ON THE REGULATION OF BIRTH
Humanae
Vitae
ENCYCLICAL
LETTER OF HIS HOLINESS POPE PAUL Vl
To the Venerable Patriarchs,
Archbishops, Bishops and other local Ordinaries in Peace and Communion with the
Apostolic See, to Priests, the Faithful and all Men of Good Will
Venerable Brothers and Beloved Sons:
1. The most serious duty of
transmitting human life, for which married persons are the free and responsible
collaborators of God the Creator, has always been a source of great joys to
them, even if sometimes accompanied by not a few difficulties and by distress.
At all times the fulfillment of this
duty has posed grave problems to the conscience of married persons, but, with
the recent evolution of society, changes have taken place that give rise to new
questions which the Church could not ignore, having to do with a matter which
so closely touches upon the life and happiness of men.
2. The changes which have taken
place are in fact noteworthy and of varied kinds. In the first place, there is
the rapid demographic development. Fear is shown by many that world population
is growing more rapidly than the available resources, with growing distress to
many families and developing countries, so that the temptation for authorities
to counter this danger with radical measures is great. Moreover, working and
lodging conditions, as well as increased exigencies both in the economic field
and in that of education, often make the proper education of a larger number of
children difficult today. A change is also seen both in the manner of
considering the person of woman and her place in society, and in the value to
be attributed to conjugal love in marriage, and also in the appreciation to be
made of the meaning of conjugal acts in relation to that love.
Finally and above all, man has made
stupendous progress in the domination and rational organization of the forces
of nature, such that he tends to extend this domination to his own total being:
to the body, to psychical life, to social life and even to the laws which
regulate the transmission of life.
3. This new state of things gives
rise to new questions. Granted the conditions of life today, and granted the
meaning which conjugal relations have with respect to the harmony between
husband and wife and to their mutual fidelity, would not a revision of the
ethical norms, in force up to now, seem to be advisable, especially when it is
considered that they cannot be observed without sacrifices, sometimes heroic
sacrifices?
And again: by extending to this
field the application of the so-called "principle of totality," could
it not be admitted that the intention of a less abundant but more rationalized
fecundity might transform a materially sterilizing intervention into a licit
and wise control of birth? Could it not be admitted, that is, that the finality
of procreation pertains to the ensemble of conjugal life, rather than to its
single acts? It is also asked whether, in view of the increased sense of
responsibility of modern man, the moment has not come for him to entrust to his
reason and his will, rather than to the biological rhythms of his organism, the
task of regulating birth.
4. Such questions required from the
teaching authority of the Church a new and deeper reflection upon the
principles of the moral teaching on marriage: a teaching founded on the natural
law, illuminated and enriched by divine revelation.
No believer will wish to deny that
the teaching authority of the Church is competent to interpret even the natural
moral law. It is, in fact, indisputable, as our predecessors have many times
declared,1 that Jesus Christ, when communicating to Peter and to the
Apostles His divine authority and sending them to teach all nations His
commandments,2 constituted them as guardians and authentic
interpreters of all the moral law, not only, that is, of the law of the Gospel,
but also of the natural law, which is also an expression of the will of God,
the faithful fulfillment of which is equally necessary for salvation.3
Conformably to this mission of hers,
the Church has always provided -- and even more amply in recent times -- a
coherent teaching concerning both the nature of marriage and the correct use of
conjugal rights and the duties of husband and wife.4
5. The consciousness of that same
mission induced us to confirm and enlarge the study commission which our
predecessor Pope John XXIII of happy memory had instituted in March, 1963. That
commission which included, besides several experts in the various pertinent
disciplines also married couples, had as its scope the gathering of opinions on
the new questions regarding conjugal life, and in particular on the regulation
of births, and of furnishing opportune elements of information so that the
magisterium could give an adequate reply to the expectation not only of the
faithful, but also of world opinion.5
The work of these experts, as well
as the successive judgments and counsels spontaneously forwarded by or
expressly requested from a good number of our brothers in the episcopate, have
permitted us to measure more exactly all the aspects of this complex matter.
Hence with all our heart we express to each of them our lively gratitude.
6. The conclusions at which the
commission arrived could not, nevertheless, be considered by us as definitive,
nor dispense us from a personal examination of this serious question; and this
also because, within the commission itself, no full concordance of judgments
concerning the moral norms to be proposed had been reached, and above all
because certain criteria of solutions had emerged which departed from the moral
teaching on marriage proposed with constant firmness by the teaching authority
of the Church.
