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Humanae Vitae (Latin "Of Human Life") is an encyclical written by Pope Paul VI and promulgated on July 25, 1968. Subtitled "On the Regulation of Birth", it re-affirms the traditional teaching of the Roman Catholic Church regarding abortion, contraception, and other issues pertaining to human life. Mainly because of its prohibition of all forms of artificial contraception, the encyclical remains controversial even among Catholics. The document is sometimes described as prophetic by those who believe that its four predictions about the effects of contraception on society were accurate. Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in Latium, the region immediately surrounding Rome. ...
An encyclical was a circular letter sent to all the churches of a particular area in the ancient Christian church. ...
This article cites very few or no references or sources. ...
is the 206th day of the year (207th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
Year 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar) of the 1968 Gregorian calendar. ...
Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box: The Roman Catholic Church...
Summary
The encyclical opens with an assertion of the competency of the Magisterium of the Church to decide questions of morality. It then goes on to observe that circumstances often dictate that married couples should limit the number of children, and that the sexual act between husband and wife is still worthy even if it can be foreseen not to result in procreation. Nevertheless, it is held that the sexual act must "retain its intrinsic relationship to the procreation of human life", and the "direct interruption of the generative process already begun" is unlawful.
Abortion, even for therapeutic reasons, is absolutely forbidden, as is sterilization, even if temporary. Similarly, every action specifically intended to prevent procreation is forbidden. This includes both chemical and barrier methods of contraception. All these are held to directly contradict the "moral order which was established by God". Sterilization is a surgical technique leaving a male or female unable to procreate. ...
Therapeutic means which induce infertility are allowed (e.g., hysterectomy), if they are not specifically intended to cause infertility (e.g., the uterus is cancerous, so the preservation of life is intended). Natural family planning methods (abstaining from intercourse during certain parts of the woman's cycle) are allowed, since they take advantage of "a faculty provided by nature." Natural family planning (NFP) is a term referring to the family planning methods approved by the Roman Catholic Church. ...
Menstrual cycle The menstrual cycle is a recurring cycle of physiological changes that occurs in the females of human beings and great apes. ...
The acceptance of artificial methods of birth control is then claimed to result in several negative consequences, among them a "general lowering of moral standards" resulting from sex without consequences, and the danger that men may reduce women "to being a mere instrument for the satisfaction of [their] own desires".
The encyclical acknowledges that "perhaps not everyone will easily accept this particular teaching", but points out that the Roman Catholic Church cannot "declare lawful what is in fact unlawful".
The encyclical closes with an appeal to public authorities to oppose laws which undermine the natural moral law (see natural law), an appeal to scientists to further study effective methods of natural birth control and appeals to doctors, nurses and priests to promote the method. Natural law or the law of nature (Latin lex naturalis) is a law whose content is set by nature, and that therefore has validity everywhere. ...
History - See also: Christian views on contraception
There had been a long-standing general Christian prohibition on contraception and abortion, with such Church Fathers as Clement of Alexandria and Saint Augustine condemning the practices. It was not until the 1930 Lambeth Conference that the Anglican Communion changed its long-standing position by allowing for contraception in limited circumstances. All other mainline Protestant denominations have since removed prohibitions against artificial contraception. Prior to the 20th century, contraception was generally condemned by all the major branches of Christianity, including by major reformers like Luther and Calvin. ...
Clement of Alexandria (Titus Flavius Clemens), was the first member of the Church of Alexandria to be more than a name, and one of its most distinguished teachers. ...
“Augustinus†redirects here. ...
Year 1930 (MCMXXX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display 1930 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...
The Lambeth Conferences was the name given to the periodical assemblies of bishops of the Anglican Communion (Pan-Anglican synods), which since 1867 have met at Lambeth Palace, the London residence of the archbishop of Canterbury. ...
The Anglican Communion uses the compass rose as its symbol, signifying its worldwide reach and decentralized nature. ...
Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box: In the United States...
Protestantism is a general grouping of denominations within Christianity. ...
