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RD 137 167 SO 009 881 AUTHOR Murphy, Francis X.; Erhart, Joseph F. TITLE Catholic Perspectives on Population Issues. Population Bulletin, Vol. 30, No. 6. INSTITUTION Population Reference Bureau, Inc., Washington, D.C. PUB DATE 75 NOTE 35p.

EDRS PRICE MF-$0.83 HC-$2.06 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Beliefs; *Catholics; Church Role;*Contraception; Demography; Dissent; Family Planning; *MoralIssues; Philosophy; *Population Growth; Population Trends; Religion; Reproduction (Biology); Socioeconomic Influences; Values; World Problems ABSTRACT The bulletin provides informationon the position of the Catholic Church on population issues. Thepurpose is to help responsible thinkers and world organizationsunderstand the Catholic perspective. The booklet focuses on religious,human, and ethical dimensions of the demographic situation and ispresented in seven chapters. The first chapter examines the Papalperspective, world hunger/ the abortion movement, and the Catholicbelief in the sanctity of human life. The second chapter traces traditional Catholic teachings OD contraception from theRoman Empire through the 19th centdry. The phenomenon of birth control istraced_in the third chapter, followed by a discussion of the Catholiclove ethic versus contraception in the fourth chapter. The reorientationof moral thinking after World War II is discussed inchapter five, with a focus on Vatican Council II, the Papal BirthControl Commission, and the Encyclical "Humanae Vitae." The_theological,popular, and political reaction to the Humanae Vitae is chronicledin chapter six. The last chapter discusses the liberal/conservativepolarization within the church as a result of the EncycliCal,the-resulting confusion among Catholics, and the introductionof the laity into the thinking and witness of Catholic doctrine. Referencesare included. (Author/DB)

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A publication of the Population Reference Bureau, Inc. Vol. 30, No. 6 The Population BUIlean Is issued regularly to all members by the Population Reference Bureau, Inc., 1754 N Street N,W, Washington, D.C. 20036. Comments and suggestions are welcome and should be addressed to Faith Payne, Director of Publications. If you are not a member and would ilke to become on% write to Jacki Majewski, Circulation Manager. The suggested citation, if you quote from this publication, is "Catholic PerspintiVes on Population Issues," Population Bulletin, Vol. 30, No. 6 (Populatton Reference Bureau, Inc., Washington, D.C. 1975). You may also adapt or reproduce charts and tables If you Include the credit Courtesy at the Population Reference Bureau, Inc., Washington, MC. Catholic Perspectives onPopulation Issues

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Introduction . . . =

The Papal Perspective 6 The Traditional Teaching .. .. 6 The Early Christian Church 8 The Middle Ages

The Phenomenon of Birth Control 9 Decline in the Birth Rate in France 9 9 The Birth Control Movement 9 Malthusianism Response of the Catholic Church,1879-1930 10 . . . ..11 Margaret Sanger ...... Organized Medicine ...... 11 12 The United Nations ...... 13 Women's Rights ...... _ .... . The Teachings of Other Churches 1155 The Catholic Position ......

. .. .16 The Love Ethic ...... 17 The Rhythm Method ...... 17 The Pill ...... 18 Pope John XXII] ...... 19 A Reorientation of Moral Thinking ..20 Vatican Council II . . 21 The Papal Birth Control Commission . . . . 21 The Encyclical, 1-/umanae vitae...... 22 The Reaction ...... 23 American and Other Theologians . . .. 25 Theological Evaluation . 26 Demographic Evaluation 27 Conclusion 29 References been forgotten by the experts, nor by Catholic a tremendous number of people in all walks of life who feel helpless before Perspectives the complexity of the issue. The most obvious solution to the problem of overpopulation versus in- On Population adequatehumanresourceswould seem to be an immediate, drastic cut- Issues back in the number of births on a world scale. But not merely is this an im- practicality since the disproportion be- tween the number of mouths to feed and the distribution of food is a prob- lem now; but itis a practical irnpos- Ey sibility.3 The immediate problem is a Francis X. Murphy, C.SS.R., matter ofdistribution of human re- Holy Redeemer College, sources; and thisfactor introduces Washington, D.C. political, ecenomic, social, ideological, and and religious considerations that Joseph F. Erhart, change the nature of the world's de- University of Rhode Island mographic problem from a simple mat- ter of population control to complica- tions revealed by the confused and The specter of too many people entangledresultsof the UN World over against too little food and too Population Conference in Bucharest in few human resources no longer awak-the summer of 1974 and the UN World ens the fears that inspired the Pad- Food Conference in Rome in Novem- docksFamine-1975! and Ehrlich's ber of that same year.4 The Population Bomb a decade ago."' Most responsible thinkers and world Nevertheless in the last 10 years, lit-organizations today encourage pro- erally millions of people have died as grams for population control. A major the result of malnutrition in the Sahelexception seems to be the Roman of Africa, in Bangladesh, India, Ma-Catholic Church, which officiallyal- laysia, the slums of modern cities, arid though recognizing the dangers of un- the neglected rural areas of developed restricted population growthteaches as well as developing nations.2 Thethat most contraceptiveprocedures enormity of this human disaster hasare contrary to the laws of nature gradually disappeared from the publicestablished by God. This teaching is consciousness.Ithas not, however,traditional and prevailed in all Chris- tian churches, and most societies, 812 most without challenge until the late This Bulletin is the result of research 1800's.5 embodied in two basic studies: Joseph Since 1930, a new attitude has de- F. Erhart's The Birth ,Control Debate inveloped in the Catholic Church that the Roman Catholic Church (Universityhas given rise to a genuine, even fas- of Pittsburgh, 1973, University of Michi- cinating debate within the Church it- gan Xerox Publications) andF.X. self. It has led thus far to a substantive Murphy's "The New Population De- change in the Church's teaching on the bate" in Theological Studies 35 (1974) nature of marriage, which was promul- pp. 20-47. gated by Vatican CouncilII. And by 3 involving the Church more directly infusel to change the Church's tradi- the great debate over the populationtional teaching, wnich he reiterated in phase of the future of mankind, it has his 1968 Encyclical, Humanae vitae brought into new prominence the factDespite the furor caused by that deci- thatthe Catholic Church stillinflu- sion, he has refused to budge on the ences a considerable proportion of the issue. The ensuing controversy within world's thinking. and outside the Church has shed new Although the literature on the Catho- light on the human and ethical dimen- lic Church and birth control is volu-sions of the current demographic sit- minous, many people still have an er-uation. A review of the Church's posi- roneous understanding of the valuestion, including itshistorical perspec- and arguments involved in the currenttive, would thus seem imperative at discussions and debate. Whether lovedthis state of world development. As or despised, as Pope Pius XII told awillbe notedinthisBulletin,the group of historians in 1955, the Churchworld population problem is being re- is still an enormous force for good orconsideredfromnumerous new evilin the world's well-being.If theangles. Not the least important in this developmentalisthypothesisthatreorientation are the positions being economic improvement induces moti-advocated by influential members of vation for small familiesis valid, thethe Catholic Church. Church'scontinuedopposition to In most cultures, sex has always had population control could be a fatal a religious and an ethical dimension. obstacle toeffectivedemographicThough many individuals and people planning. Conversely,ifthe Churchtoday treat sex as a purely personal would give vigorous encouragement to matter,the Catholic Churchisnot responsible parenthood, her influencealone in holding that the use of sex on effective family planning might be must be regulated in view of one's crucial in world development. (Despiterelationship with God, and hence that increased scientific attention to de-guidance from religious leaders is not mographic problems, the exact rea- merely appropriate but necessary. Not sons for population growth and de-everyone attaches the same impor- cline are not clear.) 6 tance to achieving certitudeinreli- To understand the issues involvedgious and ethical judgments as does in this complicated social and religious the Catholic Church; nevertheless, the situation, itis necessary to review themajority of mankind does acknowledge Church's traditional insights into the religious sanctions for human conduct, meaning of human sexuality, love, and and up to contemporary times most marriage. Despite the supposition thatpeoples considered conception and Catholic doctrine is the one constant birth within the sphere of the sacred. in an ever-changing world, this impres-The current controversy over the use sion is not entirely Correct. While theof contraceptives that has been essentials of the Christian creed andbrought into renewed focus by the the ten commandments have retainedCatholic Church is an attempt on the their immobility, the explanations ofpart of millions of its serious-minded the Church's beliefs have shifted withfaithful to discover the truth about a the cultural patterns of the ages. moral valuewhat is God's will in the The one area whe;e an almost in-matter ofbirth control? Unless this violable ban has been observed has premise is understood, the debate has been in the prohibition, as an evil, oflittle meaning. Nevertheless, even in artificial birth control.1 This fact gives the totally secular order it is not With- a peculiar quality to Pope Paul's re-out tremendous significance. Catholics

4 formbetweenone-sixthandone- among the destitute and have played seventhoftheworld'spopulation. a not inconsiderable role in the im- Their influence in any country of theplementation of the "green revolution," developing world is still enormous.8 particularly in the Philippines, parts of This essay is not an apologia forIndia, and Bangladesh. And in its more Catholic teaching on birth control. In recentteachingregardingpolitical, fact, itwill trace the development of economic,andsocialjustice,the aresponsiblepositionwithinthe Catholic Church has taken a radical Church favoring change in the tradi-stand condemning both the predatory tional teaching. The major arguments enterprisesofcapitalismandthe on both sides within the Church willequally inhuman dictatorships of dia- be evaluated in the light of history as lectical materialism.10 well as in reference to the 1968 papal Nevertheless in its direct approach Encyclical Humanae vitae. An attempt to the apparently catastrophic threat will be made to see what is happening of overpopulation, its leadership seems in the Catholic Church and the world caught in an unresolvable dilemma. of which itis a parton the demo-On three important occasions, Pope graphic levelright now. Paul VI has made statements that have shocked not only the outside world but many of his own constituents inti- The Papal Perspectivemately involved in demographic prob- Of all the organizations intimately in- lems. Before the UN Assembly in New volved in the problems concerned with York, on October 4, 1064, he spoke of human lifeanddevelopment,the an "irrational control of births prevent- Roman Catholic Church has adopted :ng the access of new mouths at the an approach to the population prob-banquet of the LorC." And in 1970, lem that is both enigmatic and con- speaking to the FAO conference In troversial. Since at least the end ofRome, he made a similar reference. World War II,the Church has been (However, in his ':971 FAO speech, the using the vast resources of its faithfulPope also mentioned a "rational cori in the so-called "First World" to bringtrol of births.") Finally, addressing the aidand development programsto UN World Food Conference in No- down-trodden peoplesinevery-ac-vember 1974,he cautioned against cessible country of the globe.9 (Qrga- population policies that were aimed at nized in 1943 to assist refugees and"preventingthepoorfrombeing war-torn areas, Catholic [Wad Relief born."11 Services had a substantial part in dis- Predictably, editorialsin the New tributingU.S. aidinLatin America, York Times reacted negatively to the Asia, and the Far East and in encour-papal remarks: one of the most recent aging the hierarchies of these coun- characterized the Pope's statement as tries to get involvedin development "half-bakedmoralisms." 