HUMANAE VITAE
Encyclical of Paul VI
On Regulation of Birth
To His Venerable Brothers the Patriarchs, Archbishops,
Bishops
and other Local Ordinaries in Peace and Communion with the Apostolic See,
to the Clergy and Faithful of the Whole Catholic World,
and to All Men of Good Will.
July 25, 1968
Honored Brothers and Dear Sons, Health and Apostolic
Benediction.
The transmission of human life is a most serious role in which
married people collaborate freely and responsibly with God the
Creator. It has always been a source of great joy to them, even
though it sometimes entails many difficulties and hardships.
The fulfillment of this duty has always posed problems to the
conscience of married people, but the recent course of human
society and the concomitant changes have provoked new questions.
The Church cannot ignore these questions, for they concern
matters intimately connected with the life and happiness of
human beings.
I. PROBLEM AND COMPETENCY OF THE MAGISTERIUM
2. The changes that have taken place are of considerable
importance and varied in nature. In the first place there is the
rapid increase in population which has made many fear that world
population is going to grow faster than available resources,
with the consequence that many families and developing countries
would be faced with greater hardships. This can easily induce
public authorities to be tempted to take even harsher measures
to avert this danger. There is also the fact that not only
working and housing conditions but the greater demands made both
in the economic and educational field pose a living situation in
which it is frequently difficult these days to provide properly
for a large family.
Also
noteworthy is a new understanding of the dignity of woman and
her place in society, of the value of conjugal love in marriage
and the relationship of conjugal acts to this love.
But
the most remarkable development of all is to be seen in man's
stupendous progress in the domination and rational organization
of the forces of nature to the point that he is endeavoring to
extend this control over every aspect of his own life—over his
body, over his mind and emotions, over his social life, and even
over the laws that regulate the transmission of life.
New Questions
3. This new state of things gives rise to new questions.
Granted the conditions of life today and taking into account the
relevance of married love to the harmony and mutual fidelity of
husband and wife, would it not be right to review the moral
norms in force till now, especially when it is felt that these
can be observed only with the gravest difficulty, sometimes only
by heroic effort?
Moreover, if one were to apply here the so called principle of
totality, could it not be accepted that the intention to have a
less prolific but more rationally planned family might transform
an action which renders natural processes infertile into a licit
and provident control of birth? Could it not be admitted, in
other words, that procreative finality applies to the totality
of married life rather than to each single act? A further
question is whether, because people are more conscious today of
their responsibilities, the time has not come when the
transmission of life should be regulated by their intelligence
and will rather than through the specific rhythms of their own
bodies.
Interpreting the Moral Law
4. This kind of question requires from the teaching
authority of the Church a new and deeper reflection on the
principles of the moral teaching on marriage—a teaching which is
based on the natural law as illuminated and enriched by divine
Revelation.
No member of the faithful could possibly deny that the Church is
competent in her magisterium to interpret the natural moral law.
It is in fact indisputable, as Our predecessors have many times
declared, (l) that Jesus Christ, when He communicated His divine
power to Peter and the other Apostles and sent them to teach all
nations His commandments, (2) constituted them as the authentic
guardians and interpreters of the whole moral law, not only,
that is, of the law of the Gospel but also of the natural law.
For the natural law, too, declares the will of God, and its
faithful observance is necessary for men's eternal salvation.
(3)
In carrying out this mandate, the Church has always issued
appropriate documents on the nature of marriage, the correct use
of conjugal rights, and the duties of spouses. These documents
have been more copious in recent times. (4)
Special Studies
5. The consciousness of the same responsibility induced Us
to confirm and expand the commission set up by Our predecessor
Pope John XXIII, of happy memory, in March, 1963. This
commission included married couples as well as many experts in
the various fields pertinent to these questions. Its task was to
examine views and opinions concerning married life, and
especially on the correct regulation of births; and it was also
to provide the teaching authority of the Church with such
evidence as would enable it to give an apt reply in this matter,
which not only the faithful but also the rest of the world were
waiting for. (5)
When the evidence of the experts had been received, as well as
the opinions and advice of a considerable number of Our brethren
in the episcopate—some of whom sent their views spontaneously,
while others were requested by Us to do so—We were in a position
to weigh with more precision all the aspects of this complex
subject. Hence We are deeply grateful to all those concerned.
