Editor ' s Note
SUMMER 2018
In July 2018 , the Church reached a remarkable milestone : the 50 th anniversary of Pope Blessed ( soon to be Saint ) Paul VI ' s encyclical Humanae Vitae (“ On Human Life ”) that reaffirmed the Church ' s perennial prohibition against contraception and gave a brief but powerful restatement of the Christian vision for marriage . Unquestionably , the promulgation of the encyclical on July 25 , 1968 was met with controversy and widespread dissent among many theologians and the considerable and tragic decision of many Catholics to ignore a papal teaching with vast implications for the wider world . Looking back five decades , it is possible to see that Pope Paul was both sound in his decision to issue the encyclical and prophetic in what would happen should the world embrace a contraceptive culture . Section Seventeen of Humanae Vitae has been especially discussed . The pope wrote : Responsible men can become more deeply convinced of the truth of the doctrine laid down by the Church on this issue if they reflect on the consequences of methods and plans for artificial birth control . Let them first consider how easily this course of action could open wide the way for marital infidelity and a general lowering of moral standards . Not much experience is needed to be fully aware of human weakness and to understand that human beings --and especially the young , who are so exposed to temptation --need incentives to keep the moral law , and it is an evil thing to make it easy for them to break that law . Another effect that gives cause for alarm is that a man who grows accustomed to the use of contraceptive methods may forget the reverence due to a woman , and , disregarding her physical and emotional equilibrium , reduce her to being a mere instrument for the satisfaction of his own desires , no longer considering her as his partner whom he should surround with care and affection . Finally , careful consideration should be given to the danger of this power passing into the hands of those public authorities who care little for the precepts of the moral law . Who will blame a government which in its attempt to resolve the problems affecting an entire country resorts to the same measures as are regarded as lawful by married people in the solution of a particular family difficulty ? Who will prevent public authorities from favoring those contraceptive methods which they consider more effective ? Should they regard this as necessary , they may even impose their use on everyone . It could well happen , therefore , that when people , either individually or in family or social life , experience the inherent difficulties of the divine law and are determined to avoid them , they may give into the hands of public authorities the power to intervene in the most personal and intimate responsibility of husband and wife .
Professor Janet Smith , one of the greatest scholars on the encyclical , has written for many years about the predictions . In a paper entitled “ Pope Paul VI as Prophet : Have Humanae Vitae ' s Bold Predictions Come True ?” Smith enumerated four major prophetic statements : Infidelity and moral decline ; Lost Respect for Women ; Abuse of Power ; and Unlimited Dominion . Surely all four have come to pass .