Therefore, having attentively sifted
the documentation laid before us, after mature reflection and assiduous
prayers, we now intend, by virtue of the mandate entrusted to us by Christ, to
give our reply to these grave questions.
7. The problem of birth, like every
other problem regarding human life, is to be considered, beyond partial
perspectives -- whether of the biological or psychological, demographic or
sociological orders -- in the light of an integral vision of man and of his
vocation, not only his natural and earthly, but also his supernatural and
eternal vocation. And since, in the attempt to justify artificial methods of
birth control, many have appealed to the demands both of conjugal love and of
"responsible parenthood," it is good to state very precisely the true
concept of these two great realities of married life, referring principally to
what was recently set forth in this regard, and in a highly authoritative form,
by the Second Vatican Council in its pastoral constitution "Gaudium et
Spes."
8. Conjugal love reveals its true
nature and nobility when it is considered in its supreme origin, God, who is
love,6 "the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on
earth is named."7
Marriage is not, then, the effect of
chance or the product of evolution of unconscious natural forces; it is the
wise institution of the Creator to realize in mankind His design of love. By
means of the reciprocal personal gift of self, proper and exclusive to them,
husband and wife tend towards the communion of their beings in view of mutual
personal perfection, to collaborate with God in the generation and education of
new lives.
For baptized persons, moreover,
marriage invests the dignity of a sacramental sign of grace, inasmuch as it
represents the union of Christ and of the Church.
9. Under this light, there clearly
appear the characteristic marks and demands of conjugal love, and it is of
supreme importance to have an exact idea of these.
This love is first of all fully
human, that is to say, of the senses and of the spirit at the same time. It is
not, then, a simple transport of instinct and sentiment, but also, and
principally, an act of the free will, intended to endure and to grow by means
of the joys and sorrows of daily life, in such a way that husband and wife
become one only heart and one only soul, and together attain their human
perfection.
Then, this love is total, that is to
say, it is a very special form of personal friendship, in which husband and
wife generously share everything, without undue reservations or selfish
calculations. Whoever truly loves his marriage partner loves not only for what
he receives, but for the partner's self, rejoicing that he can enrich his
partner with the gift of himself.
Again, this love is faithful and
exclusive until death. Thus in fact do bride and groom conceive it to be on the
day when they freely and in full awareness assume the duty of the marriage
bond. A fidelity, this, which can sometimes be difficult, but is always
possible, always noble and meritorious, as no one can deny. The example of so
many married persons down through the centuries shows, not only that fidelity
is according to the nature of marriage, but also that it is a source of
profound and lasting happiness.
And finally this love is fecund for
it is not exhausted by the communion between husband and wife, but is destined
to continue, raising up new lives. "Marriage and conjugal love are by
their nature ordained toward the begetting and educating of children. Children
are really the supreme gift of marriage and contribute very substantially to
the welfare of their parents."8
10. Hence conjugal love requires in
husband and wife an awareness of their mission of "responsible
parenthood," which today is rightly much insisted upon, and which also
must be exactly understood. Consequently it is to be considered under different
aspects which are legitimate and connected with one another.
In relation to the biological
processes, responsible parenthood means the knowledge and respect of their
functions; human intellect discovers in the power of giving life biological
laws which are part of the human person.9
In relation to the tendencies of instinct
or passion, responsible parenthood means that necessary dominion which reason
and will must exercise over them.
In relation to physical, economic,
psychological and social conditions, responsible parenthood is exercised,
either by the deliberate and generous decision to raise a numerous family, or
by the decision, made for grave motives and with due respect for the moral law,
to avoid for the time being, or even for an indeterminate period, a new birth.
Responsible parenthood also and
above all implies a more profound relationship to the objective moral order
established by God, of which a right conscience is the faithful interpreter.
The responsible exercise of parenthood implies, therefore, that husband and
wife recognize fully their own duties towards God, towards themselves, towards
the family and towards society, in a correct hierarchy of values.