The Magisterium's Reply
6. However, the conclusions arrived at by the commission
could not be considered by Us as definitive and absolutely
certain, dispensing Us from the duty of examining personally
this serious question. This was all the more necessary because,
within the commission itself, there was not complete agreement
concerning the moral norms to be proposed, and especially
because certain approaches and criteria for a solution to this
question had emerged which were at variance with the moral
doctrine on marriage constantly taught by the magisterium of the
Church.
Consequently, now that We have sifted carefully the evidence
sent to Us and intently studied the whole matter, as well as
prayed constantly to God, We, by virtue of the mandate entrusted
to Us by Christ, intend to give Our reply to this series of
grave questions.
II. DOCTRINAL PRINCIPLES
7. The question of human procreation, like every other
question which touches human life, involves more than the
limited aspects specific to such disciplines as biology,
psychology, demography or sociology. It is the whole man and the
whole mission to which he is called that must be considered:
both its natural, earthly aspects and its supernatural, eternal
aspects. And since in the attempt to justify artificial methods
of birth control many appeal to the demands of married love or
of responsible parenthood, these two important realities of
married life must be accurately defined and analyzed. This is
what We mean to do, with special reference to what the Second
Vatican Council taught with the highest authority in its
Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the World of Today.
God's Loving Design
8. Married love particularly reveals its true nature and
nobility when we realize that it takes its origin from God, who
"is love," (6) the Father "from whom every family in heaven and
on earth is named." (7)
Marriage, then, is far from being the effect of chance or the
result of the blind evolution of natural forces. It is in
reality the wise and provident institution of God the Creator,
whose purpose was to effect in man His loving design. As a
consequence, husband and wife, through that mutual gift of
themselves, which is specific and exclusive to them alone,
develop that union of two persons in which they perfect one
another, cooperating with God in the generation and rearing of
new lives.
The
marriage of those who have been baptized is, in addition,
invested with the dignity of a sacramental sign of grace, for it
represents the union of Christ and His Church.
Married Love
9. In the light of these facts the characteristic features
and exigencies of married love are clearly indicated, and it is
of the highest importance to evaluate them exactly.
This
love is above all fully human, a compound of sense and spirit.
It is not, then, merely a question of natural instinct or
emotional drive. It is also, and above all, an act of the free
will, whose trust is such that it is meant not only to survive
the joys and sorrows of daily life, but also to grow, so that
husband and wife become in a way one heart and one soul, and
together attain their human fulfillment.
It
is a love which is total—that very special form of personal
friendship in which husband and wife generously share
everything, allowing no unreasonable exceptions and not thinking
solely of their own convenience. Whoever really loves his
partner loves not only for what he receives, but loves that
partner for the partner's own sake, content to be able to enrich
the other with the gift of himself.
Married love is also faithful and exclusive of all other, and
this until death. This is how husband and wife understood it on
the day on which, fully aware of what they were doing, they
freely vowed themselves to one another in marriage. Though this
fidelity of husband and wife sometimes presents difficulties, no
one has the right to assert that it is impossible; it is, on the
contrary, always honorable and meritorious. The example of
countless married couples proves not only that fidelity is in
accord with the nature of marriage, but also that it is the
source of profound and enduring happiness.
Finally, this love is fecund. It is not confined wholly to the
loving interchange of husband and wife; it also contrives to go
beyond this to bring new life into being. "Marriage and conjugal
love are by their nature ordained toward the procreation and
education of children. Children are really the supreme gift of
marriage and contribute in the highest degree to their parents'
welfare." (8)
Responsible Parenthood
10. Married love, therefore, requires of husband and wife
the full awareness of their obligations in the matter of
responsible parenthood, which today, rightly enough, is much
insisted upon, but which at the same time should be rightly
understood. Thus, we do well to consider responsible parenthood
in the light of its varied legitimate and interrelated aspects.
With
regard to the biological processes, responsible parenthood means
an awareness of, and respect for, their proper functions. In the
procreative faculty the human mind discerns biological laws that
apply to the human person. (9)
With
regard to man's innate drives and emotions, responsible
parenthood means that man's reason and will must exert control
over them.
With regard to physical, economic, psychological and social
conditions, responsible parenthood is exercised by those who
prudently and generously decide to have more children, and by
those who, for serious reasons and with due respect to moral
precepts, decide not to have additional children for either a
certain or an indefinite period of time.
