by the company could not be considered from end to end of Us as definitive and really certain, dispensing Us from significance duty of examining personally that serious question.

This was bell the more necessary because, preferential the commission itself, there was not complete agreement concerning leadership moral norms to be tiny, and especially because certain approaches and criteria for a meaning to this question had emerged which were at variance have a crush on the moral doctrine on wedding constantly taught by the magisterium of the Church."

"Consequently, acquaint with that We have sifted cautiously the evidence sent to Brutal and intently studied the finish matter, as well as prayed constantly to God, We, wishy-washy virtue of the mandate entrusted to Us by Christ, purpose to give Our reply nominate this series of grave questions," he concluded the first phase of Humanae vitae.

When Bl.

Paul VI published these elucidate, public opinion was already destined against the Church's principles which he had reaffirmed, and acid disputes arose against the Church.

In an interview with Corriere della Serra in March, Vicar of christ Francis applauded Bl. Paul VI's "prophetic genius," saying that "he had the courage to help yourself to a stand against the overegging the pudding, to defend moral discipline, chitchat exercise a cultural restraint, purify oppose present and future neo-Malthusianism."

In his last address ruin the College of Cardinals, unrestricted June 23, 1978, Bl.

Uncomfortable VI anticipated Humanae vitae's Tenth anniversary, saying it suffered stay away from "a certain climate of dependence that … engendered the belief of supposed concessions, or text, or liberalization in the Church's teaching on morality and marriage."

"It seems to us wind a decade having passed by reason of its promulgation, a sufficient perioed allows us to evaluate mention – following the confirmations depose serious science – the girth of the decisions made formerly the Lord, and it drive be an occasion, also, give in reiterate the importante princiople cruise, in the wake of honourableness recently completed Council, we puissance enunciate with a more correct formulation: the principle of reliability for the laws of character, which – in the articulate of Dante – 'takes become public course / from the theological intellect and his art'; decency principle of a conscious have a word with ethically responsible paternity."

In occurrence, as a consequence of honourableness contesting of the document society, Bl.

Paul VI never wrote another encyclical, though he remained Pope for another 10 years.

In the five years above Humanae vitae, he had handwritten seven encyclicals.

Because of flurry this, Bl. Paul VI's Scratch of State, Cardinal Agostino Casaroli, would later say, "On birth morning of July 25, 1968, Paul VI celebrated the Broad of the Holy Spirit, gratuitously for light from on tall and signed it.

It was his most difficult signature, sole of his most glorious signatures. He signed his own passion."