The Church was left to us by Our Lord Jesus Christ to guide men, to legislate morally over them, and assist them. It is not the function of the Church to adapt itself to please or satisfy the desires of man.

Newsroom (22/07/2022 10:00 AM, Gaudium Press) In the 1960’s, various movements revolutionized the world, among them those that sought to liberate women, through the sexual revolution, abortion and the spread of the contraceptive pill. As the Church has considerable weight in the face of revolutionary processes, by Her character of conservation of morals, it was not long before criticism began to emerge and there was some harassment and pressure for the approval of artificial contraceptives by the Holy See.

On 25 July, 1968, Pope Saint Paul VI published the encyclical Humanae Vitae, which regulated the Church’s position on this issue. Very wisely, the Holy Father made a thoughtful introduction to the document, making every possible consideration of the issues related to procreation, the difficulties suffered by couples, many of whom are unable to have numerous offspring, and he spoke exemplarily about the role of the Church as guardian and disseminator of God’s will. The Supreme Pontiff explained that while there was an understanding of all the material and moral difficulties faced by families, the sovereign will of God is non-negotiable, making clear the moral inadmissibility of artificial contraception.

It is quite simple to conclude that, in the spirit of the changes – which would culminate in a world of permissiveness, in which we live today – the Pontiff faced many criticisms and opposition, veiled in some cases, declared in others. He remained firm in his stance, closing the issue with a very rich and comprehensive encyclical, showing the concern and care of the Church for the human being in all areas of life.

The Church does not declare licit what is not licit

Foreseeing the attacks that it would suffer, from those around and at the very heart of the Church, St. Paul VI said: “It is to be expected that these teachings will not perhaps be easily accepted by all: there are many voices, amplified by the modern means of propaganda, which are in contrast with that of the Church. To tell the truth, She is not surprised to be, like Her divine Founder, ‘the object of contradiction’; but She does not cease to proclaim, with humble firmness, the whole moral law, both natural and evangelical. The Church was not the author of this law, and therefore cannot be its arbiter, but only its depositary and interpreter, without ever being able to declare licit that which is not licit, because of its intimate and immutable opposition to the true common good of man. The Church, in fact, cannot adopt an attitude towards men different from that of the Redeemer: She knows their weaknesses, She has compassion on the multitudes, She welcomes sinners, but She cannot renounce teaching the law.”

Justifying the position adopted by the Church’s Magisterium on a matter of such importance, the Pope showed that it was founded on the inseparable connection which God willed, and which man cannot alter by his initiative, between the two meanings of the conjugal act: the unitive meaning and the procreative meaning. With much reflection, Paul VI affirmed that “marriage is not the fruit of chance or the product of unconscious natural forces: it is a wise institution of the Creator to bring about in mankind His plan of love. Through the reciprocal self-giving which is proper and exclusive to them, spouses tend towards the communion of their beings, with a view to mutual personal perfection, in order to collaborate with God in the generation and education of new lives”.

With great clarity, the Pontiff stated that “marriage and conjugal love are of themselves ordained for the procreation and education of children” and that, “without doubt, children are the most excellent gift of marriage and contribute greatly to the good of parents. In the mission of transmitting life, therefore, they are not free to proceed at their own will, as if they could determine in an absolutely autonomous way the honest paths to follow, but must conform their actions to the creative intention of God, expressed in the very nature of marriage and its acts, and manifested by the constant teaching of the Church”.

From sphere to polyhedron: a radical change

More than 50 years have passed and now the Pontifical Academy for Life, an institute created by St. John Paul II in 1994 to study and provide guidance on the main problems of biomedicine concerning the promotion and defense of life, seems to be announcing a paradigm shift in moral theology that includes abandoning established doctrine on contraception, euthanasia and artificial forms of conception.

According to reports published by the Italian press, advocates of this change are encouraging Pope Francis to publish an encyclical establishing this radical break with the consensus of the Ecclesiastical Magisterium on this delicate topic, even suggesting a name for the supposed (and so desired) encyclical: Gaudium Vitae (Joy of Life).

The said Academy has just launched the book “Theological Ethics of Life: Scripture, Tradition and Practical Challenges” (available freely translated), which synthesizes the issues presented and discussed at the theological seminar promoted in 2021.