Responsible parenthood, as we use the term here, has one further
essential aspect of paramount importance. It concerns the
objective moral order which was established by God, and of which
a right conscience is the true interpreter. In a word, the
exercise of responsible parenthood requires that husband and
wife, keeping a right order of priorities, recognize their own
duties toward God, themselves, their families and human society.
From this it follows that they are not free to act as they
choose in the service of transmitting life, as if it were wholly
up to them to decide what is the right course to follow. On the
contrary, they are bound to ensure that what they do corresponds
to the will of God the Creator. The very nature of marriage and
its use makes His will clear, while the constant teaching of the
Church spells it out. (10)
Observing the Natural Law
11. The sexual activity, in which husband and wife are
intimately and chastely united with one another, through which
human life is transmitted, is, as the recent Council recalled,
"noble and worthy.'' (11) It does not, moreover, cease to be
legitimate even when, for reasons independent of their will, it
is foreseen to be infertile. For its natural adaptation to the
expression and strengthening of the union of husband and wife is
not thereby suppressed. The fact is, as experience shows, that
new life is not the result of each and every act of sexual
intercourse. God has wisely ordered laws of nature and the
incidence of fertility in such a way that successive births are
already naturally spaced through the inherent operation of these
laws. The Church, nevertheless, in urging men to the observance
of the precepts of the natural law, which it interprets by its
constant doctrine, teaches that each and every marital act must
of necessity retain its intrinsic relationship to the
procreation of human life. (12)
Union and Procreation
12. This particular doctrine, often expounded by the
magisterium of the Church, is based on the inseparable
connection, established by God, which man on his own initiative
may not break, between the unitive significance and the
procreative significance which are both inherent to the marriage
act.
The
reason is that the fundamental nature of the marriage act, while
uniting husband and wife in the closest intimacy, also renders
them capable of generating new life—and this as a result of laws
written into the actual nature of man and of woman. And if each
of these essential qualities, the unitive and the procreative,
is preserved, the use of marriage fully retains its sense of
true mutual love and its ordination to the supreme
responsibility of parenthood to which man is called. We believe
that our contemporaries are particularly capable of seeing that
this teaching is in harmony with human reason.
Faithfulness to God's Design
13. Men rightly observe that a conjugal act imposed on one's
partner without regard to his or her condition or personal and
reasonable wishes in the matter, is no true act of love, and
therefore offends the moral order in its particular application
to the intimate relationship of husband and wife. If they
further reflect, they must also recognize that an act of mutual
love which impairs the capacity to transmit life which God the
Creator, through specific laws, has built into it, frustrates
His design which constitutes the norm of marriage, and
contradicts the will of the Author of life. Hence to use this
divine gift while depriving it, even if only partially, of its
meaning and purpose, is equally repugnant to the nature of man
and of woman, and is consequently in opposition to the plan of
God and His holy will. But to experience the gift of married
love while respecting the laws of conception is to acknowledge
that one is not the master of the sources of life but rather the
minister of the design established by the Creator. Just as man
does not have unlimited dominion over his body in general, so
also, and with more particular reason, he has no such dominion
over his specifically sexual faculties, for these are concerned
by their very nature with the generation of life, of which God
is the source. "Human life is sacred—all men must recognize that
fact," Our predecessor Pope John XXIII recalled. "From its very
inception it reveals the creating hand of God." (13)
Unlawful Birth Control Methods
14. Therefore We base Our words on the first principles of a
human and Christian doctrine of marriage when We are obliged
once more to declare that the direct interruption of the
generative process already begun and, above all, all direct
abortion, even for therapeutic reasons, are to be absolutely
excluded as lawful means of regulating the number of children.
(14) Equally to be condemned, as the magisterium of the Church
has affirmed on many occasions, is direct sterilization, whether
of the man or of the woman, whether permanent or temporary. (15)
Similarly excluded is any action which either before, at the
moment of, or after sexual intercourse, is specifically intended
to prevent procreation—whether as an end or as a means. (16)
Neither is it valid to argue, as a justification for sexual
intercourse which is deliberately contraceptive, that a lesser
evil is to be preferred to a greater one, or that such
intercourse would merge with procreative acts of past and future
to form a single entity, and so be qualified by exactly the same
moral goodness as these. Though it is true that sometimes it is
lawful to tolerate a lesser moral evil in order to avoid a
greater evil or in order to promote a greater good," it is never
lawful, even for the gravest reasons, to do evil that good may
come of it (18)—in other words, to intend directly something
which of its very nature contradicts the moral order, and which
must therefore be judged unworthy of man, even though the
intention is to protect or promote the welfare of an individual,
of a family or of society in general. Consequently, it is a
serious error to think that a whole married life of otherwise
normal relations can justify sexual intercourse which is
deliberately contraceptive and so intrinsically wrong.