12Actually, programs. Its representatives at Vati-the pontiff's speech was a balanced can Council II witnessed to the possi- analysis of the extremely complex fac- bility of cooperation between various torsinvolvedinthe current demo- religious and secular voluntary agen-graphic situation.In agreement with cies, and gave impetus to the forma-many population and food experts, the tion of the Vatican's Secretariat for Pope emphasized the fact that popu- Justice and Peace.) Its agencies for lationpolicies and birthcontrol as sociologicalresearch,developmeasuch are not the only answers to the and welfare have been responsible for presentimpasseortheprojected innumerableprojectsofselfhelp apocalyptic possibility of a doubling 5 7 of the world population by the yeardition that goes back to the Church's 2000. In concurrence with some social origins. planners, he sees the solution in a total reordering of the world's political economya radical approach that ap-The Traditional peared to put him on the side of. the socialist nations at both the WorldTeaching Population Conference and 'the WorldProjected into the Greco-Roman civili- Food Conference. zation,theearlyChristiansfound Revealing a detailed knowledge ofthemselves confronted with the sexual the various aspects of world hunger,dissipation thatcharacterizedthe Pope Paul recognized the limits of theLater Roman Empire. This was mor- "greenrevolution,"notablyitsde- dantly satirized by Martial and Juvenal pendence on fertilizer, now affected by and was at least partially rejected by inflationary prices, and drew attention official government policy. to the great injustices involved in the maldistribution of world resnurces. He made concrete suggestions forthe The Early Christian Church development of global agriculture andIn its struggle for survival during the affirmed the need for an international first three centuries of its existence, stockpilingoffoodreserves. He the Christian church had not merely showed a deeply sympa'hetic under-to insist upon the value ollife and its itanding of the damage of malnutritiontransmissionand the positive aspects to both bodies and minds, and ex- oflove and human dignityin the pressed horror at the prospect of mil-face of the so-called pagan vices, but lions now facing starvation. After all it was called upon to oppose a reli- this, however, he still could not seegious_ denigration of the material side the need for population control. "Will of man's existence.14 men blind themselves obstinately to In the Gnostic sects both inside and their proper destiny," he asked, "andoutside the Church, the value and search for alibis, for example an un-dignity of procreation was repudiated reasonable and unilateral action by groups of zealots alienated from against demographic growth instead the physical universe. Gnosticism de- of going to the essential?" 13 spised the world's creator as a god Behind the Pope's animadversions ofevil.Itrejected the Jewish Old an these questions is his belief, bor-Testament, claimed an absolute free- dering on the mystical, that as thedom from moral law, and designated spiritual leader of at least one-sixthprocreation as a wicked perpetuation of the world's population he must wit-of the material world. These attitudes ness to the absolute sanctity of human are attackedinthe New Testament life. He sees the current breakdownwritings, particularly inI.Corinthians of the older Christian morality in the (5.1-8).Galatians(5.1-26), Jude (12 pornographic and sex revolution, the and 13), II. Peter (2.17), and the Book abortion movement, and the legitimiza-of Revelations (2.6-15). tion of homosexuality. He is convinced Gnosticism continued to affect the that what he terms a "contraceptiveChurch's moral teaching during the mentality" is aimed at the denigrationfirst three centuries. It received a defi- of human lifea return of Manicheism. niterejectioninthe works of the For this reason he feels bound to hold second-centuryBishopIrenaeusof the line so insistently on birth control. Lyons, and itelicited a positive ap- In so doing, he is witnessing a tra-proach toward procreation an,-I mar- 8 riage from Clement of Alexandria and He adopted a particularly pessimistic the first Christian school of theology.15 note in regard to man's sexual pro- In reaction to the Gnostic prohibitionpensities in contrast to the optimistic of procreation (either through a total attitude of his opponent.17 abstinence from sexual activity or an Pelaius maintained, as would the extreme libertarianism that separated French freethinker Jean Jacques Rous- intercourse from procreation), Clement seau a millennium later, that man's evil insisted that sexual intimacy found itspropensities were due mainly to bad justification in marriage. He also said example received from his elders dur- that procreation was something not ing infancy and childhood.18 Augus- merely good but sacred sinceitin- tine, by way of refutation, insisted that volved cooperation in the work of the human concupiscence was the result Creator, who was the supreme and of the sin of man's first parent, Adam, only God. and that although Eve was the occa- To strengthen the Christian position, sion and cause of man's downfall, Clement adopted the Stoic ethic, which original sin and its consequences were insisted that the sole lawful purposeactually transmittedinthe form of for initiating conjugal intercourse was concupiscence through the male seed. procreation. Considering man's pas- In Augustine's thinking there seems to sions and emotions as strictly distrac- have been, likewise, the unwitting no- tions from his intellectual pursuits tion that the male seed contained the the contemplationofthe One, the new lifethe homunculus or little man True, the Good, and the Beautifultheand thus, interference with its nitida- Stoics justified marriage and sexual tion in the woman's body was actually indulgence as an obligation connecteda form ofabortion or murder. To with the need to continue the humanstrengthen his assertions about the race. This general attitude toward theevil of contraception, Augustine is the legitimacy of marital intercourse wasfirst churchman to cite the Old Testa- adopted by the early Christian think- mentcondemnationofOnan who ers known as the Fathers of the Church spilled his seed on the ground rather and became the dominant opinion ofthan impregnate his dead brother's the medieval theologians. Thus, fromwifea sin for which he was struck the beginning,contraceptionwas dead by God (Gen. 38.7 10). Thus con- looked upon as an evil, since it vio-traceptive practices became known In lated the primary purpose of maritalCatholic moral thought as the sin of intercourse and called into question Onan or Onanism.16 the legitimacy of procreation.16 A further consideration seems to It was the great, fifth century Chris- have motivated the early churchmen tian convert, Augustine of Hippo, whoin their condemnation of contraception. introduced a truly dour note into theSt. Paul inI.Corinthians (7.3-6) as- Christian attitude toward sex inhis serted the fundamental equality of the controversies with the Manicheesthe spouses in sexual matters, and in so Gnostic sect of which he had been adoing affirmed the personal dignity of member from his nineteenth to thirtieth the wife. Though contraception was yearsand more particularly with the not mentioned explicitly in the list of Christian theologian Pelagius.In hissexual aberrations he condemned as battle with the latter, Augustine seems evil,itspractice was usually asso- to have been influenced in large partciated withfornicationor adultery; by the sexual excesses of his own hence,itsprohibitionasunnatural youth and early manhood which he could be Considered a defense of mar- describes vividly inhis Confessions. italfidelity. This is definitely Augus- 7 9 tine's view in his treatise MarrIage and Meanwhile, down the centuries, or- Concupiscence. dinary Christians tended to consider themsel. es second-class citizensof The Middle Ages the Church. While they accepted the By the sixth century. Church teachingofficial teaching that marital relations on sex and marriage agreed more gen-were somehow tainted (particularly in erally thatwhile good and certainlytheir relation to the transmission of legitimateconjugal intercourse con- originalsinandsexualconcupis- tained dangers of too great a distrac-cence), their life style,folklore, and tionfromman'sultimatepurpose, entertainments exhibit an almost total which was the contemplation of Al-disregard of marital ideals preached mighty God expressed in this worldfrom thepulpit.Nevertheless, con- through prayer and pious meditation. traception was hardly an issue among Hence, the pleasure motive as suchthe ordinary Christian people. They could only be justified by a direct in-lackedknowledgeofcontraceptive tention to procreate. The theologianmethods to begin with, and they also Clement of Alexandria went so far asneeded a plentiful progeny to assure to state that the Holy Spirit absentedthe survival of one or more children to himself from the soul during the climaxprovide for their old age. of conjugal intercourse. In the development of the Church's In the course of the next thousandteaching during the Middle Ages, the years, a slow but considerable evolu-influence of several Manichien sects tion took place. Questions concerningthe Bogomils, originally from Bulgaria, the right to marital intercourse duringthe Gathers (or pure) in Western Eu- pregnancy, for th& aged, and the ster-rope, and the Albigensians in France ile, that at first were answered nega- among others, occasioned a repeated tively, were gradually given a positiveinsistence on the goodness of Pro- response. Eventually, it was admittedcreation and the evil of contraception. that marital intercourse to avoid forni- Pope- GregoryIX enacted thefirst cation could be legitimate without a papallegislationagainst contracep- procreative intent; and thus, the pleas-tion, declaring null and void a marriage ure motive came to be seen as justi-entered into with a condition to avoid fiable in itself, and not merely as anoffspring. And an ancient canon was incentivefor continuing the humanquoted in the Decretals of Gratian to race. the effect that it was homicide to pre- These considerations were givenvent generation or to cause sterility.20 droit du cite in the writings of Thomas While the Catholic Church has long Aquinas, the great 13th century theo-been considered theproponentof logian. But while correcting much oflarge families, the fact is that this ideal the pessimism about marital relationswas a concoction of the 19th century due to Augustine, Thomas did not de- rather than of the early or medieval velop a true theology of love and mar-Church, in which virginity outside mar- riage. What is so strange about this isriage and continence in marriage were the fact that St Paul had provided anconsidered higher ideals than procrea- explicit text for such a developmenttion. Nevertheless, the Church had in- when he said (Eph. 5.23-32), "Hus- herited from Judaism the tradition that bands love your wives even as Christnumerous offspring were a definite in loves the church. . .. This is a greatsign of divine blessing: and its mystery."It was not until the 20thliturgical prayers surrounding Marriage century that this text began to receiveas well as in its popular preaching, it its proper evaluation. insisted on the generosity involved in 8 having a large progeny.It was not been altered so greatly in the political difficult to convince most people ofupheavals of the 18th century.22 this ideal in an age when infant mor- The French Revolution had upset tality was the rule rather than thethe whole of Europe, destroying many exception. ancientideals and traditionsalong Likewise, the Church insisted thatwith the seminaries, theological facul- the procreation of children broughtties, and other religious, institutions. withit the duty of education. FromHence, Catholic theology was in a Clement of Alexandria in the third cen-disastrous state, and the Church was tury to Peter the Lombard and Aquinas ill equipped to cope with the situation. in the Middle Ages, Church authorities Roman authorities, who were called on insisted that procreation and educa-to take a stand on the increased prac- tioninthe Lord were inseparable. tice of birth control, restated the tradi- While aconflict between begetting tional teaching. Their statements did more children end perfecting the for- not show great concern about the mation of those already born exists problem and were Marked by toler- today,this problem does not seemance and sympathy for the faithful.23 to have arisen in the early Church or down to modern times.21 The Birth Control Movement The upsurge in the practice of birth limitation in France in the 18th century The Phenomenon o had no organized theoretical under- pinnings. But with the rise of the birth Birth Control control movement in the 19th century, Actually, the controversy over birthespecially in