In a partial reaction, Pope Pius XI wrote the encyclical Casti connubii (On Christian Marriage) in 1930, reaffirming the Catholic Church's belief in various traditional Christian teachings on marriage and sexuality, including the prohibition of artificial birth control even within marriage. While the emphasis in Casti Connubii is against contraception, it was controversially interpreted to allow moral use of one family planning method - the Rhythm Method. This interpretation was explicitly confirmed by Pope Pius XII in two 1951 addresses (English translation entitled Moral Questions Affecting Married Life). Pope Pius XI (Latin: ) (May 31, 1857 – February 10, 1939), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, reigned as Pope from February 6, 1922 and sovereign of Vatican City from 1929 until his death on February 10, 1939. ...
Casti Connubii was a papal encyclical promulgated by Pope Pius XI in 1930. ...
Natural family planning (NFP), sometimes described as periodic abstinence, is a form of birth control that involves recognizing the natural signs in a womans fertility. ...
With the appearance of the first oral contraceptives in 1960, some voices in the Church argued for a reconsideration of these positions. In 1963 Pope John XXIII established a commission of six European non-theologians (including 3 laymen) to study questions of birth control and population.[1][2] After John's death in 1963, Pope Paul VI added theologians to the commission and over three years progressively expanded it from 6 to 13, 15, 58, and finally 72 members from five continents (including 16 theologians, 13 physicians and 5 women, with an executive committee of 9 bishops and 7 cardinals).[1][2] The commission produced a report in 1966, stating that artificial birth control was not intrinsically evil and that Catholic couples should be allowed to decide for themselves about the methods to be employed.[1][2][3][4] The combined oral contraceptive pill, often referred to as the Pill, is a combination of an estrogen (oestrogen) and a progestin (progestogen), taken by mouth to inhibit normal fertility. ...
Year 1963 (MCMLXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...
Blessed Pope John XXIII (Latin: ),(Italian: Giovanni XXIII), born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli (November 25, 1881 – June 3, 1963), was elected as the 261st Pope of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City on October 28, 1958. ...
This article cites very few or no references or sources. ...
Year 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the 1966 Gregorian calendar. ...
One commission member, American Jesuit theologian John Ford (with the assistance of American theologian Germain Grisez) drafted a minority report working paper that was signed by Ford and 3 other conservative theologian priests on the commission, stating that the Church should not and could not change its long-standing teaching.[1][2][3][4] Even though intended for the Pope only, the commission's report and two working papers (the minority report and the majority's rebuttal to it) were leaked to the press in 1967, raising public expectations of liberalization.[3][5] However, Paul VI explicitly rejected his commission's recommendations in the text of Humanae Vitae, noting the 72 member commission had not been unanimous (4 theologian priests had dissented, and 1 cardinal and 2 bishops had voted that contraception was intrinsically evil--significantly Cardinal Ottaviani, the commission's president and Bishop Colombo, the papal theologian).[1][2][4] Humanae Vitae did, however, explicitly allow the modern forms of natural family planning that were then being developed. Germain Gabriel Grisez (born 1929) is a prominent and influential Catholic moral theologian. ...
1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar (the link is to a full 1967 calendar). ...
Alfredo Cardinal Ottaviani, PhD, STD, JCD (October 29, 1890—August 3, 1979) was an Italian prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. ...
Natural family planning (NFP) is a term referring to the family planning methods approved by the Roman Catholic Church. ...
The role of Karol Wojtyła The final language of the encyclical was heavily influenced by the Bishop of Kraków, Karol Wojtyła, who would later become Pope John Paul II. Bishop Wojtyła had earlier defended the traditional church position from a philosophical standpoint in his 1960 book Love and Responsibility. Motto: Ex navicula navis (From a boat, a ship) Coordinates: , Country Poland Voivodeship Lesser Poland Powiat city county Gmina Kraków City Rights June 5th, 1257 Government - Mayor Jacek Majchrowski Area - City 326. ...
Coat of Arms of Pope John Paul II. The Letter M is for Mary, the mother of Jesus, to whom he held strong devotion Pope John Paul II (Latin: , Italian: Giovanni Paolo II, Polish: Jan Paweł II) born [] (May 18, 1920, Wadowice, Poland – April 2, 2005, Vatican City) reigned as...
1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1960 calendar). ...
As reported in George Weigel's biography of John Paul II, Wojtyła had in fact been named by Paul VI to the commission to study the question. However, the Communist authorities in Poland would not permit him to travel to Rome to take part in the key meeting of June 1966 in which the majority decision of the commission was made. This article is about communism as a form of society and as a political movement. ...