Lawful Therapeutic Means
15. On the other hand, the Church does not consider at all
illicit the use of those therapeutic means necessary to cure
bodily diseases, even if a foreseeable impediment to procreation
should result there from—provided such impediment is not
directly intended for any motive whatsoever. (19)
Recourse to Infertile Periods
16. Now as We noted earlier (no. 3), some people today raise
the objection against this particular doctrine of the Church
concerning the moral laws governing marriage, that human
intelligence has both the right and responsibility to control
those forces of irrational nature which come within its ambit
and to direct them toward ends beneficial to man. Others ask on
the same point whether it is not reasonable in so many cases to
use artificial birth control if by so doing the harmony and
peace of a family are better served and more suitable conditions
are provided for the education of children already born. To this
question We must give a clear reply. The Church is the first to
praise and commend the application of human intelligence to an
activity in which a rational creature such as man is so closely
associated with his Creator. But she affirms that this must be
done within the limits of the order of reality established by
God.
If
therefore there are well-grounded reasons for spacing births,
arising from the physical or psychological condition of husband
or wife, or from external circumstances, the Church teaches that
married people may then take advantage of the natural cycles
immanent in the reproductive system and engage in marital
intercourse only during those times that are infertile, thus
controlling birth in a way which does not in the least offend
the moral principles which We have just explained. (20)
Neither the Church nor her doctrine is inconsistent when she
considers it lawful for married people to take advantage of the
infertile period but condemns as always unlawful the use of
means which directly prevent conception, even when the reasons
given for the later practice may appear to be upright and
serious. In reality, these two cases are completely different.
In the former the married couple rightly use a faculty provided
them by nature. In the latter they obstruct the natural
development of the generative process. It cannot be denied that
in each case the married couple, for acceptable reasons, are
both perfectly clear in their intention to avoid children and
wish to make sure that none will result. But it is equally true
that it is exclusively in the former case that husband and wife
are ready to abstain from intercourse during the fertile period
as often as for reasonable motives the birth of another child is
not desirable. And when the infertile period recurs, they use
their married intimacy to express their mutual love and
safeguard their fidelity toward one another. In doing this they
certainly give proof of a true and authentic love.
Consequences of Artificial Methods
17. Responsible men can become more deeply convinced of the
truth of the doctrine laid down by the Church on this issue if
they reflect on the consequences of methods and plans for
artificial birth control. Let them first consider how easily
this course of action could open wide the way for marital
infidelity and 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. 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.
Finally, careful consideration should be given to the danger of
this power passing into the hands of those public authorities
who care little for the precepts of the moral law. Who will
blame a government which in its attempt to resolve the problems
affecting an entire country resorts to the same measures as are
regarded as lawful by married people in the solution of a
particular family difficulty? Who will prevent public
authorities from favoring those contraceptive methods which they
consider more effective? Should they regard this as necessary,
they may even impose their use on everyone. It could well
happen, therefore, that when people, either individually or in
family or social life, experience the inherent difficulties of
the divine law and are determined to avoid them, they may give
into the hands of public authorities the power to intervene in
the most personal and intimate responsibility of husband and
wife.
Limits to Man's Power
Consequently, unless we are willing that the responsibility
of procreating life should be left to the arbitrary decision of
men, we must accept that there are certain limits, beyond which
it is wrong to go, to the power of man over his own body and its
natural functions—limits, let it be said, which no one, whether
as a private individual or as a public authority, can lawfully
exceed. These limits are expressly imposed because of the
reverence due to the whole human organism and its natural
functions, in the light of the principles We stated earlier, and
in accordance with a correct understanding of the "principle of
totality" enunciated by Our predecessor Pope Pius XII. (21)
Concern of the Church
18. It is to be anticipated that perhaps not everyone will
easily accept this particular teaching. There is too much
clamorous outcry against the voice of the Church, and this is
intensified by modern means of communication. But it comes as no
surprise to the Church that she, no less than her divine
Founder, is destined to be a "sign of contradiction." (22) She
does not, because of this, evade the duty imposed on her of
proclaiming humbly but firmly the entire moral law, both natural
and evangelical.