In the task of transmitting life,
therefore, they are not free to proceed completely at will, as if they could
determine in a wholly autonomous way the honest path to follow; but they must
conform their activity to the creative intention of God, expressed in the very
nature of marriage and of its acts, and manifested by the constant teaching of
the Church.10
11. These acts, by which husband and
wife are united in chaste intimacy, and by means of which human life is
transmitted, are, as the Council recalled, "noble and worthy,"11
and they do not cease to be lawful if, for causes independent of the will of
husband and wife, they are foreseen to be infecund, since they always remain
ordained towards expressing and consolidating their union. In fact, as
experience bears witness, not every conjugal act is followed by a new life. God
has wisely disposed natural laws and rhythms of fecundity which, of themselves,
cause a separation in the succession of births. Nonetheless the Church, calling
men back to the observance of the norms of the natural law, as interpreted by
their constant doctrine, teaches that each and every marriage act (quilibet
matrimonii usus) must remain open to the transmission of life.12
12. That teaching, often set forth
by the magisterium, is founded upon the inseparable connection, willed by God
and unable to be broken by man on his own initiative, between the two meanings
of the conjugal act: the unitive meaning and the procreative meaning. Indeed,
by its intimate structure, the conjugal act, while most closely uniting husband
and wife, capacitates them for the generation of new lives, according to laws
inscribed in the very being of man and of woman. By safeguarding both these
essential aspects, the unitive and the procreative, the conjugal act preserves
in its fullness the sense of true mutual love and its ordination towards man's
most high calling to parenthood. We believe that the men of our day are
particularly capable of seeing the deeply reasonable and human character of
this fundamental principle.
13. It is in fact justly observed
that a conjugal act imposed upon one's partner without regard for his or her
condition and lawful desires is not a true act of love, and therefore denies an
exigency of right moral order in the relationships between husband and wife.
Likewise, if they consider the matter, they must admit that an act of mutual
love, which is detrimental to the faculty of propagating life, which God the
Creator of all, has implanted in it according to special laws, is in
contradiction to both the divine plan, according to whose norm matrimony has
been instituted, and the will of the Author of human life. To use this divine
gift destroying, even if only partially, its meaning and its purpose is to
contradict the nature both of man and of woman and of their most intimate
relationship, and therefore it is to contradict also the plan of God and His
will. On the other hand, to make use of the gift of conjugal love while
respecting the laws of the generative process means to acknowledge oneself not
to be the arbiter of the sources of human life, but rather the minister of the
design established by the Creator. In fact, just as man does not have unlimited
dominion over his body in general, so also, with particular reason, he has no
such dominion over his generative faculties as such, because of their intrinsic
ordination towards raising up life, of which God is the principle. "Human
life is sacred," Pope John XXIII recalled; "from its very inception
it reveals the creating hand of God."13
14. In conformity with these
landmarks in the human and Christian vision of marriage, we must once again
declare that the direct interruption of the generative process already begun,
and, above all, directly willed and procured abortion, even if for therapeutic
reasons, are to be absolutely excluded as licit means of regulating birth.14
Equally to be excluded, as the
teaching authority of the Church has frequently declared, is direct
sterilization, whether perpetual or temporary, whether of the man or of the
woman.15 Similarly excluded is every action which, either in
anticipation of the conjugal act, or in its accomplishment, or in the
development of its natural consequences, proposes, whether as an end or as a
means, to render procreation impossible.16
To justify conjugal acts made
intentionally infecund, one cannot invoke as valid reasons the lesser evil, or
the fact that such acts would constitute a whole together with the fecund acts
already performed or to follow later, and hence would share in one and the same
moral goodness. In truth, if it is sometimes licit to tolerate a lesser evil in
order to avoid a greater evil or to promote a greater good,17 it is
not licit, even for the gravest reasons, to do evil so that good may follow
therefrom;18 that is, to make into the object of a positive act of
the will something which is intrinsically disorder, and hence unworthy of the
human person, even when the intention is to safeguard or promote individual,
family or social well-being. Consequently it is an error to think that a
conjugal act which is deliberately made infecund and so is intrinsically
dishonest could be made honest and right by the ensemble of a fecund conjugal
life.
15. The Church, on the contrary,
does not at all consider illicit the use of those therapeutic means truly
necessary to cure diseases of the organism, even if an impediment to
procreation, which may be foreseen, should result therefore, provided such
impediment is not, for whatever motive, directly willed.19
16. To this teaching of the Church
on conjugal morals, the objection is made today, as we observed earlier (no.
