David, As Don said, this is a wonderful article, though theologically dense. Thank you so much for posting it. I will point out, however, that I share Blizzard's caution relative to the purpose of revisiting Humanae Vitae. This is especially so because St. John Paul II in both encyclicals and his Theology of the Body reemphasized the central premise of Humanae Vitae: The total self-giving of husband and wife to one another in each and every marriage act must be open to life. So also, the above article concludes: St. Paul’s reflections on homosexual vice, in Romans 1: 19-28, make it clear that what matters is not inclinations but the will (the debased mind) and chosen conduct. With minds darkened, their inclinations mastering their reason, “women exchanged natural intercourse for unnatural, and in the same way men...committed shameless acts with men...” (Rom. 1: 21, 26-28). Whether we are hearing Paul in faith, or using reason’s own resources to clarify or consciences and rectify our wills, we should be clear that natural intercourse is not simply heterosexual. Rather, it is marital. That is, it is sexually complementary (heterosexual), and in each act of spousal intercourse enables the man and the woman, wife and husband, to experience, express and actualize together – physically, emotionally, and intellectually – both of the two essential marital goods: procreativeness, and a friendship which is exclusive and permanently committed. Personally, I doubt whether any review by the Vatican of Humanae Vitae is necessary to more effectively communicate the truth therein, considering what St. John Paul II has already supplied. What I fear is a revised presentation that will not gut its content, but simply uphold Humanae Vitae as an ideal. If such a decision was made, room for both contraception and homosexual acts will be able to be construed due to the element of human frailty. A good confession is the means of restoring moral integrity. Reducing a moral imperative to an ideal is not. We will see. However, if the truth of Humanae Vitae is tampered with and Pope Francis does not vigorously and loudly reject such tampering, I ask myself this question: to what God-designated authority will I turn? To whom would you turn? Safe in the Barque of Peter!
To answer your last sentence, I will turn the scripture, church unchanging magisterial teachings and the Catholic Catechism as always and any clergy who will uphold these.
I will say it short and sweet. God is "The same yesterday, today and always" Hebrews 13.8. "I am the way, the truth and the life" John 14.6. God is truth David and his truth (doctrines on faith and morals) does not change! You go ahead and fool with the laws of God, through those wolves in sheep's clothing and see how it works for you in the end. Just be assured it has been tried since Adam and Eve and in the Church Jesus founded, so you won't be the first to be led away from the truth, but you will be more culpable than most, since you have the resources today to know better and so doesn't our pope and his followers of dissent from God's unchanging truths.
I confess total ignorance about this debate - is HV really open to new interpretation ? I find that very hard to take. It is actually my favourite* of all the V2 documents because it is so short and straightforward. I can wrestle for hours with Lumen Gentium, Verbum Dei, Sacrosanctum whatsit and the other one, but the one that really defines Pope Paul VI's pontificate for me is Humane Vitae. I have read it and re-read it and it is not only crystal clear, but authentic truthful teaching. It doesn't actually mention the word "contraception" once, and yet this is how the world has referenced it and framed it. *this is the correct spelling, "spell-check" . Favorite is American spelling. You're welcome.
Veritatis Splendor was also crystal clear, but we have seen how Amoris Laetitia with great pretense has reinterpreted it, and its defenders dare to speak of it as a just a 'new development'. They will probably do the same with HV, they will contraceptives are not disallowed in all cases, like with remarried divorcees, and they will call it a 'new development'. But these are not new developments, these are the 'anti-gospel' and the 'anti-creation' that Cardinal Caffarra is talking about. Sister Lucia wrote “there will come a time when the decisive confrontation between the Kingdom of God and Satan will take place over marriage and the family.” Caffarra said she underscored that those who are going to work for marriage and the family “will undergo trials and tribulations” but added: “Do not fear, Our Lady has already crushed his head.” Cardinal Caffarra told the conference that his talk was “based on these words of Sister Lucia, and therefore on the conviction that what Sister Lucia said in those days are being fulfilled in these days of ours.”
Your post here is excellent as usual. I think a central point here which is something people may overlook too quickly was your point that what is happening in the Church is a subtle poison. Catholic doctrines are not directly being overturned but reduced to "ideals". This in effect negates them as moral absolutes. They cease to be "Commandments" and merely become "Good ideas".