England and in the United control as a problem is a compara-States, the Church for the first time tively new phenomenon. The practicesince the 12th century revival of Mani- of contraception on a large scale be-cheism, was confronted with people gan in Francs in the 18th century. systematically teaching that the pre- vention of birth was good. Unlike the Decline in the Birth Rate in 12th century Gathers, the new advo- France cates of contraception were not op- Between 1750 and 1800 the French posed to all procreation, but Only to birth rate dropped by 17 percent. A uncontrolled procreation. The motives leading French demographer, Alfred proposed were economic,medical, Sauvy, described this decline as "thesocial, and moral. most important factinallFrance's The advocacy of birth control began history." Fetal diseases were a factor,before the discovery of effective me- but there is evidence that birth control chanical and chemical means. Though also contributed to the decline. Since countlessineffectivemethodshad there was no public advocacy of thebeen known since the beginning of practice, the drop in the birthrate history, the most widely used method resulted from an extensive series of seems to have been coitus interruptus individual decisions to limit births.It (withdrawal). Only in 1843 with the seems obviously connected with thevulcanization of rubber did inexpen- rise of the bourgeoisie in the cities,sive condoms become available. the industrialization that brought this about, and the new type of freedomMalthusianism occasioned by the French Enlighten-Concern about population growth was ment that strongly affected the status stimulated by the work of Thomas of women, whose civilposition had Malthus in 1798. Malthus asserted that, ii 9 when unchecked, population would in-originallypublishedinAmerica by crease in geometric progression whileCharles Knowlton favoring contracep- production of food and alimentary re- tivepractices occasioned the wide sources would increase only in arith-circulation oi the treatise and appar- metic progression. He cited war, pes-ently caused a decline in the British tilence, famine, and vice as the factors birth rate.25 that checked uncontrolled fertility. The It was these aspects of the birth solution recommended by Malthus wascontrol problem as a moral issue that not contraception but moral restraint, aroused the grave concern ofthe by which he meant the postponement Catholic Church during the last half of marriage. of the 19th century. Public advocacy of birth control be- gan in the 1800's with the Englishmen Response of the Catholic Jeremy Bentham, JamesMili,and Francis Place, their American counter- Church, 1879-1930 parts Robert Dale Owen and CharlesFaced with an unprecedented inter- Knowlton, arid with Aleta Jacobs, Hol- nationalmovement, and withbirth land's first woman doctor.24 rates fallingin many countries, the The real founder of the birth con-Catholic hierarchy reacted vigorously. trol movement in England was FrancisThe reaction came in the form of pas- Place, atailor,laborleader,and toralletters by bishops, statements father of 15 children. He termed moral from Roman authorities, writings of restraint an absurdity and adopted an theologians, and more explicit preach- attitude toward contraceptive practices ing and instructionstothe people. that came to be called neo-Malthu-Catholic preachers against birth con- sianism. trol felt they were dealing with an act George Drysdale, an American phy-that was intrinsically evil, which there- sician, maintained that only by contra-fore could not be justified by even ception could society escape the three the noblest of ends. Hence, they dis- primary social evils: poverty, prostitu-paraged the genuineness of personal tion,andcelibacy.Americanfree and social motives and imputed self- thinkers from Fenny Wright to Robertishness, materialism, and a uesire for G. Ingersoll advocated contraception luxury as the reasons for_recourse to in association with social reforms suchcontraceptive practices, Birth control as women's suffrage, temperance, re-was portrayed as a hedonistic indul- laxed divorce laws, and some added gence in mutual masturbation. free love and anarchism. Meanwhile, Contrary to Popular impression, the Anthony Comstock, a Congregation-Church did net officially teach that alist, succeeded in having the Com-large families were desirable, but the stock Law passed by the U.S. Con-opposition to birth control easily al- gress to close the postal service tolowed that idea to develop. Producing contraceptiveliterature and devicesa multitude of offspring had not been and to prohibit their importation fromconsidered virtuous in itself. However, England. The 1873 trial of the Ameri-avoiding the sin of birth control and can physician Edward Bliss Foote forproviding for many children did entail contravention of this law served tosacrifice and virtue, and so large fami- greatly publicize the whole question lies came to be praised and blessed. of birth control. The following year in If spouses doubted their ability to England, the notoriety attending thecare for more children, and could not trial of Charles Brad laugh end Annieface up to abstinence, they were ad- Besant for disseminating a pamphletvised to run the risk of pregnancy and -10 12 trust in divine providence. If pregnancyinformation "for the cure and preven- involved danger for the wife, the Onlytion of disease." This was an unhoped option was heroic continence. for victory favoring her cause. The typical response to the objec- In 1921, Margaret Sanger organized tion that this was an Incomprehensiblythe first major birth control conference harsh teaching was that of Arthur Ver- in New York City and was jailed over-- rneersch,theBelgianJesuit,who night by the police at the instigation dominated'Catholic moral teaching forof Archbishop Patrick Hayes. Again, many years and who was largely re-the accompanying publicity aided her sponsible for drafting Pope Pius XI'sefforts to launch a worldwide cam- EncyclicalCasti connubliin1930. paign, which began in Japan, China, "Why shoulditbe astonishing that Hawaii, and India and resulted in= the conjugal chastity, like all the Christian foundation of numerous leagues and virtues,claimsitsmartyrs?" Christ associations for the spread of contra- had suffered, and the necessity of suf-ceptive information and devices. fering for salvation is an integral theme By the close of World War II, she of the=Christian message. Spouses inhad become so renowned an- expert the anguished conflict between theas to be employed by General Mac- desire to make love and the fear ofArthur as a chief adviser in enabling having too many children were told tothe Japanese to reorient their defeated bear their cross by abstaining from nation in its population problems. intercourse.26 Unwittingly, the Catholic Church in the United States had elevated Mar- Margaret Sanger garet Sanger intO a prominence that In the early 20th century it was Mar-enabled her to defy Its teachings even garet Sanger, a public health nurse, in many parts of the world where the and originally a Catholic, who was theChurch's influence was considered al- most effective proponent of birth con- most absolute.27 trol. As a result of her experiences among the poor on New-York's East Organized Medicine Side, she became convinced that birth OrganizedmedicineintheUnited control was the only realistic solutionStates had been 'reluctant to_ accept to the- horrors of life experienced bybirth control as withinits province. the urban destitute. As late as 1932, a past president of Indicted in New York City for dis- theAmericanMedicalAssociation seminating a magazine calledThe (AMA) assured a congressional com- Woman Rebel, she fled to Englandmittee that whenever man departed before the trial but after surreptitiouslyever so little from natural laws, de- publishing a pamphlet called Family structive influences creep in and that Limitation. Violently attacked for hernature provided no contraceptive de- views after the quashing of the indict- vices. ment in 1916, she was made the target Though requested repeatedly by its of both Catholic and non-Catholic anti-membership to interfere in the argu- contraceptive vehemence. Her jailingment about birthcontrol, the AMA for opening a birth control clinic insteadfastly refused. Despite frequent Brooklyn, N.Y., in 1916 served to giveappeals, the Association gave only her movement wide publicity; but in sporadic attention to the subject until sustaining her conviction, an appellate 1937 when its House of Delegates was -- judge interpreted the State law as authorized to study the problem- in all exempting physicians from restrictionsits aspects. They resolved that contra- in giving married persons birth controlceptive advice should only be given 13 11 In properly licensed agencies underdebated the question of population medical control. Only in 1963 did the growth and economic development Association's Committee on HumanRut the role of the United Nations was Reproductionabandon itsofficial confined strictly to the processing of neutrality in favor of cooperating with national policies, although a resolution "child-spacing measures for patientsin 1966 called on member nations to who need them, consistent with their"assist" in training, research informa- creed and_mores." 28 tion, and advisory services in the field of population. The United Nations On December 17, 1966, a General Despite the involvement of agenciesAssembly resolution made reference to of the United Nations such as the a principle stating that the family was World Health Organization (WHO), theentitled to decide freely and responsk Food andAgricultureOrganization bly concerning the number and spac- (FAO),theInternationalChildren's ing of its children. This action followed Emergency Fund (UNICEF), and thea declaration by 12 heads of states on Educational,Scientific, and CulturalHuman Rights Day, 1966, proclaiming --Organization_ (UNESCO) in fertility re-"the opportunity for individuals to de- search and policy-processing studiescide the number and spacing of their

during the 1950's, proposals for thechildren as a basic right." 30 Although _ introduction of family planning pro-the resolution and the declaration were grams by the General Assembly werestimulated by an interested group of consistentlyopposedbydelegates voluntary agencies, there is little doubt__ from Roman Catholic and Communist that the decision to make them was countries. A projected WHO study of influenced by the favorable attitude to- contraception in 1952 was opposed byward family.planning expressed at Vat- Catholic delegates and was eventually. ican Council IIin its Pastoral Consti- abandoned.Instead,a programto tution on the Church in' the Modern teach the rhythm method was under- World.31 taken in India between 1952 and 1954; Theprinciples developedinthe butitfailed abysmally. At the UN United Nations over the past decade World Population Conference in Romeconcernedwiththecontemporary in 1954, it was agreed that cooperativeworld'sconfrontationofpopulation action by the members required re-and family problems acknowledge a spect for different ethical and religiouslegitimate variety of goals in popula- values and the promotion of mutual tion policies. Some nations are satis- understanding in regard to population fled with current levels of fertility. A problems. few are seeking increases. Still others In 1963, delegates from France, Ar-are strenuously working to reduce fer- gentina, Liberia, and Peru passed atility in the hope of achieving social motion for the deletion from a General andeconomicdevelopment.While Assembly resolution of a clause au-some countries are concerned more thorizing assistance for "national proj-with problems of sterility and subfe- _ ects and program& dealing with prob-cundity, the majority seem most anx- lems of population." And at the UN ious to control fertility and to persuade World Population Conference in Bel- their people, particularly in the devel- grade in 1965, the undersecretary foroped areas, to reduce human repro- Economic and Social Affairs reiterated duction to be in keeping with current the policy of neutrality "out of respectfood and energy supplies. for all beliefs." 