3), that it is the prerogative of the human intellect to dominate the energies
offered by irrational nature and to orientate them towards an end conformable
to the good of man. Now, some may ask: in the present case, is it not
reasonable in many circumstances to have recourse to artificial birth control
if, thereby, we secure the harmony and peace of the family, and better
conditions for the education of the children already born? To this question it
is necessary to reply with clarity: the Church is the first to praise and
recommend the intervention of intelligence in a function which so closely
associates the rational creature with his Creator; but she affirms that this
must be done with respect for the order established by God.
If, then, there are serious motives
to space out births, which derive from the physical or psychological conditions
of husband and wife, or from external conditions, the Church teaches that it is
then licit to take into account the natural rhythms immanent in the generative
functions, for the use of marriage in the infecund periods only, and in this
way to regulate birth without offending the moral principles which have been
recalled earlier.20
The Church is coherent with herself
when she considers recourse to the infecund periods to be licit, while at the
same time condemning, as being always illicit, the use of means directly
contrary to fecundation, even if such use is inspired by reasons which may
appear honest and serious. In reality, there are essential differences between
the two cases; in the former, the married couple make legitimate use of a
natural disposition; in the latter, they impede the development of natural
processes. It is true that, in the one and the other case, the married couple
are concordant in the positive will of avoiding children for plausible reasons,
seeking the certainty that offspring will not arrive; but it is also true that
only in the former case are they able to renounce the use of marriage in the
fecund periods when, for just motives, procreation is not desirable, while
making use of it during infecund periods to manifest their affection and to
safeguard their mutual fidelity. By so doing, they give proof of a truly and
integrally honest love.
17. Upright men can even better
convince themselves of the solid grounds on which the teaching of the Church in
this field is based, if they care to reflect upon the consequences of methods
of artificial birth control. Let them consider, first of all, how wide and easy
a road would thus be opened up towards conjugal infidelity and the general
lowering of morality. Not much experience is needed in order to know human
weakness, and to understand that men -- especially the young, who are so
vulnerable on this point -- have need of encouragement to be faithful to the
moral law, so that they must not be offered some easy means of eluding its
observance. It is also to be feared that the man, growing used to the
employment of anti-conceptive practices, may finally lose respect for the woman
and, no longer caring for her physical and psychological equilibrium, may come
to the point of considering her as a mere instrument of selfish enjoyment, and
no longer as his respected and beloved companion.
Let it be considered also that a
dangerous weapon would thus be placed in the hands of those public authorities
who take no heed of moral exigencies. Who could blame a government for applying
to the solution of the problems of the community those means acknowledged to be
licit for married couples in the solution of a family problem? Who will stop
rulers from favoring, from even imposing upon their peoples, if they were to
consider it necessary, the method of contraception which they judge to be most
efficacious? In such a way men, wishing to avoid individual, family, or social
difficulties encountered in the observance of the divine law, would reach the
point of placing at the mercy of the intervention of public authorities the
most personal and most reserved sector of conjugal intimacy.
Consequently, if the mission of
generating life is not to be exposed to the arbitrary will of men, one must necessarily
recognize insurmountable limits to the possibility of man's domination over his
own body and its functions; limits which no man, whether a private individual
or one invested with authority, may licitly surpass. And such limits cannot be
determined otherwise than by the respect due to the integrity of the human
organism and its functions, according to the principles recalled earlier, and
also according to the correct understanding of the "principle of
totality" illustrated by our predecessor Pope Pius XII.21
18. It can be foreseen that this
teaching will perhaps not be easily received by all: Too numerous are those
voices -- amplified by the modern means of propaganda -- which are contrary to
the voice of the Church. To tell the truth, the Church is not surprised to be
made, like her divine Founder, a "sign of contradiction",22
yet she does not because of this cease to proclaim with humble firmness the
entire moral law, both natural and evangelical. Of such laws the Church was not
the author, nor consequently can she be their arbiter; she is only their
depositary and their interpreter, without ever being able to declare to be
licit that which is not so by reason of its intimate and unchangeable
opposition to the true good of man.