Since the Church did not make either of these laws, she cannot
be their arbiter—only their guardian and interpreter. It could
never be right for her to declare lawful what is in fact
unlawful, since that, by its very nature, is always opposed to
the true good of man.
In
preserving intact the whole moral law of marriage, the Church is
convinced that she is contributing to the creation of a truly
human civilization. She urges man not to betray his personal
responsibilities by putting all his faith in technical
expedients. In this way she defends the dignity of husband and
wife. This course of action shows that the Church, loyal to the
example and teaching of the divine Savior, is sincere and
unselfish in her regard for men whom she strives to help even
now during this earthly pilgrimage "to share God's life as sons
of the living God, the Father of all men." (23)
III. PASTORAL DIRECTIVES
19. Our words would not be an adequate expression of the
thought and solicitude of the Church, Mother and Teacher of all
peoples, if, after having recalled men to the observance and
respect of the divine law regarding matrimony, they did not also
support mankind in the honest regulation of birth amid the
difficult conditions which today afflict families and peoples.
The Church, in fact, cannot act differently toward men than did
the Redeemer. She knows their weaknesses, she has compassion on
the multitude, she welcomes sinners. But at the same time she
cannot do otherwise than teach the law. For it is in fact the
law of human life restored to its native truth and guided by the
Spirit of God. (24) Observing the Divine Law.
20. The teaching of the Church regarding the proper regulation
of birth is a promulgation of the law of God Himself. And yet
there is no doubt that to many it will appear not merely
difficult but even impossible to observe. Now it is true that
like all good things which are outstanding for their nobility
and for the benefits which they confer on men, so this law
demands from individual men and women, from families and from
human society, a resolute purpose and great endurance. Indeed it
cannot be observed unless God comes to their help with the grace
by which the goodwill of men is sustained and strengthened. But
to those who consider this matter diligently it will indeed be
evident that this endurance enhances man's dignity and confers
benefits on human society.
Value of Self-Discipline
21. The right and lawful ordering of birth demands, first of
all, that spouses fully recognize and value the true blessings
of family life and that they acquire complete mastery over
themselves and their emotions. For if with the aid of reason and
of free will they are to control their natural drives, there can
be no doubt at all of the need for self-denial. Only then will
the expression of love, essential to married life, conform to
right order. This is especially clear in the practice of
periodic continence. Self-discipline of this kind is a shining
witness to the chastity of husband and wife and, far from being
a hindrance to their love of one another, transforms it by
giving it a more truly human character. And if this
self-discipline does demand that they persevere in their purpose
and efforts, it has at the same time the salutary effect of
enabling husband and wife to develop to their personalities and
to be enriched with spiritual blessings. For it brings to family
life abundant fruits of tranquility and peace. It helps in
solving difficulties of other kinds. It fosters in husband and
wife thoughtfulness and loving consideration for one another. It
helps them to repel inordinate self-love, which is the opposite
of charity. It arouses in them a consciousness of their
responsibilities. And finally, it confers upon parents a deeper
and more effective influence in the education of their children.
As their children grow up, they develop a right sense of values
and achieve a serene and harmonious use of their mental and
physical powers.
Promotion of Chastity
22. We take this opportunity to address those who are engaged in
education and all those whose right and duty it is to provide
for the common good of human society. We would call their
attention to the need to create an atmosphere favorable to the
growth of chastity so that true liberty may prevail over license
and the norms of the moral law may be fully safeguarded.
Everything therefore in the modern means of social communication
which arouses men's baser passions and encourages low moral
standards, as well as every obscenity in the written word and
every form of indecency on the stage and screen, should be
condemned publicly and unanimously by all those who have at
heart the advance of civilization and the safeguarding of the
outstanding values of the human spirit. It is quite absurd to
defend this kind of depravity in the name of art or culture (25)
or by pleading the liberty which may be allowed in this field by
the public authorities.
Appeal to Public Authorities
23. And now We wish to speak to rulers of nations. To you most
of all is committed the responsibility of safeguarding the
common good. You can contribute so much to the preservation of
morals. We beg of you, never allow the morals of your peoples to
be undermined. The family is the primary unit in the state; do
not tolerate any legislation which would introduce into the
family those practices which are opposed to the natural law of
God. For there are other ways by which a government can and
should solve the population problem—that is to say by enacting
laws which will assist families and by educating the people
wisely so that the moral law and the freedom of the citizens are
both safeguarded.