29 Basically, the approach of the United The General Assembly in 1962 had Nations to the population problem is 12 founded on its Universal Declarationslowly being acknowledged. The effect of Human Rights, which asserts thaton family structure and on the problem men and women "have the right toof fertility is substantial. The exercise marry and found a family." This funda-of independent judgment in regard to mentalprerogativelocatesrelevant having and spacing children Is becom- human rights and responsibilities in ing more noticeable.33 the family, which "as the basic unit of In 1955 a reliable study on the ex- society and the natural environmenttent of family limitation In the United for the growth and well-being of all itsStates was made from carefully drawn members, especiallychildren and nationalsamplesof whitemarried youth, should be assisted and pro-women aged 18 through 39 years. The tected." This doctrine also acknowl-investigation concluded that I33; per- edges that there is considerable diver-cent of fecund couples had used some sity in the concept of the family.In means of family limitation prior to the many societies, de facto unions farinterview, and only 4 percent did not outweigh formal marriages. A largeintend to use any contraceptives at portion of the female population enters any time. Among couples married_10 into more or less permanent consen-years or over, 92 percent had at- sual unions or casual "visiting" ar-tempted familylimitation.Economic rangements in which child-bearing is and educational differentials showed accepted and begins early. This pat-that 78 percent of wives in the 35-to- tern is prevalent in many parts of the 39-year bracket who had no more than developing world in both Catholic and a grade school education had prac- non-Catholic nations and is not rare in ticed birth control at some time in their some urban slum areas. married lives. The percentage rose to The documents of the United Na- between 91 and 97 percent for those tions also indicate that the responsi-with more than a grade school edu- bility for children involves both par- cation. ents althoughtheimpact devolves Among fecund Catholic wives, 81 more directly on the woman, whosepercent had already practiced family physical involvement in bearing the limitation before the interview or ex- child and in caring for its immediatepressed the intention to do so. While wants and needs during infancy and among all Catholic couples, 70 percent childhood is substantive. In the clari-had either not tried to limit their fam-- =- fication of women's rights recognized fly or used the rhythm method, 50 per- by the United Nations, the equality of cent of those married at least 10 years the wife with the husband is explicitly had used some method other than asserted. This recognition contradictsrhythm. Overall, 47 percent of Cath- ancient and traditional customs where-olics, 89 percent of Protestants, and by male domination prevailed in deci- 96 percent of Jews had used chemical sions affecting the family.32 oi mechanical means.34 By 1960 Catholic authorities had to Women's Rights acknowledge the good faith of those Vatican II focused attention on the sit-whom they considered to be in moral uation of women in the Church and error because oftheir approval of gave impetus to the Catholic wing ofcontraception. The fact that Catholic the women's rights movement. The fertility rates in the United States, how- emancipation of women from Kirche,ever, continued somewhat higher than Kache und Kinder and their involve- non-Catholicbirthrates suggested ment in policy making as well as in thatthefairlywell-to-doCatholic's officialpositionsinthe Chtirch arevalues included a preference for large famflies.35 Most recent studies indicate thePastoral Constitutionon the that while the official Church still ex-Church in the Modern World. It is sup- erts a strong conservative influence in ported by Pope Paul's Apostolic Letter the areas of population policy; radicalOctogesima adveniente of May 14, changes have taken place among the 1971, where the Pope says. "In con- faithful in the last 10 years. In 1965. crete situations, and taking account of research had indicated that a majoritysolidarity in each person's life, one of Catholic couples were using illicitmust recognize a legitimate variety of means of birth control. By 1970, the options. . . From all Christians who proportionofCatholicsemploying at first sight find themselves in oppo- cobtraceptives had grown even high-sition as a result of starting from dif- er.35 Meanwhile, the Encyclical Hu-fering options [the Church] asks an manae vitae had appeared and served effort of mutual understanding of the as a catalystinforcing the liberalother's position and motives." group of theologians and clergy to Awareness of this development is stressthe teaching of Gaudium etgradually penetrating Catholic think- spes, or that companionship and con- ing, so_ that the faithful can respect jugal lave are equally valid purposestheir opponents on this and similar of marriage and have to be balancedissues, and while continuing discus- against the procreative functions. sions in the hope of achieving a better While a large majority of Catholicsappreciation of each other's viewpoint, are still opposed to unrestricted avail-they can continue to cooperate in con- ability of abortion services, betweenfronting the larger issue of population 1965 and 1970 the proportion of Cath-control and the social -and economic olic women who endorsed the idea ofdevelopment essential to its achieve- abortion in cases of rape increased ment.38 from 43 to 63 percent.37 However, the Meanwhile, accomplishment of the r. recent reiteration of the-Church's hardUnited Nations in hammering out a de- line against abortion and the stirringtailed list of human rights in regard to of Catholic consciences through pro-the family and human reproduction is natalist movements in developed coun-a remarkable advance. There seems tries may be having some impact onto be an obvious conjunction between the attitude of the faithful. Many ad-its declarations and the teaching of vocates of abortion as a method ofPope John XXIII in Pacem In terris, birth-control feel it is the lesser of twowhere the Pope Insists upon human evils when compared with bringingdignity as the foundation for human unwanted or defective childreninto rights. the world. While they would prefer to What is obvious from these con- have peopleutilizecontraceptive siderations is that the Roman Catholic means, they feel that abortion shouldChurch, while considered a chief ob- be available as a backup for accidentsstacle to an effective local or world that resultin unwanted pregnancies.population control policy, is far. from While the Catholic Church remains aloneinitsdoubts anddifficulties unalterably opposed toabortion, aabout the human right or ability to nuanced attitude toward its advocatesarbitrarily interfere with what it con- is being suggested by many Catholicsiders the laws -6f -nature in order to thinkers. provide a pragmatic solution -to the The gradual awareness of a legiti-problem of a population increase that mate pluralisminrespect to publicthreatens to overwhelm the world in issues was acknowledged by Vaticanthe next two or three decades. These II in the Decree of Ecumenism and indifficulties haVe been highlighted by 14 the controversy that followed Pope ligious preconceptionsinregard to Paul's attempt to deal with one anglefertility,allthreefavoraplentiful of the population problem in his 1968 progeny controlled by the extended Encyclical on human life. family structure. In addition, they tend to reject birth control methods and The Teachings of Other family limitation based on a feeling Churches that such considerations are an affront to both personal pride and physical Until 1930, opposition to birth controlmodesty involved with male virility and was almost total among religious so-female fecundity.For a woman in cieties. Among Jews and Christians,these societies, both social and per- generally speaking, the biblical con-sone! modesty prevents the exposure demnation of Onan (Gen. 38.7-10) was of her body to any man but her hus- interpreted as a strict prohibition ofband. Even where medical clinics are artificialbirth control practices. Theconducted by women, there is great first religious proponents of birth con-reluctance to submit. to physical ex- trol _were the Universalists, the Uni-amination. tarians,andtheadherentsofRe- In some Asiatic and African coun- formed Judaism, Then, In 1930, thetries, polygamy is still legitimate. But Lambeth Conference of the Church ofits effect on birth rates is not known.39 England recognized abstinence as the ordinary means for limiting births but allowed contraceptive methods where The Catholic Position abstinence proved impossible. In 1931, The Roman Catholic position on birth the Committee on Marriage and Homecontrol has been badly confused in of the Federal Council of Churches inconsequence of Pope Paul's Encycli- the United States allowed a "carefulcal Humanae vitae of July 26, 1968. and restrained" use of contraceptive Traditionally, the Church had opposed devices. This precedent was gradually both the notion of birth control and accepted by all major Protestant de-the use of artificial means to interfere nominations withthe exceptionof with fertility processes. The teaching some Lutheran and most fundamental-that procreation was the primary end ist churches. In 1930, the Central Con- of marriage led to the conviction that ferenceofAmericanRabbis(Re- interference with procreation was to formed) approved contraceptive prac-be discounted. The condemnation of tices for economic, social, and health contraceptives was given harsh re- reasons. This example was followed formulation in Pope Phis XI's Encycli-, by the Conservative Rabbinical As-cat Casti connubii of December 31, sembly in 1935; and in 1958, the Rab- 1930, which said, "Any use whatso- binicalAlliance indicated that suchever of matrimony exercised in such practicescouldbeperformedby a way that the act is frustrated in its women forreasonsofhealth andnatural power to generate life Is an of- family welfare. fense against the law of God and of na- No similar development is met with ture, and those who indulge in such are among Muslims or some other majorbranded with the guilt of grave sin." religiousgroups. Mohammed coun- However, the Pope did uphold the seled his followers to be fruitful and legitimacyofperiodic abstinence multiply, and most Muslims are dis-undercertaincircumstancesasa posed to believe that whether or not a means of child spacing and ,family person has children is a_ matter of thelimitation. "Nor are these to be con- willof Allah. While the Hindu andsidered as acting against nature who Buddhist traditions have no rigid re-in the married state use their right in 15 17 the proper manner, although on ac-tween the spouses as essential to the count of natural reasons, either of time proper ordering of marriage. This de- or of certain defects, new life cannotvelopment was practically ignored by be brought forth." in 1951, this teach- the Vatican juridical offices dealing ing was reaffirmed by Pope Pius Xfl.40with marriage. It was not allowed to affect the legalistic approach to the 4M sacrament that was incorporated into rise Love Ethic the schema on marriage put together Over the centuries a curious dichot-by the antepreparatory commission of omy had developed in the ChristianVatican II. The word "love" was used ethicregardingmarriageandthe once in an appendix to this document. family. The tension between the rights However, the teaching of Pius Xl of theindividual and the commonwas developed by a number of "per- good was not analyzed sufficientlysonalist"theologiansledby Dom, from a sociologicalviewpoint. The Hubert Dams in his book The Meaning' moralistspresumedthatindividual and End of Marriage, where he made rights had to cede before the require-a careful distinction between meaning ments of society; and this principle and end. For Dorns, the meaning is the -= was applied specifically to the regu-realization of unity by the two persons, lation of marriage. The preservation of the scriptural two-in-oneness. It has an the family as an institution was givenobjective thatis both personal and precedence over all persbnal rights. specific. The personal end Is the per- One consequence of this doctrinefection and mutual completion of the was a failure to take into considerationspouses on every level of their ex- the well-being of the individual mar-istence. The specific end is" the child. ried person, particularly in his or her But just as marriage has meaning in striving for the harmony and affection itself, so the sex act is first and always needed to consolidate themarriagea union of two .persons that finds its bond. Instead,fullemphasii" washighest expression inthe way that placed inconjugalobligationsinhusband and wife entrust -themselves Augustine's analysis, proles, fides etto one another physically Thus, the sacramentumoffsbring, fidelity, andsexual act is far more than an act of sacrament. Because of this, almost no generation; it is the fulfillment of the headway was made in confronting thetwo persons. psychological and human difficulties In the controversy that followed the leadingtothe breakupofmarital publication of Dams' book, Roman- unions.41 Total attention was focusedtrained theologians reacted unfavor- on the obligation of "rendering theably. A decision of the Holy Office in debt,-particularlybythe woman. 