Humanae vitae: Paul VI was proved right

By Bishop Edward Adams

Pope Paul VI’s encyclical Humanae vitae is almost exclusively linked to birth control. After it was issued 40 years ago this month it became very controversial in the Church and still is in certain quarters.

However, birth control was not the basic argument of the encyclical, marriage was. Pope Paul argued that love between husband and wife must lead to their human perfection. It must be a love that is total, faithful and exclusive until death and that children are the supreme gift of marriage. This is God’s loving design.

Before Vatican II, theologians spoke of the primary purpose of marriage (procreation) and the secondary purpose, the unitive (love) relationship between husband and wife. Vatican II made no specification of priority. In its document “The Church in the Modern World”, the bishops said: “The Church reiterates that there cannot be a true contradiction between the divine laws of transmitting life and of promoting genuine married love” (51). Before the bishops could propose concrete solutions, Pope Paul intervened and enlarged a commission established by Pope John XXIII to deal with marriage issues. The result was Humanae vitae and the issue highlighted in the encyclical was contraception because the pope banned all artificial means of birth control on the grounds that it was against natural law.

With hindsight, one can now say that Pope Paul was prophetic when he listed the moral consequences of artificial contraception. To mention two:
•  marital infidelity and general lowering of moral standards
•  disrespect for women

I quote Pope Paul: “Finally, careful consideration should be given to the danger of this power passing into the hands of public authorities who care little for the precepts of moral law. Who will blame a government which in its attempts 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?”

Forty years after the pope’s warning we see very clearly the consequences of not heeding that warning. Family life has never been in such a mess as it is today. Governments are drowning their people in condoms to encourage them to practise birth control, and if a woman is unfortunate enough to become pregnant without wishing to be so, then abortion is the next option.

The Church cannot change God’s loving design for one man and one woman to come together in love and fulfil his will to start a loving family.

I am a strong believer in natural moral law (Romans 2:15–16). I disagree with those who say that in the case of contraception one has to just follow one’s conscience. If it is an informed conscience, then I agree. An uninformed conscience can easily lead to subjectivism. The human being needs an objective yardstick whereby to measure his actions. And that yardstick is the moral law.

Obedience is the foundation on which love is built, and for the Catholic the interpreter of the moral law is the magisterium of the Church. Humanae vitae forms part of the magisterium and, therefore, it has to be obeyed. A mother will not give her child a stone to eat when it asks for bread. Likewise, the Church will not lead her children to sadness and perdition; she wants them to happy and free. However, the happiness and freedom lie in obedience to her guidance for her children.

May the 40th anniversary of Humanae vitae help us to revisit this document in the light of today’s moral climate and to give an honest opinion of our findings. Jesus said to his disciples: “I will be with you always until the end of time.” He is our Way, our Truth and our Life. To follow him will lead us to the truth, the truth will set us free and will give us eternal life!

The Church is most sensitive of the serious challenges families have to face today at economic, social, psychological and religious levels. That is precisely why we need solid family structures where the virtues of faith, hope and love will once again be central. We thank God to see new family movements being raised by the Holy Spirit who are giving witness, that in large family units there can be true unselfish love. Would to God that all our families could become domestic churches!
Bishop Edward Adams heads the diocese of Oudtshoorn and is a  member of the SACBC’s Family Desk