Seeking True Solutions
We are fully aware of the difficulties confronting the public
authorities in this matter, especially in the developing
countries. In fact, We had in mind the justifiable anxieties
which weigh upon them when We published Our encyclical letter
Populorum Progressio. But now We join Our voice to that of Our
predecessor John XXIII of venerable memory, and We make Our own
his words: "No statement of the problem and no solution to it is
acceptable which does violence to man's essential dignity; those
who propose such solutions base them on an utterly materialistic
conception of man himself and his life. The only possible
solution to this question is one which envisages the social and
economic progress both of individuals and of the whole of human
society, and which respects and promotes true human values."
(26) No one can, without being grossly unfair, make divine
Providence responsible for what clearly seems to be the result
of misguided governmental policies, of an insufficient sense of
social justice, of a selfish accumulation of material goods, and
finally of a culpable failure to undertake those initiatives and
responsibilities which would raise the standard of living of
peoples and their children. (27) If only all governments which
were able would do what some are already doing so nobly, and
bestir themselves to renew their efforts and their undertakings!
There must be no relaxation in the programs of mutual aid
between all the branches of the great human family. Here We
believe an almost limitless field lies open for the activities
of the great international institutions.
To Scientists
24. Our next appeal is to men of science. These can
"considerably advance the welfare of marriage and the family and
also peace of conscience, if by pooling their efforts they
strive to elucidate more thoroughly the conditions favorable to
a proper regulation of births." (28) It is supremely desirable,
and this was also the mind of Pius XII, that medical science
should by the study of natural rhythms succeed in determining a
sufficiently secure basis for the chaste limitation of
offspring. (29) In this way scientists, especially those who are
Catholics, will by their research establish the truth of the
Church's claim that "there can be no contradiction between two
divine laws—that which governs the transmitting of life and that
which governs the fostering of married love." (30)
To Christian Couples
25. And now We turn in a special way to Our own sons and
daughters, to those most of all whom God calls to serve Him in
the state of marriage. While the Church does indeed hand on to
her children the inviolable conditions laid down by God's law,
she is also the herald of salvation and through the sacraments
she flings wide open the channels of grace through which man is
made a new creature responding in charity and true freedom to
the design of his Creator and Savior, experiencing too the
sweetness of the yoke of Christ. (31)
In humble obedience then to her voice, let Christian husbands
and wives be mindful of their vocation to the Christian life, a
vocation which, deriving from their Baptism, has been confirmed
anew and made more explicit by the Sacrament of Matrimony. For
by this sacrament they are strengthened and, one might almost
say, consecrated to the faithful fulfillment of their duties.
Thus will they realize to the full their calling and bear
witness as becomes them, to Christ before the world. (32) For
the Lord has entrusted to them the task of making visible to men
and women the holiness and joy of the law which united
inseparably their love for one another and the cooperation they
give to God's love, God who is the Author of human life.
We have no wish at all to pass over in silence the difficulties,
at times very great, which beset the lives of Christian married
couples. For them, as indeed for every one of us, "the gate is
narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life." (33)
Nevertheless it is precisely the hope of that life which, like a
brightly burning torch, lights up their journey, as, strong in
spirit, they strive to live "sober, upright and godly lives in
this world," (34) knowing for sure that "the form of this world
is passing away." (35)
Recourse to God
For this reason husbands and wives should take up the burden
appointed to them, willingly, in the strength of faith and of
that hope which "does not disappoint us, because God's love has
been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been
given to us ~}36 Then let them implore the help of God with
unremitting prayer and, most of all, let them draw grace and
charity from that unfailing fount which is the Eucharist. If,
however, sin still exercises its hold over them, they are not to
lose heart. Rather must they, humble and persevering, have
recourse to the mercy of God, abundantly bestowed in the
Sacrament of Penance. In this way, for sure, they will be able
to reach that perfection of married life which the Apostle sets
out in these words: "Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved
the Church. . . Even so husbands should love their wives as
their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no
man ever hates his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, as
Christ does the Church. . . This is a great mystery, and I mean
in reference to Christ and the Church; however, let each one of
you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she
respects her husband." (37)
Family Apostolate
26. Among the fruits that ripen if the law of God be resolutely
obeyed, the most precious is certainly this, that married
couples themselves will often desire to communicate their own
experience to others. Thus it comes about that in the fullness
of the lay vocation will be included a novel and outstanding
form of the apostolate by which, like ministering to like,
married couples themselves by the leadership they offer will
become apostles to other married couples. And surely among all
the forms of the Christian apostolate it is hard to think of one
more opportune for the present time. (38)
To Doctors and Nurses
27. Likewise we hold in the highest esteem those doctors and
members of the nursing profession who, in the exercise of their
calling, endeavor to fulfill the demands of their Christian
vocation before any merely human interest. Let them therefore
continue constant in their resolution always to support those
lines of action which accord with faith and with right reason.
