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HUMANAE VITAE Humanae Vitae is the encyclical of Pope Paul VI on birth control. It was brought about to some extent by the many changes society was presenting to man. Primary among these were the theory of overpopulation, the place of woman in society and the advancements of science. Catholics and the world looked to the Hierarchy for an answer to these problems. Of course, these Church authorities should only have restated the values Christ gave to us: Marriage is indissoluble; marital fidelity must be for life; each and every marriage act must remain open to the transmission of life. In the conjugal act there is a physical and a spiritual union between husband and wife-this is the unitive aspect of the conjugal act. There must be no abortion, no sterilization. There must be no interference whatsoever before, during, or after the conjugal act to render procreation impossible. These are all God's Laws, and even the Pope himself has no authority to change them. The duty of the Pope and the Hierarchy is, as has been said, to reinforce God's Law and help people believe and understand the power of God's grace. They should be nurturing in them the will to be submissive to the Divine Will. Attempting to bypass God's laws can only be diabolical. Through their heroic sacrifices, the Saints show us how the love of God brought them into their own willing submission to God's decrees in their lives, thus giving the example to all of us. Before Humanae Vitae, the Popes had promulgated what the Divine Magisterium had always taught regarding marriage and children: Marriage is for the raising up of children to God. The devil recognized that if this teaching prevailed, he could not accomplish his aim of destroying the Faith as thoroughly. Satan works through man's fallen nature, and through that fallen nature, society was used to seemingly exert pressure upon Pope Paul VI. This influence was in addition to his being a liberal to begin with (as the radical changes in the Church over which this Pope presided well prove). Dr. Rock had given the world the Pill, and the idea that "scientific advances" could release mankind from traditional morality regarding birth control became more widely accepted. Women were being lured into the work force to achieve "a higher standard of living." Margaret Sanger of Planned Parenthood seemed the only spokesman of the post-Christian world. All this became a loud cry of rebellion against the teaching of the Church. For the devil incited man to think that if birth control was used, there would be harmony and peace in the family and better conditions for the education of children already born. After all, did not God give man intelligence to figure these things out? In accordance with such pressure from within and without the Church, Pope Paul VI stated in the 16th part of his encyclical:
Behold the devil's clever lie. What sense would it make for a couple who have psychological problems to engage in a way of life that produces even more psychological conditions and moral qualms as stated in the Cavanaugh report? This is the same Pope who said it was in the United Nations that the hope of man must reside-not in God nor His Church, nor even in the promise He held out for the future through Our Lady of Fatima and her revelations! It is no wonder Humanae Vitae caused such confusion in the Church and amid Her children. Most saw the inconsistency in the encyclical (even though the Pope attempted to make the case for Rhythm by saving that it "makes legitimate use of a natural disposition") - for with contraception, people impede the development of the natural process. The real question is: Has the Church ever officially and knowledgeably approved this "safe period" method of conception control? Is it possible that Pope Paul VI had questionable intentions dealing in such wise with the birth control issue? Did he not have full biological knowledge of the NFP method? Could he have been thinking only from the male-centered concept that the sperm is the seed? We do not fully know. But we do know that sperm is only half the seed - sperm can never of itself cause life. In order to transmit life the sperm must meet the ovum in order In order to fertilize the ovum. If this meeting takes place without conception occurring, there is no moral wrong. But with NFP and the "safe period" method, the planning and observing are human interventions that deliberately prevent this meeting and life cannot ensue. God struck Onan dead because he spilled his seed upon the ground, calling it "a detestable thing" (Gen. 38:9-10). Could it be said God would approve of man knowingly spilling his seed on barren ground to intentionally avoid possible conception? For this is what NFP is. Intervention is morally wrong, no matter which method is used. (Humanae Vitae stresses the intrinsic evil of such intervention, yet later promulgates it by endorsing Rhythm!) Under God's Law, then, it is impossible that the ovulation method of birth control could be accepted. To approve tampering with the total act of reproduction, as this encyclical does, is to approve all forms, and that cannot be. Another point: We are told that the Church is a kind and understanding Mother. Granted she is - and always with ETERNITY in mind, as getting to Heaven is our purpose in life. But do the advocates of NFP realize into what context it puts Holy Mother Church by speaking as they do? Let me explain by example. My friend and I were discussing the birth control problem and she asked if I thought the Rhythm method was wrong in every case. When I said, 'Absolutely" she told me of a woman in Canada who had thirty-eight miscarriages and said in a case like that, Rhythm should be all right. "Thirty-eight souls!" was what I pointed out to her. Can you imagine when that mother answers to God what a big and beautiful chorus praising the Most High could greet her as they present her soul to God! (The mother had been a Catholic and would have tried to have these children baptized.) What Church could you call a "loving and understanding Mother" that would want to teach her children how to deprive themselves of such joyous fulfillment? St. Paul tells us