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| Baptiste and Wujek |
In 1976 Pope Paul VI invited Karol Cardinal Wojtyla to preach the papal retreat. In researching the event for my book, what struck me in Wojtyla's meditations was his inference that “the signs of the
times” might explain the denial of the truth of Church teaching which had
infiltrated her like “the smoke of Satan.” Surely the Pope Paul was moved by
Wojtyla's preaching, for in June of 1968 he penned his magisterial Credo
of the People of God, a vigorous defense of traditional Church doctrine
after the Council’s close, followed by his prophetic encyclical, Humanae
Vitae, for which the “modernizers” never forgave him. Monsignor Charles Pope's reflection on "Where Wisdon Lay" is never more timely than at present, Post-Obergefell, and so I reprint it here in full:
The
Wisdom of Humanae Vitae: Time Has
Proved Where Wisdom Lay
Msgr. Charles Pope • December 7, 2009
A generation has passed since the publication of the
boldly pastoral and prophetic encyclical Humanae Vitae which upheld the ancient
ban on the use of artificial contraception. Perhaps no teaching of the Church
causes the worldly to scoff more than our teaching against artificial
contraception. The eyes of so many, Catholics among them, roll and the scoffing
begins: Unrealistic! Out of touch! Uncompassionate! Silly! You’ve got to be kidding!
The Lord Jesus had an answer to those who ridiculed
him in a similar way:
“To what can I compare this generation? They are like
children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others: ” ‘We played
the flute for you, and you did not
dance; we sang a dirge and you did not
mourn.’ For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a
demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Here is a
glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and “sinners.” ‘ But time
will prove where wisdom lies.” (Matt
11:16-18)
Indeed, times DOES prove where wisdom lies. Some forty
or more years after widespread acceptance of contraception set in how have we
done? Perhaps it is best to review some of the “promises” that contraceptive
advocates made, then review the prophecies of Paul VI. Then lets review the record,
looking at the “fruits” of contraception.
The
Promises of the Contraception Advocates:
- Happier Marriages and a lower divorce rates since couples could have all the sex they wanted without “fear” of pregnancy.
- Lower abortion rates since there would be far fewer “unwanted” children.
- Greater dignity for women who will no longer be “bound” by their reproductive system.
- More recently contraceptive advocates have touted the medical benefits of preventing STDs and AIDS.
What were some of the concerns and predictions made by
Pope Paul VI? (All of these are quotes from Humanae Vitae) :
- Consider how easily this course of action could open wide the way for marital infidelity (Humanae Vitae (HV) # 17)
- A general lowering of moral standards. Not much experience is needed to be fully aware of human weakness and to understand that human beings—and especially the young, who are so exposed to temptation—need incentives to keep the moral law, and it is an evil thing to make it easy for them to break that law. (HV # 17)
- Another effect that gives cause for alarm is that a man who grows accustomed to the use of contraceptive methods may forget the reverence due to a woman, and, disregarding her physical and emotional equilibrium, reduce her to being a mere instrument for the satisfaction of his own desires, no longer considering her as his partner whom he should surround with care and affection. (HV # 17)
- Who will prevent public authorities from…impos[ing] their use on everyone. (HV # 17)
The divorce rate did not decline. It skyrocketed.
Divorce rates soared through the 1970s to to the 1990s to almost 50% of
marriages failing. In recent years the divorce rate has dropped slightly but
this may also be due to the fact that far fewer people get married in the first
place, preferring to cohabitate and engage in a kind of serial polygamy
drifting from relationship to relationship. The overall divorce rate despite
its slight drop remains high, hovering in the low 40% range. Contraceptive
advocates claim that divorce is a complicated matter. True enough. But they
cannot have it both ways, claiming that contraception would be a “simple” fix to make marriages happier and then, when they are so horrifyingly wrong, claiming
that divorce is “complicated.” Paul VI on the other predicted rough sailing for
marriage in advent of contraception. Looks like the Pope was right.
Abortion rates did not decrease. They too skyrocketed.
Within five years the pressure to have more abortion available led to its
“legalization” in 1973. It has been well argued that, far from decreasing the
abortion rate, contraception actually fueled it. Since contraception routinely
fails, abortion became the contraception of last recourse. Further, just as the
Pope predicted sexual immorality became widespread and this too led to higher
rates of abortion. It is hard to compare promiscuity rates between periods
since people “lie” a lot when asked about such things. But one would have to be
very myopic not to notice the huge increase in open promiscuity, cohabitation,
pornography and the like. All of this bad behavior made more possible by
contraceptives also fuels abortion rates. Chalk up another one for the Pope and
the Church.
The question of women’s dignity is hard to measure and
different people have different measures. Women do have greater career choices.
But is career or vocation the true source of one’s dignity? One’s dignity is
surely more than their economic and utilitarian capacity. Sadly, motherhood has
taken a real back seat in popular culture. And,
as the Pope predicted women have been hypersexualized as well. Their
dignity as wives and mothers has been set aside in favor of the sexual pleasure
they offer. As the Pope predicted many modern men, no longer bound by marriage
for sexual satisfaction, use women and discard them on a regular basis. Men
“get what they want” and it seems many women are willing to supply it rather
freely. In this scenario men win. Women are often left with STDs, they are
often left with children, and as they get older and “less attractive” they are
often left alone. I am not sure this is dignity. But you decide who is right
and if women really have won in the new morality that contraception helped
usher in. I think the Pope wins this point as well.
As for preventing STDs and AIDS, again, big failure.
STDs did not decrease and were not prevented. Infection rates skyrocketed
through the 1970s and 1980s. AIDS which appeared on the scene later continues
to show horribly high rates. Where is the promised deliverance? Contraceptives
it seems, do not prevent anything. Rather they encourage the spread of these
diseases by encouraging the bad behavior that causes them. Here too it looks
like the Church was right and the world was wrong.
Add to this list the huge teenage pregnancy rates, the
devastation of single parent families, broken hearts and even poverty. The link
to poverty may seem obscure but the bottom line is that single motherhood is
the chief cause of poverty in this country. Contraception encourages
promiscuity. Promiscuity leads to teenage pregnancy. Teenage pregnancy leads to
single motherhood (absent fatherhood).
Single motherhood leads to welfare and poverty. Currently in the inner
city over 80% of homes are headed by single mothers. It is the single highest
factor related to poverty.
Declining birth rates are also having terrible effects
on contracepting cultures. Europe as we have known it is simply going out of
existence. I have written on that before HERE: Contraception is Cultural
Suicide! Europe’s future is Muslim. They
have huge families. Likewise here in the USA white and African American
communities are below replacement level. Thankfully our immigrants are largely
Christian and share our American vision. But for the Church the declining
birthrates are now resulting in closing schools, parishes, declining vocations
and the like. We cannot sustain what we have on a population that is no longer
replacing itself. Immigration has insulated us from this to some extent but low
Mass attendance has eclipsed that growth and we are starting to shut down a lot
of our operations.
Conclusion: Time will prove where wisdom lies. What have we learned in in over forty years
of contraception? First we have learned that it is a huge failure in meeting
its promises. It has backfired. It has made things worse, not better. Marriage,
families, children have all taken a huge hit. Bad behavior has been encouraged
and all the bad consequences that flow from it are flourishing. Most people
seem largely disinterested in this data. Hearts have become numb and minds have
gone to sleep. I hope you are not among them and that you might consider this
information well and share it with others. Time HAS proved where wisdom lay.
It’s time to admit the obvious.