And let them strive to win agreement and support for these
policies among their professional colleagues. Moreover, they
should regard it as an essential part of their skill to make
themselves fully proficient in this difficult field of medical
knowledge. For then, when married couples ask for their advice,
they may be in a position to give them right counsel and to
point them in the proper direction. Married couples have a right
to expect this much from them.
To Priests
28. And now, beloved sons, you who are priests, you who in
virtue of your sacred office act as counselors and spiritual
leaders both of individual men and women and of families—We turn
to you filled with great confidence. For it is your principal
duty—We are speaking especially to you who teach moral
theology—to spell out clearly and completely the Church's
teaching on marriage. In the performance of your ministry you
must be the first to give an example of that sincere obedience,
inward as well as outward, which is due to the magisterium of
the Church. For, as you know, the pastors of the Church enjoy a
special light of the Holy Spirit in teaching the truth. (39) And
this, rather than the arguments they put forward, is why you are
bound to such obedience. Nor will it escape you that if men's
peace of soul and the unity of the Christian people are to be
preserved, then it is of the utmost importance that in moral as
well as in dogmatic theology all should obey the magisterium of
the Church and should speak as with one voice. Therefore We make
Our own the anxious words of the great Apostle Paul and with all
Our heart We renew Our appeal to you: "I appeal to you,
brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you
agree and that there be no dissensions among you, but that you
be united in the same mind and the same judgment." (40)
Christian Compassion
29. Now it is an outstanding manifestation of charity toward
souls to omit nothing from the saving doctrine of Christ; but
this must always be joined with tolerance and charity, as Christ
Himself showed in His conversations and dealings with men. For
when He came, not to judge, but to save the world, (41) was He
not bitterly severe toward sin, but patient and abounding in
mercy toward sinners?
Husbands and wives, therefore, when deeply distressed by reason
of the difficulties of their life, must find stamped in the
heart and voice of their priest the likeness of the voice and
the love of our Redeemer.
So speak with full confidence, beloved sons, convinced that
while the Holy Spirit of God is present to the magisterium
proclaiming sound doctrine, He also illumines from within the
hearts of the faithful and invites their assent. Teach married
couples the necessary way of prayer and prepare them to approach
more often with great faith the Sacraments of the Eucharist and
of Penance. Let them never lose heart because of their weakness.
To Bishops
30. And now as We come to the end of this encyclical letter, We
turn Our mind to you, reverently and lovingly, beloved and
venerable brothers in the episcopate, with whom We share more
closely the care of the spiritual good of the People of God. For
We invite all of you, We implore you, to give a lead to your
priests who assist you in the sacred ministry, and to the
faithful of your dioceses, and to devote yourselves with all
zeal and without delay to safeguarding the holiness of marriage,
in order to guide married life to its full human and Christian
perfection. Consider this mission as one of your most urgent
responsibilities at the present time. As you well know, it calls
for concerted pastoral action in every field of human diligence,
economic, cultural and social. If simultaneous progress is made
in these various fields, then the intimate life of parents and
children in the family will be rendered not only more tolerable,
but easier and more joyful. And life together in human society
will be enriched with fraternal charity and made more stable
with true peace when God's design which He conceived for the
world is faithfully followed.
A Great Work
31. Venerable brothers, beloved sons, all men of good will,
great indeed is the work of education, of progress and of
charity to which We now summon all of you. And this We do
relying on the unshakable teaching of the Church, which teaching
Peter's successor together with his brothers in the Catholic
episcopate faithfully guards and interprets. And We are
convinced that this truly great work will bring blessings both
on the world and on the Church. For man cannot attain that true
happiness for which he yearns with all the strength of his
spirit, unless he keeps the laws which the Most High God has
engraved in his very nature. These laws must be wisely and
lovingly observed. On this great work, on all of you and
especially on married couples, We implore from the God of all
holiness and pity an abundance of heavenly grace as a pledge of
which We gladly bestow Our apostolic blessing.
