Almost 200 young Catholics have signed an open letter in support of the teaching of Humanae Vitae, 50 years after the Encyclical Letter on birth control of Pope Paul VI.
The letter, published in the Catholic Herald, describes the document’s call to chastity “beautiful and prophetic”.
Humanae Vitae judged that artificial contraception is “absolutely excluded” and “intrinsically wrong”.
The letter signed by young Catholics says: “Living out chastity is counter-cultural and difficult, but rewarding for relationships. It reminds us how the person to whom we are attracted is not a thing to be used, but an equal to be loved, honoured and treated with reverence.”
The letter asserts that “one must not confuse being unfashionable with being untrue”.
It goes on: “Sex can never be truly casual, because it is so inherently filled with meaning – namely, the mutual love of the couple and openness to new life. That is why respecting the integrity of the sexual act matters. It is in allowing sex to convey its full meaning that we can give oneself to one’s spouse completely in love.”
The letter comes ahead of October’s Youth Synod in Rome, in which bishops will explore the Church’s pastoral outreach to young people.
And it follows a similar letter signed by some 500 British priests to mark the 50th anniversary of Humanae Vitae. They said that a “proper ‘human ecology’, a rediscovery of the way of nature and respect for human dignity is essential for the future of our people, Catholic and non-Catholic alike.” It continued: “We propose discovering anew the message of Humanae Vitae, not only in fidelity to the Gospel, but as a key to the healing and true development of our society.”
Bishop of Portsmouth Philip Egan backed the priests’ letter, and praised the “amazingly prophetic document”. He said: “It foresaw how a redefinition of sex would lead to the malaise our society now faces.”
Full text of letter:
It has been suggested that Catholic teaching on contraception has failed to “engage with social change”...Yet one must not confuse being unfashionable with being untrue.
Living out chastity is counter-cultural and difficult, but rewarding for relationships.
It reminds us how the person to whom we are attracted is not a thing to be used, but an equal to be loved, honoured and treated with reverence. The philosopher Elizabeth Anscombe rightly observed that “in this contraceptive day”, however, sex becomes seen as “no more than a sort of extreme kiss, which it might be rather rude to refuse”.
At the heart of chastity is the simple yet revolutionary idea that we are made for love, and our sexuality has been given to us in order to fulfil this call. Hence, as Pope Francis puts it, “The image of God is the married couple”. Sex can never be truly casual, because it is so inherently filled with meaning – namely, the mutual love of the couple and openness to new life. That is why respecting the integrity of the sexual act matters. It is in allowing sex to convey its full meaning that we can give oneself to one’s spouse completely in love.
As young, lay Catholics living in Britain who find this teaching on sexuality beautiful and prophetic, we therefore wish to affirm the relevance of Humanae Vitae for our generation – and indeed for generations to come.
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