Nickname: Motto: SPQR: Senatus Populusque Romanus Location of the city of Rome (yellow) within the Province of Rome (red) and region of Lazio (grey) Coordinates: Region Lazio Province Province of Rome Founded 21 April 753 BC Government - Mayor Walter Veltroni Area - City 1,285 km² (580 sq mi) - Urban 5...
After he became pope in 1978, John Paul II gave a series of lectures, entitled the Theology of the Body, that further developed themes in Humanae Vitae and Love and Responsibility. Year 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1978 Gregorian calendar). ...
Theology of the Body refers to a series of 129 lectures given by Pope John Paul II during his Wednesday audiences in the Pope Paul VI Hall between September, 1979, and November. ...
Reception Many Catholics disagree with the prohibition on artificial birth control and continue to use these methods. The publication of the encyclical marks the first time in the twentieth century that open dissent about teachings of the church was voiced widely and publicly[citation needed]. The teaching has been criticized by development organizations and others who claim that it limits the methods available to fight world-wide population growth and struggle against AIDS. Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS or Aids) is a collection of symptoms and infections resulting from the specific damage to the immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). ...
Within two days of the encyclical's release, a group of dissident theologians, led by Rev. Charles Curran, then of The Catholic University of America, issued a statement affirming that Catholics' individual consciences should prevail in such a personal and private issue. Rev. ...
The Catholic University of America (abbreviated CUA), located in Washington, D.C., is unique as the national university of the Roman Catholic Church and as the only higher education institution founded by U.S. Roman Catholic bishops. ...
Two months later, the controversial "Winnipeg Statement" issued by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops stated that those who cannot accept the teaching should not be considered shut off from the Catholic Church, and that individuals can in good conscience use contraception as long as they have first made an honest attempt to accept the difficult directives of the encyclical. The Winnipeg Statement is the Canadian Bishops Statement on the Encyclical Humanae Vitae from a Plenary Assembly held at Saint Boniface in Winnipeg, Manitoba. ...
In the Roman Catholic Church, an Episcopal Conference, Conference of Bishops, or National Conference of Bishops is a conference consisting of all the bishops within a given territory. ...
Excommunication is a religious censure used to deprive or suspend membership in a religious community. ...
Pope John Paul II responds to such an argument in his 1993 encyclical Veritatis splendor. He reaffirms Humanae Vitae, and specifically mentions the practice of contraception as an act that is not permitted by Catholic teaching in any circumstances. The same encyclical also clarifies the use of conscience in arriving at moral decisions, including the use of contraception. Veritatis Splendor (Latin: The Splendor of Truth) is the name of an encyclical by Pope John Paul II. It expresses the position of the Catholic Church regarding fundamentals of the Churchs role in moral teaching. ...
More recently, there has been a degree of resurgence of support for the teaching in the Church. Several Catholic lay writers, including Janet E. Smith, Kimberly Hahn, and Mary Shivanandan have all written extensively in support of the teaching, and on the reasons behind it. Many women are unhappy with taking oral contraceptives over an indefinite period of time, and many couples prefer to have sexual relations without using condoms.[citation needed] Also, the advent of high-speed digital basal thermometers, along with improved fertility awareness related to a woman's menstrual cycle, have enhanced the success rate and acceptance of natural methods of birth control.[6] Janet E. Smith (1950-) is a professor of moral theology and the Fr. ...
Kimberly Hahn (born in 1957) is a Catholic apologist and author. ...
This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...
Fertility Awareness (FA) is the practice of observing one or more of a woman’s primary fertility signs to determine the fertile and infertile phases of her menstrual cycle. ...
Common Misunderstandings - It is not commonly understood that Paul VI was referring throughout the encyclical to the role of sexual relations within marriage. Catholic moral teaching explicitly forbids sexual relations outside marriage. Humanae vitae does not address any form of extra-marital sex, as it is incoherent to establish moral norms for how to perform an immoral action.