Latest developments seem to confirm, not allay our fears: Pope Francis guts Vatican pro-life academy of members chosen by St. John Paul II Abortion , Catholic , Pontifical Academy For Life , Pope Francis VATICAN CITY, Italy, June 15, 2017 (LifeSiteNews) – In his clearing out and re-stacking of the Vatican’s highest pro-life institution, Pope Francis has not invited many former members specifically chosen by Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI for their pro-life-and-family credentials as well as their fidelity to Catholic teaching. Many of those not invited back had previously been openly critical of the direction the Academy was being pushed in recent years. At the same time, however, Pope Francis appointed a pro-abortion theologian who has expressed support for euthanasia in certain circumstances. Former Academy member Christine De Marcellus Vollmer, who was not given another term, told LifeSiteNews that the new appointments reveal a “great lack” of understanding in Catholic leadership regarding the current attacks facing human life. “They don't seem to understand the realities of the threats to life,” she said. I don't see any of the important people who are knowledgeable and fighting pornography,” she added. “This is a huge lack.” Pope Francis made the appointment of 45 ordinary members and five honorary members to the Pontifical Academy for Life, or Pontificia Academiae Pro Vita (PAV), on May 16, and the Vatican released the pope’s choices Tuesday. The Pope had released new statutes for the PAV last November, in which members were no longer required to sign a declaration that they uphold the Church’s pro-life teachings, while he also expanded the PAV’s mandate to include a focus on the environment. Of the new appointees, only 28 of the preceding 139 members have been reappointed, the National Catholic Register’s Ed Pentin notes. This adds 23 new members, while 112 academics, including some founding members - most of who had been chosen by Popes St. John Paul II and Benedict XVI – were left off the PAV roster. More here: https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/p...life-academy-of-members-chosen-by-st.-john-pa
It will be interesting to see what the truth here actually is. These two reports came out the same day. One (by CNA) stating that this is just a rumor and that there will be no commission to reinterpret Humanae Vitae and one (by Lifesitenews) that there will be. http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/n...ommission-to-reinterpret-humanae-vitae-94702/ https://www.lifesitenews.com/opinio...terpret-anti-contraception-encyclical-is-real
I think we have our definitive answer here. ("It's NOT just a rumor.") http://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/the-city-gates.cfm?ID=1468 A papal commission reconsidering Humanae Vitae? No, but... By Phil Lawler (bio - articles - email) | Jun 23, 2017 The good news is that, contrary to a widespread rumor, Pope Francis has not ordered a commission to reconsider the teaching of Humanae Vitae in the light of Amoris Laetitia. The bad news is that the commission exists. Call it a “study group” if you prefer, but there is a scholarly panel, working under the auspices of a pontifical institute, preparing a reappraisal of Humanae Vitae. Msgr. Gilfredo Marengo, who chairs the group, told the Catholic News Agency that “the issue of a conciliation between Amoris Laetitia and Humanae Vitae is not on the agenda.” Less reassuringly, he said that he was not interested in finding “answers to useless questions,” and he favored “decentralization of doctrinal issues.” Msgr. Marengo’s commission is sponsored by the Pontifical Institute John Paul II for Studies on Studies on Marriage and Family, which—as its name suggests—was established as a bulwark of support for the great Polish Pontiff’s groundbreaking work on human sexuality and the “theology of the body.” But the John Paul Institute has been gutted and remodeled under Pope Francis, as has its parent institution, the Pontifical Academy for Life. Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, the president of the Pontifical Academy for Life, told Andrea Gagliarducci that “we should look positively on all those initiatives, such as that of Professor Marengo of the John Paul II Institute, which aim at studying and deepening [Humanae Vitae] in view of the 50th anniversary of its publication.” But we could have relied on the “old” John Paul II Institute to produce a solid defense of the central argument of Humanae Vitae. We can’t expect the same today. Archbishop Paglia assured Gagliarducci that “there is no pontifical commission called to re-read or to re-interpret Humanae Vitae.” OK, Pope Francis didn’t appoint the commission. He didn’t need to. By appointing Archbishop Paglia, and appointing the new members of the Pontifical Academy for Life, he ensured that these institutions would take a new direction. Or put it this way: Pope Francis didn’t appoint the commission that is now studying Humanae Vitae. But that commission wouldn’t exist within the Vatican if it didn’t have the Pope’s implicit approval. Phil Lawler has been a Catholic journalist for more than 30 years. He has edited several Catholic magazines and written eight books. Founder of Catholic World News, he is the news director and lead analyst at CatholicCulture.org. See full bio.