In defending conjugal morals in
their integral wholeness, the Church knows that she contributes towards the
establishment of a truly human civilization; she engages man not to abdicate
from his own responsibility in order to rely on technical means; by that very
fact she defends the dignity of man and wife. Faithful to both the teaching and
the example of the Savior, she shows herself to be the sincere and
disinterested friend of men, whom she wishes to help, even during their earthly
sojourn, "to share as sons in the life of the living God, the Father of
all men."23
19. Our words would not be an
adequate expression of the thought and solicitude of the Church, Mother and
Teacher of all peoples, if, after having recalled men to the observance and
respect of the divine law regarding matrimony, we did not strengthen them in
the path of honest regulation of birth, even amid the difficult conditions
which today afflict families and peoples. The Church, in fact, cannot have a
different conduct towards men than that of the Redeemer: She knows their
weaknesses, has compassion on the crowd, receives sinners; but she cannot
renounce the teaching of the law which is, in reality, that law proper to a
human life restored to its original truth and conducted by the spirit of God.24
20. The teaching of the Church on
the regulation of birth, which promulgates the divine law, will easily appear
to many to be difficult or even impossible of actuation. And indeed, like all
great beneficent realities, it demands serious engagement and much effort,
individual, family and social effort. More than that, it would not be
practicable without the help of God, who upholds and strengthens the good will
of men. Yet, to anyone who reflects well, it cannot but be clear that such
efforts ennoble man and are beneficial to the human community.
21. The honest practice of
regulation of birth demands first of all that husband and wife acquire and
possess solid convictions concerning the true values of life and of the family,
and that they tend towards securing perfect self-mastery. To dominate instinct
by means of one's reason and free will undoubtedly requires ascetical
practices, so that the affective manifestations of conjugal life may observe
the correct order, in particular with regard to the observance of periodic
continence. Yet this discipline which is proper to the purity of married
couples, far from harming conjugal love, rather confers on it a higher human
value. It demands continual effort yet, thanks to its beneficent influence,
husband and wife fully develop their personalities, being enriched with
spiritual values. Such discipline bestows upon family life fruits of serenity
and peace, and facilitates the solution of other problems; it favors attention
for one's partner, helps both parties to drive out selfishness, the enemy of
true love; and deepens their sense of responsibility. By its means, parents
acquire the capacity of having a deeper and more efficacious influence in the
education of their offspring; little children and youths grow up with a just appraisal
of human values, and in the serene and harmonious development of their
spiritual and sensitive faculties.
22. On this occasion, we wish to
draw the attention of educators, and of all who perform duties of
responsibility in regard to the common good of human society, to the need of
creating an atmosphere favorable to education in chastity, that is, to the
triumph of healthy liberty over license by means of respect for the moral
order.
Everything in the modern media of
social communications which leads to sense excitation and unbridled customs, as
well as every form of pornography and licentious performances, must arouse the
frank and unanimous reaction of all those who are solicitous for the progress
of civilization and the defense of the common good of the human spirit. Vainly
would one seek to justify such depravation with the pretext of artistic or
scientific exigencies,25 or to deduce an argument from the freedom
allowed in this sector by the public authorities.
23. To Rulers, who are those principally
responsible for the common good, and who can do so much to safeguard moral
customs, we say: Do not allow the morality of your peoples to be degraded; do
not permit that by legal means practices contrary to the natural and divine law
be introduced into that fundamental cell, the family. Quite other is the way in
which public authorities can and must contribute to the solution of the
demographic problem: namely, the way of a provident policy for the family, of a
wise education of peoples in respect of moral law and the liberty of citizens.
We are well aware of the serious
difficulties experienced by public authorities in this regard, especially in
the developing countries. To their legitimate preoccupations we devoted our
encyclical letter Populorum Progressio. But with our predecessor Pope John
XXIII, we repeat: no solution to these difficulties is acceptable "which
does violence to man's essential dignity" and is based only on an utterly
materialistic conception of man himself and of his life. The only possible
solution to this question is one which envisages the social and economic
progress both of individuals and of the whole of human society, and which
respects and promotes true human values.26 Neither can one, without
grave injustice, consider divine providence to be responsible for what depends,
instead, on a lack of wisdom in government, on an insufficient sense of social
justice, on selfish monopolization, or again on blameworthy indolence in
confronting the efforts and the sacrifices necessary to ensure the raising of
living standards of a people and of all its sons.27
May all responsible public
authorities -- as some are already doing so laudably -- generously revive their
efforts. And may mutual aid between all the members of the great human family
never cease to grow: This is an almost limitless field which thus opens up to
the activity of the great international organizations.
