In Defense of the Family - Part Eight : The Dignity of the Family

In this regard we refer to the Vatican II document, Gaudium et spes, (The Pastoral Constitution of the Church in the Modern World), Part two, chapter one, "The dignity of marriage and the family", #47 paragraph two. "However, this happy picture of these partnerships is not reflected everywhere, but is overshadowed by polygamy, the plague of divorce, so-called free love, and similar blemishes: furthermore, married love is too often dishonored by selfishness, hedonism, and unlawful contraceptive practices".

This section of the document continues to discuss, "holiness of marriage and the family" in section #48:  married love in section #49; "the fruitfulness of marriage" in section #50. In section #51, "Married love and respect for human life," we come to the heart of the matter of our inquiry into, "In defense of the family" where we find this instruction. "...all this is possible only if the virtue of married chastity is seriously practiced. The sons of the Church, faithful to these principles, are forbidden to use methods disapproved by the teaching authority of the Church in its interpretation of the Divine law".

The footnote #14 referred to is taken from the Encyclical of Pope Pius XI in Casti Connubi in 1930 and from an allocution to the Congress of Italian midwives on October 29, 1951 by Pope Pius XII. The footnote also refers to Pope Paul VI's decision to overrule the so-called Birth control commission established by Pope John XXIII and continued  by Pope Paul VI which had recommended to Pope Paul VI that the Church law against contraception be modified. The Holy Father decided against the recommendation. Pope Paul VI Encyclical "Humanae Vitae" clearly reaffirmed the Church's long standing position against contraception. It included the thought expressed in the last paragraph of section #51 quoted above;" let all be convinced that human life and its transmission are realities whose meaning is not limited by the horizons of this life only; their true evaluation and full meaning can only be understood in reference to mans eternal destiny".

This brings us to two current events which support our position. The first is the address delivered by Archbishop, now Cardinal Burke.

Cardinal Raymond L. Burke addressed The World Congress for Life in Rome on October 9, 2010. The title of the talk was, "Catholic orthodoxy: antidote against the culture of death". Toward the end of the talk His Eminence referred to the position of moral responsibility held by a bishop that made him the chief shepherd of the flock in his diocese and made him the proclaimer of the gospel and of the teachings of the Church to all including his priests and deacons

The second event is a matter included in Pope Benedict's new book, "Light of the world". The matter was the use  or non use of condoms as a protection against AIDS in the continent of Africa. The Pope's statement was interpreted as inappropriate or as a change in Church teaching. On Tuesday December 21st, 2010 a clarification was offered by The Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith in the Vatican. The CDF is the Holy Father's arbiter on matters of faith and morals.

In the Congregations clarification is this statement, “as is clear from an attentive reading of the pages in question, the Holy Father was talking neither about conjugal morality nor about the moral norm concerning contraception. This norm belongs to the tradition of the Church and was summarized succinctly by Pope Paul VI in Humanae Vitae, when he wrote that, 'also to be excluded is any action which either before, at the moment of or after sexual intercourse, is specifically intended to prevent procreation, whether as an end or as a means'."

The Encyclical Letter Humanae Vitae was promulgated by Pope Paul VI on July 25, 1968. It was dissented from at once by progressive theologians. Bishops and priests refused to accept a Magisterial document which led to the laity thinking that they too could disregard its teaching. Contraception is labeled a moral evil by the Encyclicals Evangelium Vitae and Veritatis splendor written by Pope John Paul II. Cardinal Burke states in his address, "Pope Benedict XVI makes clear in Caritas in Veritate No. 15 that the teaching in Humanae Vitae was not simply a matter of individual morality declaring: Humane Vitae indicated the strong links between life etics and social ethics, ushering in a new area of Magisterial teaching that has gradually been articulated in a series of documents, most recently John Paul II's Encyclical Evangelium Vitae."

His Holiness reminds us of the essential part a right understanding of our sexuality has in true human development." The Catholic Church, which is the Divine Person of Christ, is the only answer there is for finding truth. It also is the only source of that abundant grace with which we can persevere in our search.

The bishop who is a successor of the Apostles united with The Holy Father is the one who must lead the people home by way of his preaching and teaching.

WHY ISN'T IT BEING DONE?

In a subsequent blog entry we will print chapter #14 of Humanae Vitae in its entirety. Although material on The Commandments; three, five and six have been printed, material from The Catechism of the Catholic Church on the sixth Commandment will be included.

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