In 1965 Bishops Voted 9 to 3 that Artificial Contraception a Not a Sin
Posted on March 22, 2011 by RHBill.org ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- continuation ... Part 2
Pope Paul VI Overrules the Commission
The dissenting members prepared a “minority report” which stated that the teaching on contraception could not change, not due to a theological principle, but because the Church could not admit it was wrong: “The Church cannot change her answer, because this answer is true…it is true because the Catholic Church instituted by Christ…could not have so wrongly erred during all those centuries of its history.” It went on to say that if the hierarchy was to admit it was wrong on the issue, its authority would be questions on all “moral matters.” Pope Paul then went on to write the encyclical Humanae Vitae.[3]
Reaction to Humane Vitae
No sooner was Humanae Vitae released than it was met with an unprecedented torrent of dissent from inside the church, most of it asserting that Catholics were free to follow their consciences on the issue of birth control. Many of the world’s most noted theologians dissented, and the theological faculties of Fordham University, St. Peter’s College, Marquette University, Boston College, and the Pope John XXIII National Seminary issued public statements of dissent, as did 20 of the most prominent theologians in Europe.[4]
The statement said that the encyclical was flawed in its assumptions and reliance on an outmoded conception of natural law and that “it is common teaching in the Church that Catholics may dissent from authoritative, non-fallible teaching of the magisterium when sufficient reason exists.” It concluded that “spouses may responsibly decide according to their conscience that artificial contraception in some circumstances is permissible.”[5]
Bishops around the world officially accepted the encyclical but reaffirmed the right of Catholics to follow their consciences on the birth control decision. The Canadian bishops released a statement saying that Catholics who “tried sincerely but without success” to follow the encyclical “may safely be assured that whoever honestly chooses the course which seems right to him does so in good conscience.”[6]
Bishops’ Conferences in Belgium, German, the Netherlands, France, and Holland issued similar statements. The National Conference of Catholic Biships said Catholics in the United States should receive the encyclical “with sincerity…study it carefully, and form their consciences in that light.”[7]
( to be continued...)
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