we are all to run in the race and to keep our eye on the prize. Yes, that woman truly suffered, but unlike God, who is forever, the childbearing years come to an end. And besides, what suffering in this life can be more important than the salvation of a soul for the honor and glory of God? Now Part 26 of Humanae Vitae tells of the 'Apostolate in Homes." It explains that couples should share their experiences with others. This is where NFP claims to derive its authority to teach. But again God's people are being deceived. Certainly couples should share their good ideas in raising their families. But are they to expose their connubial intimacies so that other couples may prevent the meeting of the male and female cells, thus stressing pleasure rather than procreation? As well, wrongful discussions of sex and married life are against the 6th and 9th Commandments, whether one is married or not. Unfortunately, the clergy and Hierarchy do not really-or do not want really-to understand NFP if their intention is to help Catholics be holier. In teaching couples to observe the Ovulation Method, NFP advocates discuss as part of this education what is intimate between husband and wife. And this is very personal, especially to the woman. When such sacred matters are thus flaunted, self-worth recedes, and the individual or couple becomes vulnerable to other sins in marriage. Christian families are the basis of a well-ordered society, and God is the most necessary part of that marriage. The attitude toward the sacredness of conjugal intimacies is fundamental to a couple's relationship with God. If we believe God is a real, living God Who created us, we must believe He will take care of us as He says, living our lives as proof of that belief. This may sound naïve - but it is God's truth! ("Unless you be converted, and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven" {Mt. 18:3}). Could it be that without the grace of God we are creating a situation for the abuse of the procreative act-the sin of withdrawal-that would be peculiar to the Catholic? God struck Onan dead "because he did a detestable thing" (Gen. 38:9-10). The devil tempted Eve, causing all of us to suffer. Is woman allowing herself to be tricked again by Satan in the planned withholding of the ovum to make the act void of its purpose? And is God's justice causing humanity again to suffer as St. Paul describes in his Epistle to the Romans through infidelity, adultery, etc.? Did not Christ tell us to beware of the "doctrine of the enemy" - that it is an unseen leaven which, fermenting in human hearts, sours and corrupts life? Did He not tell us that the devil would fool, if possible, even God's elect? Is not this exactly what the doctrine of birth control in NFP has done to the core of society - the Catholic family - and consequently to the whole of society itself? Times have changed, yes. But the part that has changed is not morality (as truth is unchangeable). Rather it is in part, the layman's knowledge of biological facts. Our world is suffering today not so much because the pagans are using contraception but because God's own Catholic people are, and thereby are incurring sin and rejecting His providential care. Like the hypocrite in the Bible, they assume an arrogant, presumptuous attitude springing from pride and resentment, wanting to believe that by using NFP all will be well between themselves and God. But Jesus tells us that God sees their hearts and their hearts are at one with pagans. And Our Blessed Mother tells us in The Mystical City of God, (pg. 242):
It was not the Gentiles who crucified Christ-it was His own who rejected His loving care and Will for them, exemplified by His humble life of submission to the Will of God. Sister Lucy of Fatima has said that the reason we have not obtained the Consecration of Russia during all the years since the apparitions of Our Blessed Mother there, is because the sins of Catholics have prevented it. (In this light, all of us have thus held a share in the withholding of Our Lady's promised "period of peace" from the world.) It also may be good to mention here that little Jacinta Marto, one of the Fatima children and now a "Venerable" said Our Lady made known to her that most souls go to hell because of sins of the flesh. The only way to overcome abortion and all other immoral practices of today is-in addition to the traditional restoration of the Church in all dogmas and in liturgy - by Catholics imitating Christ in His obedience to God the Father. We must have humble trust in Him. The First Commandment does not tolerate man's attempting to usurp a power that belongs to God alone. And the sham of NFP is one aspect of the chaos we suffer amidst the gross immorality of today's society. The statement is made that the Church's stand against birth control is impossible to observe by many faithful and generous spouses. Yet it cannot be believed that God binds men to impossible standards. Pope Pius XI, in his encyclical "On Christian Marriage" (Casti Connubii) says:
This same doctrine was again solemnly repeated and confirmed by the Church in the condemnation of the Jansenist heresy which dared to utter this blasphemy against the goodness of God. So we understand God does not bind men to impossible standards. Now the advocation of birth control projects a social standard. God never promised His grace to help keep the status quo. He did, however, promise all the help we need to keep His Will first in our lives. In fact, He put it very bluntly when He said that we must come trustingly to Him, as little children come to their earthly father for help. As a mother of fourteen children, I can assure you that anyone who goes to God, ready to accept His way even in the face of being considered a fool, will grow in wisdom, understanding, courage and all the gifts of the Holy Ghost. These gifts guide our thinking and teaching of our children so as to make it possible to observe the stand the Church takes, which is God's stand. At His Ascension Jesus told us, "Behold, I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world" (Mt. 28:20). And God's grace will not be void in those who trust in Him.
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