- Because couples who use natural family planning methods are highly motivated and have to be sexually aware and, one might say, biologically literate, the success rate at avoiding conception is comparable to the use of condoms (which, for example, can tear).).[7]
- Some believe that the moral norms in Humanae vitae (or Catholic moral teaching in general) have worsened the AIDS epidemic. They argue that the ban on condoms within marriage has been reinterpreted as encouragement for men and women to have sex outside marriage without condoms.[citation needed] In fact, the twofold instruction to (a) restrict sex to marriage, and (b) to not use condoms within marriage, is not responsible for any part of the AIDS epidemic, in fact quite the reverse.[citation needed]
References - ^ a b c d e Shannon, William Henry (1970). "VII. The Papal Commission on Birth Control", The lively debate: response to Humanae vitae. New York: Sheed & Ward, pp. 76-104. ISBN 0-8362-0374-7.
- ^ a b c d e McClory, Robert (1995). Turning point: the inside story of the Papal Birth Control Commission, and how Humanae vitae changed the life of Patty Crowley and the future of the church. New York: Crossroad. ISBN 0-8245-1458-0.
- ^ a b c (1967-04-19) "Reveal papal birth control texts". National Catholic Reporter 3 (25): pp. 1, 3, 8-12.
- ^ a b c (1968) "I. Documents from the Papal Commission", in Hoyt, Robert G. (ed.): The birth control debate. Kansas City: National Catholic Reporter, pp. 15-111.
- ^ Kneeland, Douglas E. (1967-04-17). "Majority report seeks papal shift on contraception". New York Times: p. 1.
- ^ For example, one Natural Birth Control website (Justisse) quotes the British Medical Journal (British Medical Journal, 307, 2003) as saying "According to the World Health Organization, 93% of women everywhere can identify the symptoms which distinguish adequately between the fertile and the infertile phases of the [menstrual] cycle… [Using fertility awareness for reproductive planning] is inexpensive, highly effective, without side effects and may be particularly acceptable to and efficacious among [certain] people." World Health Organization Endorses Fertility Awareness. Justisse. Retrieved on 2007-03-27.
- ^ In China, a study of 992 couples following the Billings Ovulation Method guidelines for avoiding pregnancy for one year. There were five pregnancies in the study which were classified as people who did not listen to the information and therefore did not follow the guidelines. These were classified as Teaching Related Pregnancies. Method Related Pregnancies was 0%. http://www.boma-usa.org/ http://www.woomb.org/bom/trials/index.html
The British Medical Journal (BMJ) is a medical journal published weekly in the United Kingdom by the British Medical Association (BMA)which published its first issue in 1845. ...
Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ...
March 27 is the 86th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (87th in leap years). ...
See also The Winnipeg Statement is the Canadian Bishops Statement on the Encyclical Humanae Vitae from a Plenary Assembly held at Saint Boniface in Winnipeg, Manitoba. ...
External links is the 16th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...
For the Stargate SG-1 episode, see 1969 (Stargate SG-1). ...
Gertrude Elizabeth Margaret Anscombe (March 18, 1919 – January 5, 2001) (known as Elizabeth Anscombe, published as G. E. M. Anscombe) was a British analytic philosopher, a theologian and a pupil of Ludwig Wittgenstein. ...
His Eminence Varkey Cardinal Vithayathil (born 29 May 1927) is a Cardinal Priest and the Archbishop of Ernakulam-Angamaly for Syro-Malabars in India in the Roman Catholic Church. ...
, Kerala ( ; Malayalam: കേരളം; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of southwestern India. ...
Further reading - Wojtyła, Karol, Love and Responsibility, Ignatius Press, ISBN 0-89870-445-6, 1993.
- Smith, Janet, Why Humanae Vitae Was Right: A Reader, Ignatius Press, ISBN 0-89870-433-2, 1993.
- Shivanandan, Mary, Crossing the Threshold of Love: A New Vision of Marriage, Catholic University of America Press, ISBN 0-8132-0941-2, 1999.
- Hahn, Kimberly, Life-Giving Love, Charis Books, ISBN 0-8132-0941-2, 2002.
- Kippley, John F, Sex and the Marriage Covenant: A Basis for Morality, Ignatius Press, ISBN 0-89870-973-3, 2005.
- McClory, Robert, Turning point: the inside story of the Papal Birth Control Commission, and how Humanae Vitae changed the life of Patty Crowley and the future of the church, Crossroads Publishing, ISBN 0-8245-1458-0, 1995.
- Rubio, Julie Hanlon. "Beyond the LIberal/Conservative Divide on Contraception." Horizons: The Journal of the College Theology Society Villanova University, Volume 32, Number 2. Fall 2005.
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