1944declaredthatthetraditional Individual roles and desires were sup-teaching of the Church regarding the pressed in favor of the family and ofprimary and secondary ends of mar- safeguarding the sacrament. The latterriage was stillobligatory. However, was taken in an almost mechanical in a talk to Italian midwives. in October sense as completed once the marriage1951, Pius XII asserted that the 1944 ceremony had been duly celebrated Holy Office pronouncement should not and the coital act perfoirned. be interpreted as diminishing or mini- A significant change in this regard mizing the personal values in marriage was registered in Pius XI's Encyclicalthat are essential and of substantial Casti connuhii (1931).While vigor-worth. Parents are not simply progeni- ously condemning artificial birth con tors. They are personal beings, and trol,it developed an ethic of love be-their sexual activities are more than 6 18 ere biological acts. They are per-gery on pathological organssuch as onal commitments expressing lovingthe removal of the fallopian tube in an and mutual surrender.42 ectopic gestation or of a diseased womba principle was available for The Rhythm Method permitting the sterilization caused by It was in this context that Pope Piusthe anovulantpillfor medical pur- XII approved the rhythm method as aposes. Although sterility was induced, legitimate means of preventing a new if the direct intention was therapeutic, pregnancy when such an event would both the end and the means were law- interfere with the family well-being.ful. The contraceptive effect, though Fie taughtthatusingtherhythm foreseen was not directly intended but method without a serious reason waspermitted. Thus, the anovulant pill was sinful;but he explicitfyrecognized approved for treatment of endometri- medical, eugenic, economic,and osis,excessivemenstrualbleeding, social factors as worthy motives. and similar maladies. The Pope's words and attitude sym- But what of cases where the pill was bolized a new spirit. In effect he ap-to be used to regularize the menstrual proved the humane reasons advanced cycle with a view to predicting _the by the birth control advocates nowtime of fertility? There were two types that a method was available that heof cases. One was that of the couple viewed as consistent withCatholicwho wished to use a regularization of moral principles. The rhythm methodthe menstrual cycle in order to con- was held to be different from otherceive. Few theologians opposed the methods in that it consisted in not per-using of the pill for procreative pur- _ forming an act to interfere with con-poses. Another situation would be to ception.Refraining from intercoursetake advantage of the safety injected during the fertile period was viewed asinto the rhythm method of birth con- the nonplacing of an act rather than atrol. In spite of an initial negative re- positive interference with an act inaction, theologians tended to agree progress.43 thatitwas legitimatetouse the anovulant pill to support rhythm. There The Pill was a general agreement that in this - Contraceptive pills first became avail-case there was no more interference able commercially in the late 1950's.with "nature" than when using the :Jrnmediately, they were the focus ofsame pillto treat endometriosis. Its attention by theologians, and entereduse was viewed as an effort to correct into the Catholic birth control debate.the defects of nature rather than as Thediscussionamong theologians an interference with nature, from 1957 focused on the pill insofar Unconvinced by this theorizing, Plus it was an anovulant, le a sub- XIIIn 1958 disapproved use of the stance whose effect was to preventanovulant pill as a contraceptive. For conception by postponing or prevent-4 years most theologians accepted ing ovulation. this position, contending that use of The first reaction of the moral the-the anovulant pill as a contraceptive ologians was to reject the anovulantwas an immoral Interference with the pill as contraceptive and sterilizing. generative process.44 However, further consideration caused However, cracks developed in the them to conclude thatitsuse forwall of the theologians analysis. For therapeuticreasonscouldbeap-centuries,contraceptionitselfhad proved. Since theologians generallybeen condemned as an immoral act had already permitted sterilizing sur- All forms of birth control known before 17 19 thepill(coitus interruptus and me-equivalent to a "pill-established safe chanical and chemical devices) wereperiod, and would seem to carry the judged to be morally evil. But since same moral specifications." Rock pro- the.theologians and the Pope himselfposed a thought-provoking analogy. now allowed the use of anovulants toDuring pregnancy ovulation is natur

treat pathologies and to regulate the allyinhibited by secretions of pro- . menstrual cycle, the act itself of usinggesterone; thereby, nature prevents a

them could not be logically judged asnew pregnancy from endangering the _ intrinsically evil. So if using the pill toexisting fetus._ Why should man --not prevent conception was immoral, theimitate nature by inhibiting ovulation moral specification of the act mustwhen a new pregnancy could en- come, not from the act itself, but fromdanger the existing offspring?45 the !ntention of the user. Most theologiansrejectedRock's However, a deliberate intention ofposition, But in keeping with Rock's avoiding conception was not alwayscontention,someEuropean theo- immoral,for Pius XII had explicitly logiansandbishops defendedthe approved-the rhythm_ method for that_direct _use of anovulants_ to regulate__ _ purpose.---Why_then, was it not lawful births. In -1963 Louis Janssens of Uni- to suppress ovulation without appealversity of Louvain published an article to rhythm? If pregnancy could legiti-whose implications were ominous for mately be avoided by pill plus rhythm, the continuing validity of the tradi- why not by pili alone? Such questionstional prohibition of all so-called arti- did not receive satisfactory answers. ficial contraceptives.46 Janssens drew an analogy between Pope John space and time. Time is an important Obviously influenced by the fear of thefactorinhuman actsjust asim- population explosion and by the reali- portant as is space. For a hunter, time zation that in many societies children is important for his shot. Placing a were no longer an asset but an eco-temporal obstacle to procreation by nomic liability, Catholic thinkers notusing the rhythm method is no less involved directly in the debate overan interference with the natural gener- thesteroidsand 'anovulantswere ative process than placing a spatial asking whether the Church's teachingobstacle by using the anovulant pill.- on contraception might not be If the rhythm method is legitimate, why changed to adjust to the conditions ofisn'tthepilllegitimate?Janssens modern life. Some argued that a newerspoke directly of the pill. However, it understanding of man and his controlwas not a long logiCal step to apply.his over his biological nature required acategory of "spatial obstacle" to other revision of the Church's interpretationmethods of birth control although he of the natural law and itsrpquire-did not defend artificial interference ments. While refraining from interfer-with the act of intercourse itself. ing in the debate and reaffirming the Janssens gave logica'; shape to an traditional prohibition, Pope John inobjection being made in ever widen- 1962 appointed a small committee of ingcircles. -What is the difference theologians to consider the problembetween the rhythm and other meth- in the context of tamily life. odsofbirthcontrol?"Sincethe In 1963 John Rock, an Americanrhythm is a nuisance at best and in- Catholic physician who had been one effective at worst, the question was of the leading developers of the pill,extremely real for conscientious published a book in which he contend- Catholics.Buttoaccept Janssens' ed that the use of anovulants wasargument had grave implications from the Church's point of view, forhis Church's moral teaching. German and analysis implied that many forms ofFrench theologians sought new ways birth control could not logically beto accommodate the Church's tradi- forbidden and that the age-old prohi-tional attitudes and teachings to the bition was an error. Could the fear ofnew philosophies and lifestyles.In torecognize the needfor 1954 Bernard Haring provided a con- having in changeinso ancient a traditionalcrete model of the new approach, moral teaching allow a genuinely ob-The Law of Christ. Then, with the dis- jective criticism of Janssens' analysis?covery of the anovulant pills in1957 In June 1964, Pope Paul VI an-despite the immediate attempt by Pius nounced that the Church was studyingXII to solve the ensuing moral dilemrna the subject. He sconfessed in a journal-by referring to the action of these isticinterviewthat, faced with thedrugs as sterilantsa great debate complexities of the problem, he did broke out among theologians that con- not know the answer himself. In sev-tinued down to 1968 and was faithfully eral announcements the Pope asked chronicled by A. Valsecehi. that the status quo be preserved, but Meanwhile, Vatican Council II in its The refrained from any direct condem- Pastoral Constitution on the Church in nation of the pill. the Modern World had changed the A twofold commission was estab-nature of the argument by Introducing lished. First, under the chairmanshipa new frame of reference lnthe older of Cardinal Alfredo Ottaviani of thetheories, since sexual pleasure was Church's DoctrinalCongregation, aevil, suspect, or secondary to the pro- grou-p= of- cardinals and bishops wascreation and education of children, constituted. Then the papal commis-where was its place in the sacramen- sion on fertility and the family wastalityof marriage? At best, sexual established, consisting eventually ofpleasure was a reward for there- some 64 expertstheologian%doc- sponsibility of bearing children. The tors of medicine, demographers, modern theory resolves this anomaly. ciologists, and family counsellors. Since matrimony is a sacrament, as T eagpfeported to the cardinals andmuch as the Eucharist, it is likewise a bishops. means to holiness or growth insancti- Meanwhile, on his own the Popefying grace.In other words, matri- consulted experts on every aspectof mony, including Its distinctive actof the problem from family planning tounion, at once reveals God's love for biologicalexperimentationinevery his people and effects a union of love part of the world,including Sovietbetween them (God and his people). Russia. At the same time, in theory Intercourse is sacramental because Its and in practice, there was a growing exercise,includingitsmysterious acceptance ofthepillinCatholic pleasure, is a revelation to the spous- love God circles.Increasinglyitwas thoughtes of the kind of self-giving that the question was open on the pill,has for them and the kind ofself- and that opening grew larger andgiving love He wants from them in larger until Pope Paul tried to closeitreturn. The physical union completes in his Encyclical in 1968.47 the moral union between the spouses just as the physical union with Christ in the Eucharist completes the moral A Reorientation o union between Christ and the com- Moral Thinking municant. In the period following World WarII, John Noonan describes the work of a call was sounded toreorientate thethe theologians who contributed to the 19 developing theology of marriage be-ning through all the Council's_ docu- tween 1850 and Vatican Council 11.46 merits were the themes of collegiality, The major features were abandoningecumenism, and the Church as Pil- the early theories, which insisted ongrim. The spirit engendered by such the procreative purpose,distrust ofemphases contributed to an atmos- sexual pleasure, and indifference tophere in which the teaching on birth love.Love became centraltothe control could be confidently recon- theology of marriage and intercourse, sidered. he most immediately rele- and married sex without love came tovant documents were the Constitution be considered sinful. The marital acton the Church, the Decree on the Lay not only had the function of generating Apostolate, and especially -the Con- children,it was considered the ex-stitution on the Church in the Modern pression and fulfillmentof wedded World. love and community of life. Further- What the Council actually taught _ more it was recognized that there were about birth control is a matter of some sometimes valid reasons for limitingdispute, but the teaching on marriage the number of children. is clear, embracing the developments Nonetheless, although the modern recorded in this Bulletin. The most ex- Popes came to recognize the person-plicit passages appear in the Consti-_ alistic values in marriage, these valuestution on the Church in the Modern were considered secondary to pro-World, Gaudium et apes, which in ItS creation, which remained the primary teaching on marriage ended the domi- purpose. Only with Vatican II did thenation of the primary and secondary Church abandon the terminology of nds. The conciliar fathers,after a "primary" and "secondary" and ac-spirited debate, described