Jul 18, 2008 / 12:50 pm
A group of Catholic dissenters plans to publish an open letter to Pope Benedict XVI in a major U.S. and a major Italian newspaper criticizing Pope Paul VI’s 1968 encyclical Humanae Vitae on the fortieth anniversary of its promulgation, July 25. The group Catholics for Choice (CFC) claims that the encyclical’s teaching against contraception has been an “utter failure” that endangers women’s lives and leaves millions at risk of HIV. However, a major pro-life leader said the group’s accusations were hard to take seriously.
According to the version of the open letter obtained by CNA, CFC argues that there is a “paradox” in Humanae Vitae because “most Catholics use modern contraceptives, believe it is a moral choice to do so, and consider themselves Catholics in good standing.” The letter asserts that the encyclical has been an “utter failure” in convincing Catholics to abandon contraceptive use.
Catholic condemnation of contraceptive use, the CFC letter claims, has also hindered what it calls “good public health policies” on family planning and HIV prevention. It further claims that most Catholics support the use of condoms to prevent the spread of HIV.
Focusing on Pope Paul VI’s Birth Control Commission, which he consulted in preparing Humanae Vitae, the CFC letter says the commission had “voted overwhelmingly” to recommend rescinding the Catholic ban on artificial contraceptives. The majority reportedly argued that contraceptive use was not intrinsically evil and that previous Catholic teaching was not infallible, but according to CFC, Pope Paul listened to the commission’s minority report, which supported the historical Catholic prohibition of contraceptives.