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There was a great divide inside the Church when Pope Paul VI disregarded The Birth Control Commission's recommendation to accept artificial birth control as morally sound. Instead, he wrote the Encyclical Letter Humanae Vitae (fifty years ago).
Many people openly reject this teaching and still hope the Church will reverse course. They argue three main points:
Their basic argument is the rejection of artificial birth control by the Church was decided wrongly, outside the traditional way of letting issues evolve.
Some theologians state that the collective wisdom of married couples who, given their life experiences, use birth control and still consider themselves Catholics in good standing, is proof that the Holy Spirit rejected Humanae Vitae.
They argue the collective decision of over eighty percent of married Catholics who use artificial birth control is proof that Humanae Vitae is wrong. They say individual experiences of those who do not use artificial birth control are irrelevant and/or are an anomaly.
The second argument is birth control was mistakenly rejected because science and in particular, the understanding of biology, has advanced a great deal. Thus, the ancient philosophical and theological arguments used to reject it are flawed.
Finally, the last argument is that the Church changed its teaching on other issues, therefore, certain Church teachings may evolve.
Are they right?
The argument that The Pill users have been driven by the Holy Spirit to reject a Church teaching implies other reasons, such as worldly concerns, are to be disregarded.
The early apostles saw a massive exit from the Church at the word Christ spoke about the need for His Body to be eaten in order for eternal life to be granted (John 6: 60-70).
If then eighty percent of Catholics who use artificial birth control are guided by the Holy Spirit, then by that same premise there would be no Eucharist Celebration every Sunday.
Over sixty percent of Catholics do not believe The Eucharist is the Body of Christ, but rather a symbol. Is there no Transubstantiation since most Catholics don't believe in it, and consider themselves to be in good standing nevertheless?
Scientific knowledge cannot change Humanae Vitae's moral conclusion because science is changeable.
For example, only barrier methods of artificial birth control have no abortifacient means to an end. Today the medical community defines “pregnancy” as after implantation rather than at conception. This newer definition nullifies the issue of how exactly the popular Birth Control Pill works.
Of course the argument could be made that science, being politicized, cannot be an only source of reference in regards to morality.
The third argument some make is the Church has changed her teachings on other issues like slavery, so why not birth control?
To fully understand what happened with slavery would take much study, but basically the Church always rejected racial slavery, but not slavery under Mosaic law. In Rome, the early Church had no power and suggested slaves suffered unjustly like Christ.
Could Humanae Vitae be wrong? How would we know?
In the beginning, God told humans to “be fruitful and multiply.”
God commanded, with a blessing (Genesis 1:28), that the first man and woman partake in the creative power God bestowed upon them to the point of filling the Earth.
Again, a blessing is attached to this command, like a blessing is given at the end of the Eucharistic Celebration which fulfills the commandment of Jesus, “do this in remembrance of me.”
The ageless Nature of God is a formidable force. To disregard Humanae Vitae is to decide God errs in His first words to man, “be fruitful and multiply.”
Human understanding being clouded, Peter advised Jesus to abandon the very cross that was God's method of salvation. When confronted with abandonment, Jesus relied on His Father's Will to see Him to His cross and ultimate victory over death.
Why God allows humans to sin is difficult to grasp. Yet, never once does Jesus say sin is a good when it is clearly an evil.
We are called to die to self even if it means we decide against taking a pill that allows us to be like God and control when and how human life is born.
Eternal Life was nailed to a cross after all. But without the cross, there is no resurrected perfection of man.
A long time ago I thought I was a writer. Because my parents were practical, I went into teaching. About ten years ago, I began to write again.
I hold a B.S. degree in Elementary Education from Penn State University (University Park). I enjoy gardening, reading, Pittsburgh sports, and cooking, but not in that order. My regular job is being a wife and mother.
