Prophetic Pope Paul VI, a Champion of Human Life, Now Venerable

12/23/2012

(Page 2 of 3)

driving an artificial wedge between the marital act and procreation.

It is, then, no surprise that in 1968 Humanae Vitae met up with blatant outrage, since "methods of conception control" had long stemmed not only from selfish motives of "luxury" and "mere convenience" but from the mistaken conviction that men and women had a "right" to enjoy unrestrained sex without being "burdened" by the potential for an unwanted pregnancy. Fertility had come to be viewed as an hindrance rather than a blessing. "How dare the Church insert itself into our bedrooms!" cried the voices of dissent. It would have been more honest if those same voices would have simply admitted their intolerance for any advocates of self-discipline in the area of sexual pleasure.

Today, however, things are changing. Catholics and other Christians in growing number are recognizing the perennial and prophetic witness of Humanae Vitae. What was before despised is now in many cases revered. The whole encyclical is overflowing with profound and wise teaching on the crucial importance of cooperating with the Creator in free and loving obedience, the natural moral law, Catholic anthropology, the transmission of human life, marriage, human fertility, and so forth. It is a must read for anyone who wants to know how to live a fully human life of happiness.

When we read the encyclical, it is in a way difficult to imagine it as a source of previous scorn. For instance, in the opening paragraphs we read of Pope Paul's sincere love and concern for married couples, including the lives and happiness of all human beings:

"The transmission of human life is a most serious role in which married people collaborate freely and responsibly with God the Creator. It has always been a source of great joy to them, even though it sometimes entails many difficulties and hardships.

"The fulfillment of this duty has always posed problems to the conscience of married people, but the recent course of human society and the concomitant changes have provoked new questions. The Church cannot ignore these questions, for they concern matters intimately connected with the life and happiness of human beings."

In section II, titled "Doctrinal Principles," Pope Paul taught that when considering the question of human procreation and the use of artificial birth control, since it is a question which touches on human life itself, it is "the whole man and the whole mission to which he is called that must be considered: both its natural, earthly aspects and its supernatural, eternal aspects" (HV 7). Stated another way, the human person is a moral agent who possesses the capacity to shape his character and father his own being by his choices, actions or inactions, and thus seal his eternal destiny by either collaborating with God's plan of wise goodness or attempting to frustrate and undermine it. There are consequences for heedlessly ignoring or rejecting the natural moral law.

In article 12, Paul VI notes that the conjugal act is ordered toward both the union of the spouses and human procreation, which constitutes an inseparable, fundamental connection inherent in the marriage act. This fundamental connection between an intimate union of the spouses and openness to new life is ordained by the will of God according to eternal law. Simply stated, in creating man and woman, God has wisely written laws into their nature for their own good. It is no accident or mere coincidence of evolution that the human sexual faculties are what they are and do what they do. God has a purpose for human sexuality. When that purpose is thwarted or circumvented by the use of artificial birth control, the will of God, who is the Author of Life, is contradicted (HV 13).

Again, Pope Paul is concerned for the eternal well being of the human person and his or her happiness: the "fundamental nature of the marriage act, while uniting husband and wife in the closest intimacy, also renders them capable of generating new life -- and this as a result of laws written into the actual nature of man and of woman. And if each of these essential qualities, the unitive and the procreative, is preserved, the use of marriage fully retains its sense of true mutual love and its ordination to the supreme responsibility of parenthood to which man is called."

The natural moral law reveals that man does not have unlimited dominion over his body or his sexual faculties (HV 13), for both of these must be used within the limits of the order of reality established by God (HV 16). When these limits are ignored, rejected or exceeded, horrifying consequences result. Here we are brought to Pope Paul's prophetic words in article 17:

"Let [responsible men] first consider how easily [artificial birth control] 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 ...
- - -

Pope Benedict XVI's Prayer Intentions for January 2013
General Intention: The Faith of Christians. That in this Year of Faith Christians may deepen their knowledge of the mystery of Christ and witness joyfully to the gift of faith in him.
Missionary Intention: Middle Eastern Christians. That the Christian communities of the Middle East, often discriminated against, may receive from the Holy Spirit the strength of fidelity and perseverance.

Keywords: Pope Paul VI, Venerable, saints, canonization, Congregation for the Saints, Humanae Vitae, Pro-Life, Abortion, Contraception, the language of the body, catholic anthropology, the truth of the human person, artificial birth control, contraceptives, marital

NEWSLETTERS »

Previous Page 1 | 2 | 3 Next Page

Rate This Article

Was this helpful to you? Very Helpful Somewhat Helpful Not Helpful at All

Would you be interested in more articles like this? Yes, I am Interested No, I am not Interested