marriage as cept love and related values as being a "community of love," and--carefully on a par with procreation.49 avoiding the terminology of primary_ and secondary endsspoke of the Vatican Council II natural ordering of marriage and con- In a real sense, the whole of Vaticanjugal love to procreation. The Council II was relevant to the birth controlassured parents that they alone had controversy. Pope John XXIII had is- the right to make a judgment on the sued an invitation for more open linesnumber of children they should have. of communicationfirst among Cath- BLit in so doing, it cautioned,60 "They olics themselves and then betweenwillthoughtfullytakeintoaccount CatholicsaridallotherChristians, both their own welfare and that of otherbelieVersinGod,agnostics, their children, those already born and and the world. The Pope theught suchthose which may be foreseen. For this openness was a necessary conditionaccounting they wilt reckon With both for the Church to have an impact on the material and the spiritual condi- the world, and he recognized that thetions of the times as well as of their Churchhad muchtolearn;rom state in life. Finally, they will consult sources outside herself. Pope John'sthe interests of the family group, of goal was a restatement of the Chris-temporal society, and of the Church tian message in a form that would herself." make it most meaningful to contem- This teaching was further nuanced porary man. The doctrine on marriagewith a caution against' "breaking off had been ,evolving in such a direction, the intimacy of married life" when they buttheteachingonbirthcontrol findthemselves incircumstances seemed archaic to many within thewhere at least temporarily the size of Church and to most outside iL Run-theirfamiliesshouldnotbein- 20 2 2 -, creased.Insisting that the moral as-to beget children when they are con- pects of any.procedure to be used invinced by their own circumstances or regulating the transmission of life de-the advisement of public authorities pended on objective standards, thethat the exercise of their reproductive ..T.Councilrefrained from entering therights would be a definite detriment =debate over the problem of methods,to the well-being of local or global .-deferring to the decision of the Holy society.51 Father, whose Commissionforthe -.;Study of Populatien and Family LifeThe Papal Birth Control :had this matter under consideration.Commission -.But the CouncildeclaredthattheIn June 1966 the papal Commission for Moral evaluation of sexuat conductthe Study of Population and Family should be based on the consideration Life submitted its report to the Pope. :-of "man's person and his acts." In InApril 1967 the National Catholic Humanae vitae the Pope chose to ig-Reporter and Le Monde, in a journal- nore this innovation and returned toistic coup, published without authori- .Ahe traditional bases of "marriage andzation, the full texts of the Commis- its acts." This reversal gave weight to sion'sreport.Asfarascanbe : the accusation that the papal decisiondetermined, the experts voted for a ;repudiated the Council teaching andchange in the Church's teaching by a -returned to a biological foundation for -its moral evaluation. majority of some sixty to four, the cardinals and bishops by nine to six.52 In dealing with the population prob-Thus the world knew that a sub- lem as such, the Council acknowl-stantial majority of the double Com- :edged the obligation of governmentmission had recommended liberaliza- officialstodealwithdemographic tion onbirthcontrol,with a solid 'matters, particularly In social legisla-theological justification for doing so, ;lion as it affects families, in migrationand without restricting the contracep- toi the cities, and in information relat-tive methods that could be licitly used. ing-to the conditions and needs fjf theThe report's publication put severe ['nation. Finally, however, whiie assert-pressure on the Pope, but he delayed ing that human beings should beanother year before issuing his En- judiciously informed of scientific ad- cyclical, Humanae vitae.53 ,vances._ in the exploration of methods Whereby spouses can be aided inar- The Encyclical, Humanae mta ianging the number of their children, Although expectations had been grow- the Council stated, "In view oftheing that the Pope might liberalize the inalienable human right to marry and teaching, his July 1968 Encyclical re- beget -children, the question of howstated the traditional condemnation. many ,children should be born belongs Referring to the Commission's report to the honest judgment of parents. The proposing liberalization, the Pope said question can in no way be committed "certaincriteriaofsolutionshad to the decision of government" emerged which departed fromthe _Of great pertinence to the problem moral teaching on marriage proposed of:. fertility control, of course, is thewith constant firmness by the teach- attentionthe Councilpaidtothe ing authority of the Church." 'rnaterial and spiritual conditions of Essentially, the Encyclical was an the times- and to the interests of theauthoritative statement relyirl on tra- family and temporal society." Thisdition and the Pope's doctrinal su- teaching would seem to indicate clear-premacy rather than on erluments ly.thatlparents have an obligation -notfrom the Scriptures or human nJason

21 2 3 in supportingthecontentionthatare legitimate. But, by their very na- "every conjugal act had to be open toture, such coital acts are not direct-.. the transmission of life." Asserting hlsed toward procreation, and thus they rightto interpret naturallaw, Pope do actually sz:parate the unitive mean-: Paul said the morality of the conjugal ing of conjugal intimacy from the pos- act had to be taken from "the naturesible transmission of life. This means , of marriage and itsactions,"ap- that at one point the Encyclical itself parentlycontradicting the Council'sunwittingly accepts a factual separa- teaching that its moral value should betion of the unitive and the creative determinedbyobjectivestandardsaspects of individual coital acts during-, taken "from the nature of the humanthe infertde periods. person and his activities." The second great difficulty peinteeFi In justifying his stand, Pope Paulout by theological opponents of the said that: Encyclicalisthatitmeasures the teaching the prohibition of contra- meaning of the human act by examin-:: ceptives Is founded upon the inseparable ingitsphysiological structure.In a- connection, established by God and un-_, number of places in the document, able to be broken by man on his own biological organisms-and -the-- proc-"-: Initiative, between the unitive and -the . procreative meanings, both of which are esses of nature are accepted as the present in the conjugal act. determinants of moral meaning. They,' For in its Intimate structure, the con- are said to represent God's plan, and; jugal act, vAlle most closely uniting hus- therefore to be morally normative. band and wife, also gives them the ca- pacity for the generation of new life, according to the laws inscribed in the The Reacticiii very being of man and woman. By safe guarding both of these essential aspects The publication of the Encyclical came, the unitive and the procreativethe as a complete surprise to the two men= use of marriage preserves in its fullness who had served as vice presidents oU: the sense of true mutual love and its the Pontifical Commission, Cardinals' ordination to man's exalted calling toJohn Heenan of Westminster (London),! parenthood (#12). and- Julius DeepfnerofMunichr; By asserting that the unity between Heenan had earlier advised the Bishop, the couple and the procreative end ofof Albi in France to make ready`::,a; the conjugal act are by divine designpreface for any future decisions by thk inseparable, the Pope insistedthat Pope that would be a justification for "whoever deliberately renders coitusa change in the traditional teaching' sterile attacks its meaning as an ex-And, when statements were made that: pression of mutual self-giving." the Pope had followed the "rninor4 The trouble with the Pope's analysis report," the British cardinal vehern,=: of the marital act is that it is a repeti-ently denied that any such document tion of assertions made by Plus XI inexisted. The two commissions had Casti conhubii; these had come to be presentedtheirconclusionstotha considered by theologians and evenPope; the dissenters had simply not* by Pius XII as incomplete and im- been represented On their own, at the-. perfect.PopePaul'sargument is insistence of Cardinal Ottaviani, the based on an obsolete concept of biol-four theologians who had adhered:- to ogy that attributes to every act ofthe traditionalist view had prepared coitus a possibility that happens onlystatementsthat werecollated and relatively rarelynamely, the trans-presented to the Pope by OttavioniP mission of life. The Encyclical admitsBut in no sense did this documeni that coital acts during infertile periodsrepresent a minority report. = 22 What is evident in a careful readingserious scholors over the. past few oftheEncyclicalisthatitisa decades; and that insofar as he based runcated document. This fact washis principal argument on the biologi- acknowledged by Fr. Jan Visser, onecal structure of the sexual act, he was ofthe fourtraditionalists who wasnot allying himself with the authentic instrumental in forcing the Pope to re- teaching of Vatican Council II. In de- store the paragraph on the therapeutic fining the final criterion for the moral useofsteroidsandprogesterone evaluation of human sexual activitY, chemicals against the advice of thethe Council said that its morality had diehard advisors who wanted to elimi-to be determined from "the nature .of nate allpossibility of a loophole -inthe human person and his activities." thecondemnationofcontraceptiveThe Pope, instead, had returned to practices. preconciliar teachinginstating that Actually, what the document amounts the criterion stemmed from "the ha- to is an assertion by the Pope that, asture of marriage and its actions," thus the supreme interpreter of natural laW, reintroducing the biological structure the hisfiefin expressing the Church'sas the basis on which to consider moral viewpoint is final. moral value. While the physiological- This argument is particularly inap- function of the sex act was important, propriate when applied to the sex act. itssignificancehadbeensharply Itis not always "open to the trans- lowered when the Council refused to -mission of life" as the Pope asserted. define procreation as the primary end Biologically, his statement could notor purpose of marriage. Besides,the be sustained; hence the moral evalu-physical components of any actsuch -± ation had to be taken from the per-as theft or lyingare not evil inthem- sonal involvement of the couple in-selves. ,The malice arises from the dulging in the coital act. misuse made of these material acts by IntheCommission'searlierde- theiruser. This argument was par- bates, theologians-had confessed thatticularly appropriate when applied to no argument from reason wasdefi- the sex act since it was not always nitive in outlawing contraceptive prac- "open to the transmission of life" as his tice, As there was no inbontrovertiblethe Pope asserted.Biologically, Scriptural prohibition either, the Pope statementcouldnot be sustained; had toresorttoassertions whosehence, the moral evaluation had to be validity was quickly challenged.55 taken from the personal involvement.57 In his insistence that the unitive and the -procreative aspects of coniugal American and Other intercourse could not be separated Theologians without gravefault,thepontiff ex- A group of American theologians atposed himself to a contradiction. For thatconjugal theCatholicUniversityof America hereadilyadmitted prepared a statement within 48 hours coitus was legitimate duringsterile challenging the papal arguments.It periods, thus upholding the legitimacy received the signature of over 600of the rhythm method of birth control. Catholic-scholars. Despite the speedHe also recognized the manysitua- with which this document had been tions when coitus was legitimatebut achieved, it did touch upon the mainthere was- no possibility of impregna- weak points in the POpe's teaching." tion because of age or natural defects. The American theologians pointed What the Pope was actually trying out, to begin with, that his conceptofto achieve was a-marital ethic regard- natural law had been challenged bying sex that would offset the break-- down in contemporary moral valuesopposition to the mind of the Holy represented by free love, the porno- Father. graphicrevolt,and thehedonistic The diversityof reactions tothe revolution that predominated inthe Encyclical by lay and clerical theolo- contemporary world. Far from makinggians and activist laity, particularly in any impression on this situation, the the United States, helped to soften the Encyclical seemed to elicit a determi- adverse reaction of the other