In the book’s introduction, Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, appointed by Pope Francis and the head of the Academy since 2016, states that “the text accomplishes a radical change, moving, as it were, from sphere to polyhedron, presenting a fundamental exposition of the Christian vision of life, illustrated in its most relevant existential aspects for the dramatic nature of the human condition and approached from the perspective of an anthropology suited to the cultural mediation of faith in today’s world.” Bishop Paglia reasons that “part of this shift from previous approaches to moral theology is linked to the guiding criteria of ‘broad dialogue,’ which incorporates not only different theological positions, but also those of non-Catholics and non-believers.”

As the document has just recently been released, I have not yet had the opportunity to read it to make a fair appreciation of what is contained in its 528 pages, however, one short sentence, uttered by Our Lord Jesus Christ is enough for me to refute the ignored and controversial content: “But let your speech be, yea, yea; or no, nay; for what is beyond this is of the evil one.” (Mt, 5, 37)

Must the Church adapt?

The book’s author, Fr. Carol Casalone, also a member of the Pontifical Academy of Life, gave the following statement in an interview about the book: “As moral theologians, we must ask ourselves why these troubled issues continue to be a cause for disquiet and even desolation among believers. We realized that to arrive at a better understanding of these issues we had to open a dialogue; and in this dialogical approach we must take into consideration what God’s people understand and feel about them.” Reasoning justified by the fact that many Catholic couples disobey the Magisterium of the Church, using contraceptive methods rejected by it. Therefore, if the faithful disobey, should the Church change Her teachings to adapt to their disobedience?

Now, there are people who like to steal – and they are not few, ranging from kids who steal mobile phones on the beaches or pretending to be fast food delivery men, to those who steal the gas cylinder from their own mothers to exchange it for drugs in the drugstore, to those who occupy positions of authority and steal from the people, from the institutions, the governments and even from the Church. It is true that many of them believe in God, go to church, receive the Sacraments and participate in the active life of their communities. But they are thieves and the act of stealing is forbidden by God’s Laws (Seventh Commandment). Are we then to admit that, to be in agreement with these “faithful” and even with “non-Catholic and non-believing” people, the Church will admit some categories of theft as acceptable and that the Holy Father will write an encyclical about it? So, a couple that closes themselves off from life, through the use of artificial methods, is stealing from God the right to bring His children into the world, and is stealing from themselves the right – and the duty – to participate in Creation, for which reason marriage was instituted.

The Church was left by Our Lord Jesus Christ to guide men, to legislate morally over them, and to assist them. It is not the function of the Church to adapt itself to please or to satisfy the desires of man. The world changes, but the Word of God remains, which is why the Chair of Peter, however many attacks it has suffered, remains standing to this day, and will continue to do so until the end of time. It is Jesus’ promise that the gates of hell will not prevail against it (cf. Mt 16:18). Hell will try to enter, it will try to impose itself, it will try to modify the millenarian doctrine that supports this spiritual edifice, but it will not succeed.

Will the Pope write a new encyclical?

There is no point in conjecturing about Pope Francis’ decisions. To admit that he will accept what is suggested and write a new encyclical, changing the Church’s teaching on marriage, contraception, assisted reproduction and euthanasia, is for the moment purely speculative.

Although Archbishop Paglia, who is one of the main enthusiasts for the Church’s shift in the area of bioethics, has propounded in his statements for the book’s release that the Pope was informed from the beginning about the initiative and the publication of the minutes and that, “apparently encouraged the discussion” and theologian Larry Chapp argues that the Pope seems “favourably disposed to the kind of moral theology advocated in the Academy’s document”, we cannot but consider that the popes who succeeded St. Paul VI have kept in line with him on the non-use by Catholic couples of artificial contraception, which the Catechism of the Church describes as “intrinsically evil”.

Let us also recall the words of St. Paul VI’s encyclical addressed especially to priests: “You know also that it is of the greatest importance for the peace of consciences and for the unity of the Christian people that in the field of morals as well as in that of dogma, all should adhere to the Magisterium of the Church and speak the same language. Therefore, with all our soul, we repeat to you the appeal of the great Apostle St. Paul: ‘I beseech you, brethren, by the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that ye be all united, in the same spirit and in the same mind'”.

By Afonso Pessoa