Rate Article

1 - 4 of 4 Comments

DLL
5 months ago
Michael: these Popes have been a voice of reason in a time when much is simply unreasonable. We live in a world confirmed in sin,as the culture of death seems a path many walk in today. These Popes are unique to the times we live in. Even before I became a Catholic I knew that. Scandal can rock an institution like the Catholic Church but the Pope must stand firm as the Vicar of Christ. Popes Paul,John Paul 2,Benedict 16 certainly have. They have acted as a saint should,as defenders of the Faith. In truth canonized or not all Catholics goal is to be a saint. If we live our lives as Catholics and do not become Saints to a large degree we have missed the boat. The job of any good Pope is to pave the way to Sainthood and the Faithful are meant to follow along the clearly paved way.
michael
5 months ago
Yes, it must be admitted that Pope Paul VI, held strong on the natural law and Church teaching regarding marriage, the marital act, and regulation of births. But it is strange that we feel the need to declare him venerable or to pursue his beatification during the Year of Faith. Over the past 450 years, only one pope has been canonized, namely, Pope
St. Pius X. And yet, over the last decade alone we have seen the beatification of John XXIII and John Paul II, soon to be followed by Paul VI and even, I have heard, John Paul I. What is this fascination with beatifying so many connected with the Second Vatican Council? It's almost as if there is an agenda in place to verify this latest council by surrounding it with various beati!

It is sad that the canonization process seems to have become politicized, by enlarge. The Church ordinarily used to wait for at least a generation before moving on such a process allowing a generation to pass or more. The idea of a subito...immediate recognition...is supposed to be very, very rare so that enthusiasm does not cloud proper investigation. There is no longer the devil's advocate as part of the process. The number of miracles has been lessened with only one needed for beatification. And the miracles that they are using are not so obvious nor spectacular. Pope Paul VI's "miracle" is supposedly a baby cured in the womb. But such a claim is so difficult to actually observe. Many babies have been diagnosed in the womb with various difficulties and yet they have been born as healthy children. I must admit that I am very concerned about the "miracle" used to beatify Pope John Paul II since Parkinson's Disease is still so mysterious and difficult to diagnose or to claim a cure. What if that person ends up getting it again. It could prove to be a scandal.

It is time to slow down on these processes especially in the case of Pope Paul VI. Humanae Vitae was a good document that simply repeated what the Church has always taught. It was very late in coming and was not followed by proper catechesis. In fact, it was the last encyclical Paul VI wrote. He radically changed the Holy Mass and the Sacraments and rituals which Vatican II did not require nor desire. And as has been officially reported, Paul VI, while working under Pius XII and John XXIII did embrace the spirit of Ostpolitik reaching out to the Communists too much. Unfortunately, this led to the revealing of some names of Catholic priests in the USSR and Soviet bloc countries which caused their arrest and persecution.

Beatifications and especially canonizations are often a call of the People of God. Yet many, many, traditional Catholics would be utterly scandalized if such moves were made. John Paul II's beatification was not greeted well by traditional Catholics. His actions at Assisi '86 alone should have eliminated any hopes of his recognition. The amount of scandals under his pontificate as well, including the Vatican Bank and the horrors of the abuse scandals, especially his unwillingness to deal with the founder of the Legionaries of Christ are also factors that should have delayed any process. Finally, more Catholics have left the Church in the west in the pontificates of Paul VI and John Paul II than any other age and all other ages combined. We have not seen a new springtime but a winter of unbelief.
DLL
5 months ago
This is the Pope that rocked the whole Church and brought it back to truth. He paved the way for John Paul 2 and Poe Benedict. The new evangelization has its formation because of the wonderful and unpopular Pope who was not afraid to tell the truth. It was not just what Catholics were supposed to believe,it was the truth. The misery of the day is that this Pope was ignored,dismissed by the culture of death. Pope Paul was a great humanitarian,a wonderful man of God.
Clinton
5 months ago
"...a fully human life of happiness." Yes! Just as Jesus Christ is fully Man -- Man in all his fullness -- we must follow His Way of obedience to the will of the Father in all things, including sexual practice, if we are to properly respond to the vocation to become fully human.

Thank you for a wonderful article, Mr. Bartels. A blessed Christmas to you!

Comments submitted must be civil, remain on-topic and not violate any laws including copyright. We reserve the right to delete any comments which are abusive, inappropriate or not constructive to the discussion.

Though we invite robust discussion, we reserve the right to not publish any comment which denigrates the human person, undermines marriage and the family, or advocates for positions which openly oppose the teaching of the Catholic Church.

This is a supervised forum and the Editors of Catholic Online retain the right to direct it.

We also reserve the right to block any commenter for repeated violations. Your email address is required to post, but it will not be published on the site.

We ask that you NOT post your comment more than once. Catholic Online is growing and our ability to review all comments sometimes results in a delay in their publication.

Name *

Email *

Comment *

Send me important information from Catholic Online and it's partners. See Sample

Post Comment

More Christian Saints & Heroes News

Featured News

Find Saints

Catholic Online offers the largest searchable database of Catholic Saints on the internet.

Browse Saints by Alphabet	A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Patron Saints by Alphabet	A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z