24. We wish now to express our
encouragement to men of science, who "can considerably advance the welfare
of marriage and the family, along with peace of conscience, if by pooling their
efforts they labor to explain more thoroughly the various conditions favoring a
proper regulation of births."28 It is particularly desirable
that, according to the wish already expressed by Pope Pius XII, medical science
succeed in providing a sufficiently secure basis for a regulation of birth,
founded on the observance of natural rhythms.29 In this way,
scientists and especially Catholic scientists will contribute to demonstrate in
actual fact that, as the Church teaches, "a true contradiction cannot
exist between the divine laws pertaining to the transmission of life and those
pertaining to the fostering of authentic conjugal love."30
25. And now our words more directly
address our own children, particularly those whom God calls to serve Him in
marriage. The Church, while teaching imprescriptible demands of the divine law,
announces the tidings of salvation, and by means of the sacraments opens up the
paths of grace, which makes man a new creature, capable of corresponding with
love and true freedom to the design of his Creator and Savior, and of finding
the yoke of Christ to be sweet.31
Christian married couples, then,
docile to her voice, must remember that their Christian vocation, which began
at baptism, is further specified and reinforced by the sacrament of matrimony.
By it husband and wife are strengthened and as it were consecrated for the
faithful accomplishment of their proper duties, for the carrying out of their
proper vocation even to perfection, and the Christian witness which is proper
to them before the whole world.32 To them the Lord entrusts the task
of making visible to men the holiness and sweetness of the law which unites the
mutual love of husband and wife with their cooperation with the love of God the
author of human life.
We do not at all intend to hide the
sometimes serious difficulties inherent in the life of Christian married
persons; for them as for everyone else, "the gate is narrow and the way is
hard, that leads to life."33 But the hope of that life must
illuminate their way, as with courage they strive to live with wisdom, justice
and piety in this present time,34 knowing that the figure of this
world passes away.35
Let married couples, then, face up
to the efforts needed, supported by the faith and hope which "do not
disappoint . . . because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the
Holy Spirit, who has been given to Us"36; let them implore
divine assistance by persevering prayer; above all, let them draw from the
source of grace and charity in the Eucharist. And if sin should still keep its
hold over them, let them not be discouraged, but rather have recourse with
humble perseverance to the mercy of God, which is poured forth in the sacrament
of Penance. In this way they will be enabled to achieve the fullness of
conjugal life described by the Apostle: "husbands, love your wives, as
Christ loved the Church . . . husbands should love their wives as their own
bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no man ever hates his own
flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, as Christ does the Church . . . this is
a great mystery, and I mean in reference to Christ and the Church. However, let
each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she
respects her husband."37
26. Among the fruits which ripen
forth from a generous effort of fidelity to the divine law, one of the most
precious is that married couples themselves not infrequently feel the desire to
communicate their experience to others. Thus there comes to be included in the
vast pattern of the vocation of the laity a new and most noteworthy form of the
apostolate of like to like; it is married couples themselves who become
apostles and guides to other married couples. This is assuredly, among so many
forms of apostolate, one of those which seem most opportune today.38
27. We hold those physicians and
medical personnel in the highest esteem who, in the exercise of their
profession, value above every human interest the superior demands of their
Christian vocation. Let them persevere, therefore, in promoting on every
occasion the discovery of solutions inspired by faith and right reason, let
them strive to arouse this conviction and this respect in their associates. Let
them also consider as their proper professional duty the task of acquiring all
the knowledge needed in this delicate sector, so as to be able to give to those
married persons who consult them wise counsel and healthy direction, such as
they have a right to expect.
28. Beloved priest sons, by vocation
you are the counselors and spiritual guides of individual persons and of
families. We now turn to you with confidence. Your first task -- especially in
the case of those who teach moral theology -- is to expound the Church's
teaching on marriage without ambiguity. Be the first to give, in the exercise
of your ministry, the example of loyal internal and external obedience to the
teaching authority of the Church. That obedience, as you know well, obliges not
only because of the reasons adduced, but rather because of the light of the
Holy Spirit, which is given in a particular way to the pastors of the Church in
order that they may illustrate the truth.39 You know, too, that it
is of the utmost importance, for peace of consciences and for the unity of the
Christian people, that in the field of morals as well as in that of dogma, all
should attend to the magisterium of the Church, and all should speak the same
language. Hence, with all our heart we renew to you the heartfelt plea of the
great Apostle Paul: "I appeal to you, brethren, by the name of Our Lord
Jesus Christ, that all of you agree and that there be no dissensions among you,
but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment."40
29. To diminish in no way the saving
teaching of Christ constitutes an eminent form of charity for souls. But this
must ever be accompanied by patience and goodness, such as the Lord himself
gave example of in dealing with men. Having come not to condemn but to save,41
he was indeed intransigent with evil, but merciful towards individuals.
