Another Catholic question

[Kater30]

What is Humanae Vitae? I’ve seen that word in here a few times. If my boyfriend is reading this…yes, i should have asked you first, but I was afraid I’d forget.

 

[mercygate]

Humanae Vitae is what I call “The Papal Encyclical We Love to Hate” – it is the Encyclical in which Paul VI reaffirmed the classical Catholic position on the regulation of birth. I consider it a prophetic document. vatican.va/holy_father/paul_vi/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-vi_enc_25071968_humanae-vitae_en.html

It was a bombshell to the Church and the rest of the world at the time because nearly everyone expected him to approve the use of contraception.

For a really accessible outline of the principles and practice of Humanae Vitae, get a copy of Janet Smith’s “Contraception: Why not?” It is available on tape or CD from One More Soul at 1-800-307-7685. The transcript is available here: catholiceducation.org/articles/sexuality/se0002.html

Kater: you are on FIRE!

 

[Fidelis]

Humanae Vitae is what I call “The Papal Encyclical We Love to Hate” – it is the Encyclical in which Paul VI reaffirmed the classical Catholic position on the regulation of birth.

I’ve also heard it called “the most hated document that nobody has ever read.”

Some have converted to Catholicism by reading this document–too bad the dissenters in the Church haven’t given it as fair a hearing.

 

[T.A.Stobie_SFO]

Humanae Vitae is Pope Paul VI’s encyclical on human life. Very well written. Worth reading by everyone.

It is more than birth control. It addresses the sanctity of human life.

 

[jaralenio]

Kater30:

What is Humanae Vitae? I’ve seen that word in here a few times. If my boyfriend is reading this…yes, i should have asked you first, but I was afraid I’d forget.

Humanae Vitae means Human Life and affirmed the consistent Catholic teaching on the sanctity of marital love and the error of contraception.

 

[puzzleannie]

HV is the most prophetic papal pronouncement of the 20th century. Everything Pope Paul 6 warned about has come to pass so that we are indeed enveloped in a culture of death. Its publication is proof positive that the pope is inspired by the Holy Spirit, only that could explain its pronouncement at its time in history–so needed, so reviled, so ignored, so misunderstood–and so true.

 

[otm]

And if you want the next step after reading that, read an analysis of Pope John Paul II’s Theology of the Body.

 

[Dismas2004]

Yes, HV was a great document, restating the Catholic Tradition of Human Life, not just contraception. It was a great document and a stronghold for many other Theological discussions.

If I may disagree, partly, with one thing however, I do think it was prophetic in one sense. The things predicted inHV did come to pass, but was that due solely to the increase in contraception? I doubt it. Did it play a role, sure a huge one. But as any social scientist will tell you, event and culture changes do not happen because of one particular phenomenon that often. TV and Phones did, sure because they were widely used by everyone and they increased the amount of inofrmation people received and processed. However, all the studies done on the effect of contraception on society were correlational, not experimental. This means there is only correlation, not casation.

Does that mean, contraception is not to blame. No it doesn’t. Contraception is one of the culprits, and probably the ring leader. But failure to pass on values, incrrease materialism(which has a greater correlation than does contraception use), and the decay of family values(that started way before the 1930’s), and quite possibly the World Wars has had a huge impact on this too.

So I just caution an attitude that it’s all contraceptions fault. After all, contraception doesn’t force anyone to us it. We need to better educate our yound and out peers and show them that NFP is the best thing physically, emotionally, and morally for women. we also need to pray together as a family. we need to pass on the idea of the sacredness of Marriage and relationships. We need to give up our material dreams and focus on the impotant things in life and pass all this on to our young. But most imporntantly, we must

**Let our Preaching be in our Walking **

or

**Preach the Gospel everywhere, if necessary, use Words. **

---

**-St. Francis of Assisi :bowdown2: **

 

[otm]

Yes, HV was a great document, restating the Catholic Tradition of Human Life, not just contraception. It was a great document and a stronghold for many other Theological discussions.

If I may disagree, partly, with one thing however, I do think it was prophetic in one sense. The things predicted inHV did come to pass, but was that due solely to the increase in contraception? I doubt it. Did it play a role, sure a huge one. But as any social scientist will tell you, event and culture changes do not happen because of one particular phenomenon that often. TV and Phones did, sure because they were widely used by everyone and they increased the amount of inofrmation people received and processed. However, all the studies done on the effect of contraception on society were correlational, not experimental. This means there is only correlation, not casation.

Does that mean, contraception is not to blame. No it doesn’t. Contraception is one of the culprits, and probably the ring leader. But failure to pass on values, incrrease materialism(which has a greater correlation than does contraception use), and the decay of family values(that started way before the 1930’s), and quite possibly the World Wars has had a huge impact on this too.

So I just caution an attitude that it’s all contraceptions fault. After all, contraception doesn’t force anyone to us it. We need to better educate our yound and out peers and show them that NFP is the best thing physically, emotionally, and morally for women. we also need to pray together as a family. we need to pass on the idea of the sacredness of Marriage and relationships. We need to give up our material dreams and focus on the impotant things in life and pass all this on to our young. But most imporntantly, we must

**Let our Preaching be in our Walking **

or

**Preach the Gospel everywhere, if necessary, use Words. **

---

**-St. Francis of Assisi :bowdown2: **

Good post! Life is somewhere between complex and extremely complex, and people want simple answers. Much of what you said could be applied, by analogy, to many, if not most of the problems the Church is facing now: catechesis, sexual abuse, liturgical abuse, doctrinal dissent… the list goes on. How often do you hear or read that “x” is due to (put your favorite complaint here)?

I am especially fond of the complaint of “Modernism”, particularly in light of the fact that we are now beyond “Post Modernism”.

A little knowledge is a dangerous thing…