Christian nation on the part of the Church's churches and secular_organizations. critics to downgrade Catholic moral Many groups were frankly shocked by teaching in all spheres, and particu-the papaI decision, particularly since larly that of sex.58 it.had not reflected the conclusionsiof Within the Church, the Encyclical the Papal Commission for the Study of caused grave problems of consciencePopulation and Family Life in favor of for millions of Catholics who had beenchange in the traditional_ teaching. But convinced that the Pope would liberal-the bishops of England, Ireland, :Aus- ize the ChurCh's prohjbition on con-tralia, the Iron Curtain countries, and traception. of most of the developing regions The furor that greeted the appear-supported the Encyclical almost with- ance of the Encyclical within and out-out question. Overall; the document' side the Church is well known. Whattended to confuse -the issue of cam: is also evident is that national confer- mitmenttoreeponsibleparenthood ences of bishops in various parts ofenunciated by Vatican Council ILIt the world felt obliged to offer clarifica-alsocausedconsiderableanguish tions of the Encyclical's moral teach-awing Catholie cotiples who Kid ing regarding contraceptive usages.made up their minds, in keeping with Inshort order,the episcopatesof the conciliar plirective on the right of Canada, The Netherlands, West Ger-parents to decide the number of their- many, Austria, Scandinavia, and Bel-children, that contraceptive practices gium went.on record as accepting thewere licit But the document had little papal teaching but modifying its appli- effectona widespread movement cation in favor of the right of the indi-among married. Catholics whofelt vidual to make up his or her con-themselves obliged to resort to arti- science.Inparticular,theFrench ficial birth control practices.59 bishops declared that whereas every Only a few bishops took drastic contraceptive act was always a dis- action against priests and theologians order,itneed not always be con- who _publicly dissented from the papal sidered a sin. And the Italian bishops,teaching. One- ikas Cardinal Patrick while supporting the papal position asO'Boyle of Washington, D.C whose = an ideal, indicated that people could intransigent stand eventually forced not be compelled to live up to ideals; SOme 25 priests out of the ministry. It = whilestrugglingtoconform,they was ironic that his neighbor, Cardinal should not consider themselves guiltyLawrence Shehan of Baltirriore, faced of sin if they did not always succeed.with a similar rejection of ihe En- The bishops in the United States were cyclical by a number of his'priests,_did-- less clear. They repeated -the papalnot press them for a retraction. Nor

teaching verbatim but then indicated did the Pope exercise punitive mem-- _ that in the final analysis people had to ures against priests and bishops who follow their consciences. But an epis-took a public stand against the papal; copal spokesman interjected his condemnationofbirthcontrol.For opinionthatgood Catholicscould example; taken by total surprise, the hardly make up their consciences inArchbishop of Durban, South Africa,- 24 Dennis Hurley, told a group of report-designating its teaching as infallible; ers that the papal decision wasdefec- his spokesman,thepresentArch- tiveinthatit was the doing of anbishop Ferdinand Lambruschini, said individual bishop, even though he wasexplicitly that it was not irreformable. the Pope, whereas the solution to the Nevertheless, zealots in the Church problem should have come as the re-concerned with papal authority have sult of free and open debate between attemptedtocategorizethedocu- the bishops as had happened at thement's teaching as incontrovertible. Council. Only thus was the truth of theBut tradition, bolstered by the explicit matter to be reached; for only thusteaching of Vatican Council II, allows was there a guarantee that theHoly for freedom of conscience and aca- Spirit would be involved in the solu-demic dissent in such matters. Actu- tion of the matter.60 ally, the Pope himself has informally told several theologians that he has no Theological Evaluation intention of interfering with their free- refrain Actually at the Council the Pope had dom to dissent as long as they closed off debate on what he deemedfrom public outcries. a most delicate subject; nowit was no ' The papal decision and the Pope's longer possible to hold off discussion stubborn insistence on the rightness of this matter of contraceptive meansof his stand has greatly reducedthe at all levels of the Church's conscious- Catholic Church's abilityto take a ness. While the Council did changeleading roleinsolving the current the Church's teaching on the sub-population problems confronting the stantive question of the purpose ofworld. What the Pope has insisted marriage, and this legitimized the de-upon is an essential valuethat has liberate spacing of the number of chil-been largely lost sight of in the sexual dren a couple desired, the Counciland libertarian revolutions of the Cur- was prevented from settling theperi- rent age. There is a sacredquality to pheral problem of the morality of theSex and marital fidelity that is being means to be used. The resultingshockjettisoned by modern society tothe to the Church's system was thus thedetriment of human dignify andthe consequence of a deliberate decision destructionofmanycivilizational values. Unfortunately, the_Pope'swit- by the Pope. obscured Asitstandsnow,theChurch ness to this fact has been officially teaches thatartificalbirthby the bluntness of his refusal to con- front the problems of overpopulation prevention is sinful. This teaching haseither on a family or a worldscale. been contested by a sufficient number that of bishops and responsible theolog-While he insists upon the evils ians and parents to give rise to ahe attaches to what he calls a con- doubt as to the final value of thetraceptivementality(bywhichhe means irresponsibilityin sexual be- Pope's decision.In the past, Popes the have made erroneous judgmentsin havior, a hedonistic culture, and offundamental family importantmattersaswhen they breakdown authorized the burning of witches orvalues), he seems unmindful of the evils that the Council pointed to as claimed that since the spiritual au-readily occasioned by the attempt to' thority was obviously superior to the married temporal, the Pope possessed the twopractice sexual continence-in powers and could depose a civilruler life.62 civilize- for grave injustice.61 He seems unaware of .the theEncyclical, tional breakdown occasioned by too In promulgating with Pope Paul purposefully refrained from many people in too little space 25 27 too few human resources as outlined trol exercised by the elite, structures by the population expert,Professor guiding the allocation of income and Philip Hauser. resources,politicalcorruption, work ethic, religious and cultural values, na- tional aspirations, and the ability of a Demographic Evaluation government to mobilize collective ac- In approaching the demographic crisis, tion.Inrelation to these and other Philip Hauser speaks in terms of a pertinentfactors,he maintains that "socialmorphologicalrevolution."63 population growth must be evaluated The phrase includes: the concentration in keeping with the weight it deserves. of people on relatively small portions By way of illustration, he cites the ex- of the earth's surface, or urbanization;amples of success in family planning the intergroup conflicts due to the achieved by Taiwan, Korea, Singapore, diversity of culture, language, religion, and Hong Kong. But he maintains that values, and life styles of people who these areas had achieved significant livein too close contact, mainly in decreases in fertility long before large- urban areas; and finally, the techno-scale family planning programs were logical advances in the use of energy, introduced. means of transportation, and communi- There is a striking parallel between cation. Hauser employs the terms "im-these prescriptions and theofficial plosion-for therapidurbanization attitudes of the churches, particularly process, "displosion" for the conflict inthe Pastoral Constitution on the of aspirations between the disparateChurch in the Modern World, Pope groups, and "technoplosion" for theJohn's and Pope Paul's social en- rapid introduction of advanced serv-cyclicals, and the policy statements of ices. He concludes his analysis of thethe World Council of Churches. Pope populationsituation by statingthat Paul's solution is contained in the idea implosion and displosion will probablyof development.Itincludes the re- create more human misery before the orientation of all factors affecting hu- end of the century than will population man lifesocial, economic, political, increase. But he acknowledges thatmedical, cultural, and religious, This the demographic explosion presents aapproach does envision the need for grave danger to the food, energy, andfertility control, but it takes exception resources potential and threatens en-flto what it considers illicit means, such degradation while present-as artificialcontraceptives, abortion, ing severe obstacles to the aspirationsandsterilization.The Protestant of the developing peoples and their churches, as represented by the World nations.64 Council of Churches, agree with the In a spirited attack on the prophetsholistic approach but accept artificial of drastic solutions, Hauser criticizescontraceptives as a reasonable solu- the advocates of "population criteria"tionat the family level. Some non- as concentrating too narrowly on high- Roman churches, with the exception fertility growth rates and economic de- of the Orthodox, concede that abor- velopment, leaving out of considera-tion could be a legitimate resolution in tion human andpoliticalfacts. He special cases. chides the Paddocks. Ehrlich, Hardin, The policy of development is cort and the Meadows et al. of Limits tosidered outmoded by recent theolo- Growth for failing to consider the many gians and activists, particularly in Latin factors beyond population that limit aAmerica, who promote an ideology of nation's growth potential. He cites atotal liberation. Proceeding from a per- pre-Newtonian outlook, the power con-ception of society locked into a pattern 26 2 8 of domination and dependence, this limiting access to life, so the problem theology attempts to liberate man from of the environment cannot be coped social and economic servitude. The within terms of technology alone. evilitopposes resides lessin the"Technological measures," he assert- malice of individual men than in unjusted,"will be ineffective unless accompa- political structures and systems, mo-nied by a radical change of mentality." nopolistic capital economies, and in-Calling for a discovery in time of the ternational trade. Establishment vio-way to master material growth,Paul lence must be resisted by revolution- said that both public and private agen- ary violence. In this perspective,devel- cies must regulate the environment for opmentalism without radical change in the well-being of mankind. the structure of political and financial The significance of this papal aware- powerisrejected as self-defeating ness seems obvious. While recognizing gradualism. Foreign aid and invest-the obligation of people to use the ment without radical change inthe earth's goods moderately, the Pope organization of government power and indicated the right of governments to economic potential will only increaseintervene in preventing further abuse the domination of the rich nations and of the earth's riches. But this can only classes over the poor. As an ideology,be accomplished by limitingman's this approach is greatly influenced byrights to an overuse or exploitation of the Marxists; but itis fundamentallymaterial things. The obligation of the Christianinorigin andinspiration. state to interfere directly in curbing Characteristic of the New Left in Latin what has been considered a natural America, it has been acknowledged by right in the use of property introduces papal social thinking with caution.66the question whether this principle can Nevertheless, the Pope has contrib-be extended to the problem of fertility uted positively to the debate over eco-control when it becomes evident that logical and environmental problemshigh population intensity is proving a connected with population. In his mes- direct danger to the environment. The reaction,based sage to the participants of theUN Con- immediate negative ference on the Environment (June 5, upon the assertion that "theenviron- 1972), Pope Paul VI acknowledged the ment is for man, not rnan for the en- fact- that "man and his environmentvironment," must be modified by the Pope'sacknowledgment that"man shape thelife and development of devel- man." On this premise, the Pope called and his environment shape the opment of man." This fact couldlead for a respect for the laws that govern liberties nature's dynamism