In their difficulties, may married
couples always find, in the words and in the heart of a priest, the echo of the
voice and the love of the Redeemer.
And then speak with confidence,
beloved sons, fully convinced that the spirit of God, while He assists the
magisterium in proposing doctrine, illumines internally the hearts of the
faithful inviting them to give their assent. Teach married couples the
indispensable way of prayer; prepare them to have recourse often and with faith
to the sacraments of the Eucharist and of Penance, without ever allowing
themselves to be discouraged by their own weakness.
30. Beloved and venerable brothers
in the episcopate, with whom we most intimately share the solicitude of the
spiritual good of the People of God, at the conclusion of this encyclical our
reverent and affectionate thoughts turn to you. To all of you we extend an
urgent invitation. At the head of the priests, your collaborators, and of your
faithful, work ardently and incessantly for the safeguarding and the holiness
of marriage, so that it may always be lived in its entire human and Christian
fullness. Consider this mission as one of your most urgent responsibilities at
the present time. As you know, it implies concerted pastoral action in all the
fields of human activity, economic, cultural and social; for, in fact, only a
simultaneous improvement in these various sectors will make it possible to
render the life of parents and of children within their families not only
tolerable, but easier and more joyous, to render the living together in human
society more fraternal and peaceful, in faithfulness to God's design for the
world.
31. Venerable brothers, most beloved
sons, and all men of good will, great indeed is the work of education, of
progress and of love to which we call you, upon the foundation of the Church's
teaching, of which the successor of Peter is, together with his brothers in the
episcopate, the depositary and interpreter. Truly a great work, as we are
deeply convinced, both for the world and for the Church, since man cannot find
true happiness -- towards which he aspires with all his being -- other than in
respect of the laws written by God in his very nature, laws which he must observe
with intelligence and love. Upon this work, and upon all of you, and especially
upon married couples, we invoke the abundant graces of the God of holiness and
mercy, and in pledge thereof we impart to you all our apostolic blessing.
Given at Rome, from St. Peter's,
this 25th day of July, feast of St. James the Apostle, in the year 1968, the
sixth of our pontificate.
PAULUS PP.VI.
FOOTNOTES
· 1. Cf. Pius IX, encyclical Qui Pluribus, Nov. 9, 1846; in
PII IX P. M. Acta, I, pp. 9-10; St. Pius X, encyc. Singulari Quadam, Sept. 24,
1912; in AAS IV (1912), p. 658; Pius XI, encyc. Casti Connubii, Dec. 31, 1930;
in AAS XXII (1930), pp. 579-581; Pius XII, allocution Magnificate Dominum to
the episcopate of the Catholic world, Nov. 2, 1954; in AAS XLVI (1954), pp.
671-672; John XXIII, encyc. Mater et Magistra, May 15, 1961; in AAS LIII
(1961), p. 457.
· 2. Cf. Matt. 28: 18-19.
· 3. Cf. Matt. 7: 21.
· 4. Cf. Catechismus Romanus Concilii Tridentini, part II, ch.
VIII; Leo XIII, encyc. Arcanum, Feb. 19 1880; in Acta Leonis XIII, Il (1881),
pp. 26-29; Pius Xl, encyc. Divini Illius Magistri, Dec. 31, 1929, in AAS XXII
(1930), pp. 58-61; encyc. Casti Connubii, in AAS XXII (1930), pp. 545-546; Pius
XII, alloc. to the Italian medico-biological union of St. Luke, Nov. 12, 1944,
in Discorsi e Radiomessaggi, VI, pp. 191-192; to the Italian Catholic union of midwives,
Oct. 29, 1951, in AAS XLIII (1951), pp. 857-859; to the seventh Congress of the
International Society of Haematology, Sept. 12, 1958, in AAS L (1958), pp.
734-735; John XXIII, encyc. Mater et Magistra, in AAS LIII (1961), pp. 446-447;
Codex luris Canonici, Canon 1067; Can. 1968, S 1, Can. 1066 S 1-2; Second
Vatican Council, Pastoral constitution Gaudium et Spes, nos. 47-52.
· 5. Cf. Paul VI, allocution to the Sacred College, June 23,
1964, in AAS LVI (1964 ), p. 588; to the Commission for Study of Problems of
Population, Family and Birth, March 27, 1965, in AAS LVII (1965), p. 388, to
the National Congress of the Italian Society of Obstetrics and Gynaecology,
Oct. 29, 1966, in AAS LVIII (1966), p. 1168.
· 6. Cf. I John 4: 8.
· 7. Cf. Eph. 3: 15.
· 8. Cf. II Vat. Council, Pastoral const. Gaudium et Spes, No.
50.
· 9. Cf. St. Thomas, Summa Theologica, I-II, q. 94, art. 2.
· 10. Cf. Pastoral Const. Gaudium et Spes, nos. 50, 51.
· 11. Ibid, no. 49.
· 12. Cf. Pius XI, encyc. Casti Connubii, in AAS XXII (1930),
p. 560; Pius XII, in AAS XLIII (1951), p. 843.
· 13. Cf. John XXIII, encyc. Mater et Magistra, in AAS LIII
(1961), p. 447.
· 14. Cf. Catechismus Romanus Concilii Tridentini, part. II,
Ch. VIII; Pius XI, encyc. Casti Connubii, in AAS XXII (1930), pp. 562-564; Pius
XII, Discorsi e Radiomessaggi, VI (1944), pp. 191-192; AAS XLIII (1951), pp.
842-843; pp. 857-859; John XXIII, encyc. Pacem in Terris, Apr. 11, 1963, in AAS
LV (1963), pp. 259-260; Gaudium et Spes, no. 51.
· 15. Cf. Pius XI encyc. Casti Connubii, in AAS XXII (1930) p.
565; decree of the Holy Office, Feb. 22, 1940, in AAS L (1958), pp. 734-735.
· 16. Cf. Catechismus Romanus Concilii Tridentini, part. II,
Ch. VIII; Pius XI, encyc. Casti Connubii, in AAS XXII (1930), pp. 559-561; Pius
XII, AAS XLIII (1951), p. 843; AAS L. (1958), pp. 734-735; John XXIII, encyc.
Mater et Magistra, in AAS LIII (1961), p. 447.
· 17. Cf. Pius XII, alloc. to the National Congress of the
Union of Catholic Jurists, Dec. 6, 1953, in AAS XLV (1953), pp. 798-799.
· 18. Cf. Rom. 3: 8.
· 19. Cf. Pius XII, alloc. to Congress of the Italian
Association of Urology, Oct. 8, 1953, in AAS XLV (1953), pp. 674-675; AAS L
(1958) pp. 734-735.
· 20. Cf. Pius XII, AAS XLIII (1951), p. 846.
· 21. Cf. AAS XLV (1953), pp. 674-675; AAS XLVIII (1956), pp.
461-462.
· 22. Cf. Luke 2: 34.
· 23. Cf. Paul Vl, encyc. Populorum Progressio, March 26,
1967, No. 21.
· 24. Cf. Rom. 8.
· 25. Cf. 11 Vatican Council, decree Inter Mirifica, On the
Media of Social Communication, nos. 6-7.
· 26. Cf. encyc. Mater et Magistra in AAS LIII (1961), p. 447.
· 27. Cf. encyc. Populorum Progressio, nos. 48-55.
· 28. Cf. Pastoral Const. Gaudium et Spes, no. 52.
· 29. Cf. AAS XLIII (1951) , p. 859.
· 30. Cf. Pastoral Const. Gaudium et Spes, no. 51.
· 31. Cf. Matt. 11: 30.
· 32. Cf. Pastoral Const. Gaudium et Spes, no. 48; 11 Vatican
Council, Dogmatic Const. Lumen Gentium, no. 35.
· 33. Matt. 7: 14- cf. Heb. 11: 12.
· 34. Cf. Tit. 2 : 1 2.
· 35. Cf. I Cor. 7: 31.
· 36. Cf. Rom. 5: 5.
· 37. Eph. 5: 25, 28-29, 32-33.
· 38. Cf. Dogmatic Const. Lumen Gentium, nos. 35 and 41;
Pastoral Const. Gaudium et Spes, nos. 48-49; Il Vatican Council, Decree
Apostolicam Actuositatem, no. I[1].
· 39. Cf. Dogmatic Const. Lumen Gentium, no. 25.
· 40 Cf. I Cor. 1: 10.
·
41 Cf. John 3: 17.
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