and its capacity for to an interference with human in procreation in favor of the common regeneration. He condemned the use of of atomic, chemical, and bacteriologi- good of a state or the community cal weapons outright and signaledthe nations.66 dangers in the upheavals in thebio- sphere caused by the undisciplined exploitation of the planet's physicalconclusion resources, including thepollution of Intheargumentthatdeveloped soil, air, and water and the wasteof within the Church following the En- unrenewable raw materials. He recog-cyclical, a polarization of conservative nized the danger ofself-destruction and liberal viewpoints quickly became attendant upon further exploitationof apparent. Advocates of strict adher- natural resources. ence to the papal teachingcited the The Pope said that just as the popu-Council's doctrine on the obedience lation problem is not to be solvedby due to the Pope's decision as the 27 2 9 supreme teacher and headofthe toward solving the possibly negative Church'sMagisterium,or Teachingeffect of the Encyclical on ecuminism. Authority. They controverted the ob- In the Church's concern for the sur- jections raised against the papal argu-vival of the human species,ittook mentsparticularly those thatchal- grave measures in the past to promote lenged the Pope's right to interpretpronatal policies. Now that natality has the natural law, his rejection of the reached a danger point, it would seem recommendation of the pontifical com- that the Church is called upon to pre- mission, and his contention that bysent the world with an equally sensi- separating procreational and coital ac- tive attitude. Pope Paul has been ac- tivity the way was being opened to acused of flying in the face of human breakdown in sexual morality on alldestiny by denying the legitimacy of sides. Some population experts chal-contraceptives. What he has actually lenged the effectiveness of birth con-achieved is the awakening of Catholics trol in confronting the world's demo-to the fact that they must take personal graphic problems; and arguments were and immediate responsibility for their even advanced to prove that the gravejudgments and acts in sexual and other concern over food and human re-moral matters by following their own sources for the forseeable future werewell-formed consciences rather than alarmist.67 almost blindly doing what they are told The opponents ofthe Encyclical by their pastors and bishops. Among granted that the traditional teachingnon-Catholics and others involved in in the Church condemned birth con-solving the world's population prob- trol. But they maintained that with thelems, the papal cautions have helped jettisoning of so much of earlier theo-achieve a renewed determination to ries regarding the nature of the sexreorient the population debate within actitself and of marriage and thethe parameters of actuality as it ex- revolutionary teaching of the Councilpresses itself in the diverse cultures in regard to marital love and parentaland beliefs of contemporary mankind. responsibility for the spacing of theirWith the United Nations, the Catholic children,thePope'sdecision wasChurch repudiates any notion of physi- questionable to say the least. They feltcal force or moral coercion in compel- ling people to cut back on the number he had not done justice to any ofof children they desire. these considerations, which were the official doctrine of the Church defined The polarization of views within the by the Pope himself and the bishops Church between those who demand an at Vatican Council II. absolute adherence to the papal teach- ingand those who challengethe Thus a principal phase of the argu-Pope's solution has added to the con- ment was concerned with the nature fusion already troubling the vast body and binding force of papal authority of Catholics caught in the debates and in such matters. And, here again, the tensions following Vatican Council II. clash has resulted in a considerableIt was obvious that a small group of development intheological thinking. intransigent papal advisors had been Although Pope Paul has obviously no attempting to undo the work of the intention of backing down on the prin- Council by insisting that papal suprem- cipal contention of his Encyclical, heacy should predominate over the de- has admitted a pluralism in theological cisions of the Pope and the bishops opinions that goes a long way toward solemnly gathered under the guidance accommodating both sides within theof the Spirit. That the Pope seemed to Church and presents a healthy leadcede before the pressures of this de- 28 3 ) termined oroup came as a consider- mankind. On the strictly Catholic level, able shock to many thinkers withinit emancipated millions of educated the Church. Instead of strengtheningfaithful from a too subservient reliance papal power, the Encyclicalby elicit-on clerics and counselors in making ing deep and widespread oppositionup their consciences. This liberation to Roman teachingactually calledhas enabled them to give authentic into question both the nature of papalwitness to their convictions in helping predominance in the church and theto form the "mind of the church," thus claims to papal infallibility defined atmaking much more actual the Coun- Vatican Council I and II. In a sense this cil's teaching that "the-people of God" has proven to be a healthy develop-and not the Pope and hierarchy as ment. It is actually in line with Popesuch constitute the Church. This, in Paul's own desire to internationalizeturn, gives a new thrust to the nature the Church's leadership at the top andof the Church's Magisterium or Teach- decentralizeitsoverallcontrol. Oning Authority, which is no longer to the one issue of contraception, how-be considered uniquely the function ever, the Pope has proven recalcitrant, of the hierarchy. forcing the Church's thinkers and the- With thefullweight of thelaity ologians to face the issue and workfinally being introduced into the think- out a more realistic Catholic attitudeing and witness to Catholic doctrine, toward population policies and birththe contribution of the Roman Catho- control. lic Church to the settlement of such At the same time, by forcing Catho- pressing world problems as that of lics and the world to examine anewpopulation control will become more and in depth many of the aspects of substantive. For an institution that still the population problem and the solu-affects the intimate thinking of be- tions posed by various experts, na-tween one-sixth and one-seventh of tions, and ideologies, the Encyclicalthe world's population, this is no mean may prove to have been a benefit to consideration. Re erences 1. William Paddock and Paul Paddock, Famine-19751 (Boston, 1967); Paul Ehrlich, The Population Bomb (New York, 1968); Garrett Hardin, "The Tragedy of the Commons," Science, Dec. 13, 1968, pp. 1243-48; and "No- body Ever Dies of Overpopulation," Science, Feb. 12 1971, p. 527. Z D. H. Meadows et al., The Limits to Growth (New York, 1972) pp. 46-54. 3. Lester R. brown, "The Green Revolution," Population and Affluence: Grow- ing Pressures on World Food Resources (Washington, D.C.: Overseas De- velopment Council, 1973) pp. 17-22. 4. F. X. Murphy, "The Pope and Our Common Future," in Worriview 18 (1975) pp. 26-27. 5. John T. Noonan, Jr., Contraception: A History of its Treatment by the Catholic Theologians and Canonists (New York: New American LibrarY, 1967). 6. R. Freedman, "Statement by the Moderator," Proceedings of the World Population Conference 1(Summary Report: United Nations Pmblication, 1965); A. Sauvy, De Malthus a Mao Tse-Toung (Paris, 1958); B. Berelson, S. F. Behrman, L. Corsa, and R. Freedman, eds., Fertility and Family Plan- ning: A World View (Ann Arbor, 1969). 29 3 1 7. Noonan, Contraception: A History, pp. 23-175. 8.F. X. Murphy, "The New Population Debate," in Theological Studies 35 (1974) pp. 20-47. 9. Joseph Gremillion, The Other Dialogue (New York, 1965) pp. 199-206. 10. Pope Paul V:, Encyclical Populorum progressio (1967) and Exhortatory Letter Octogesima adveniente (1971). 11. Murphy, New Population Debate, pp. 39, 89. 12. New York Times, November 17, 1974, Sect. 4, p. E-18. 13. Murphy, The Pope, o. 27. 14. John T. Noonan, "Contraception," in New Catholic Encyclopedia 4 (1967) pp. 271-72. 15. C. M. Grant, Gnosticism (New York, 1961); F. Sagnard, La Gnose valen- tinienne et le temoignage de saint Irenée (Paris, 1947). 16. M. Spannuet, "Clement of Alexandria" in New Catholic Encyclopedia 3 (1967) pp. 943-44. 17. H. I. Marrou, St. Augustine and His Influence (New York, 1958). 18. C. de Plinval, Pelage (Lausanne, 1943); J. Fergerson, Pelagius (Cambridge, England, 1956). 19. Acta Apostolicae Sedis 43 (Rome, 1951) p. 842; Acta Apostolicae Sedis 50 (Rome, 1958) pp. 734-35. 20. Noonan, Contraception (Encyclopedia) 4 (1967) pp. 271-72. 21. Ibid. 22 N. E. Himes, A Medical History of Contraception (2d ed., New York, 1963); A. Sauvy, De Malthus a Mao Tse-Toung (Paris, 1958). =-3 Noonan, Contraception: A History, pp. 461-92. 24. M. J. Huth, "Birth Control Movement,- in New Catholic Encyclopedia 2 (1967) p. 576. 25. Ibid., p. 577. 26, Noonan, Contraception: A History, pp. 513-16. 27, Margaret Sanger, An Autobiography (New York, Norton, 1938); David M. Kennedy, Birth Control in America: The, Career of _Margaret Sanger_ (New= Haven, Yale University Press, 1970). 28. .Huth, Birth Control pp. 579-80. 29. Murphy, New Population Debate, pp. 23-28. 30. United Nations Standards Concerning the Relationship between Human Rights and Various Population Questions (United Nations, E/CONF.60/ SYM.IV/3, August 1973) pp. 3-5. 31, Gaudium et spes 50 (Rome, 1966). 32. Murphy, New Population Debate, pp. 25-28. 33. W. R. Callahan, P. J. Henriot, and W. F. Ryan, eds., The Quest For Justice (Washington, D.C.: Center of Concern, June 25, 1972) p. 5. 34. R. Freedman, P. K. Whelpton, and A. A. Campbell, Family Planning, Sterility and Population Growth (New York, 1959). 35, Thomas K. Burch, "Catholic Parish Priests and Birth Control: A Compara- tive Study," Studies in Family Planning 2 (June 1971) pp. 121-36; James P. Grant and William Rich, "Development, Social Justice, and Smaller Fami- lies," in How Many People? (New York: Foreign Policy Association, 1974) pp. 27-28. 32 36. Charles F. Westoff, ed., Toward the End of Growth: Population in America (Englewood Cliffs, N.J., 1973) pp. 168-70. 37. E. Jones and C. Westoff, "Attitudes toward Abortion in the U.S. in .1970 and the Trend since 1965," in R. Parke and C. Westoff, Aspects of Population Growth (Washington, D.C., Government Printing Office, 1973) pp. 569-78. 38. G. Baum, "Abortion" in Commonweal 99 (1973) pp. 231-35. 39. Murphy, New Population Debate, pp. 28-29. 40. lbid, pp. 29-30. 41. J. Marshall, Catholics, Marriage and Contraception (Baltimore, 1965). 42. Murphy, New Population Debate, pp. 35-36. 43. Noonan, Contraception: A History, pp. 521-32. 44. N. Halligan, "The Church as Teacher; Prologue to Humanae vitae,"in Thomist 33 (1969) pp. 675-717. 45. John Rock, The Time Has Come (New York: Avon Books, 1964). 46. Louis Janssens, "Morale conjugale et progesterones,"in Ephe erides Theologicae Lovanienses (Oct.-Dec. 1963) pp. 787-826. 47. A. Valsecchi, Controversy: The Birth Control Debate (Washington, D.C., 1968). 48. Noonan, Contraception: A History, pp. 23-175. 49. Murphy, New Population Debate, pp. 36-38. 50. Gaudium et spes 50 (Rome, 1966). 51. Ibid. 52. Robert G. Hoyt, The Birth Control Debate (Kansas City, National Catholic Reporter Press, 1968). 53. Ibid., pp. 113-40, full text of the Encyclical. 54. R. A. McCormick, "Notes on Moral Theology- in Theological Studies 29 (1968) pp. 726-29. 55. Hoyt, The Birth Control Debate, pp. 17-23. 56. "200 Catholic Theologians," in National Catholic Reporter, August 7, 1968. 57. Richard A. McCormick, "Notes on Moral Theology,- in Theological Studies 29 (1968) pp. 729-30. 58. Ibid., pp. 726-28. 59. Murphy, New Population Debate, pp. 30-31. 60. Murphy, The Pope, p. 27. 61. J. J. Farraher, "Contraception," in New Catholic Encyclopedia 16 974) pp. 103-104. 62. Ibid. 63. Philip M. Hauser, Rapid Population Growth: Consequence and Policy Im- plications (Baltimore, 1971); "The Chaotic Society: Product of the Social Morphological Revolution,"in American Sociological Review, February 1969, pp. 1-19. 64, Murphy, New Population Debate, pp 39-40. 65. Ibid., pp. 41-42. 66. !bid, pp. 38-39. 67. Colin Clark, "Population,"inL'Osservatore Ro ano (English Version), January 10, 1974, p. 6. 3 3 Population Reference Bureau, Inc. The Bureau gathers, interprets, and publishes information about population trends arid their economic, enVironmental, and social effects. Founded in 1929, it Is a private, nonprofit educational organization that is supported by founda- tion grants, individual and corporate contributions, memberships, end sub- scription& It consults with other groups in the United States and abroad and provides library and information services. 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