Given at St. Peter's, Rome, on the 25th day of July, the feast
of St. James the Apostle, in the year 1968, the sixth of Our
pontificate.
PAUL VI
NOTES
LATIN TEXT: Acta Apostolicae Sedis, 60 (1968), 481-503.
ENGLISH TRANSLATION: The Pope Speaks, 13 (Fall. 1969), 329-46.
REFERENCES:
(1) See Pius IX, encyc. letter Oui pluribus: Pii IX P.M. Acta,
1, pp. 9-10; St. Pius X encyc. letter Singulari quadam: AAS 4
(1912), 658; Pius XI, encyc.letter Casti connubii: AAS 22
(1930), 579-581; Pius XII, address Magnificate Dominum to the
episcopate of the Catholic World: AAS 46 (1954), 671-672; John
XXIII, encyc. letter Mater et Magistra: AAS 53 (1961), 457.
(2) See Mt 28. 18-19.
(3) See Mt 7. 21.
(4) See Council of Trent Roman Catechism, Part II, ch. 8; Leo
XIII, encyc.letter Arcanum: Acta Leonis XIII, 2 (1880), 26-29;
Pius XI, encyc.letter Divini illius Magistri: AAS 22 (1930),
58-61; encyc. letter Casti connubii: AAS 22 (1930), 545-546;
Pius XII, Address to Italian Medico-Biological Union of St.
Luke: Discorsi e radiomessaggi di Pio XII, VI, 191-192; to
Italian Association of Catholic Midwives: AAS 43 (1951),
835-854; to the association known as the Family Campaign, and
other family associations: AAS 43 (1951), 857-859; to 7th
congress of International Society of Hematology: AAS 50 (1958),
734-735 [TPS VI, 394-395]; John XXIII, encyc.letter Mater et
Magistra: AAS 53 (1961), 446-447 [TPS VII, 330-331]; Second
Vatican Council, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the
World of Today, nos. 47-52: AAS 58 (1966), 1067-1074 [TPS XI,
289-295]; Code of Canon Law, canons 1067, 1068 §1, canon 1076,
§§1-2.
(5) See Paul VI, Address to Sacred College of Cardinals: AAS 56
(1964), 588 [TPS IX, 355-356]; to Commission for the Study of
Problems of Population, Family and Birth: AAS 57 (1965), 388 [TPS
X, 225]; to National Congress of the Italian Society of
Obstetrics and Gynecology: AAS 58 (1966), 1168 [TPS XI,
401-403].
(6) See 1 Jn 4. 8.
(7) Eph 3. 15.
(8) Second Vatican Council, Pastoral Constitution on the Church
in the World of Today, no. 50: AAS 58 (1966), 1070-1072 [TPS XI,
292-293].
(9) See St. Thomas, Summa Theologiae, I-II, q. 94, art. 2.
(10) See Second Vatican Council, Pastoral Constitution on the
Church in the World of Today, nos . 50- 5 1: AAS 58 ( 1 966)
1070-1073 [TPS XI, 292-293].
(11) See ibid., no. 49: AAS 58 (1966), 1070 [TPS XI, 291-292].
(12) See Pius XI. encyc. letter Casti connubi: AAS 22 (1930),
560; Pius XII, Address to Midwives: AAS 43 (1951), 843.
(13) See encyc. letter Mater et Magistra: AAS 53 (1961), 447 [TPS
VII, 331].
(14) See Council of Trent Roman Catechism, Part II, ch. 8; Pius
XI, encyc. letter Casti connubii: AAS 22 (1930), 562-564; Pius
XII, Address to Medico-Biological Union of St. Luke: Discorsi e
radiomessaggi, VI, 191-192; Address to Midwives: AAS 43 (1951),
842-843; Address to Family Campaign and other family
associations: AAS 43 (1951), 857-859; John XXIII, encyc. letter
Pacem in terris: AAS 55 (1963), 259-260 [TPS IX, 15-16]; Second
Vatican Council, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the
World of Today, no. 51: AAS 58 (1966), 1072 [TPS XI, 293].
(15) See Pius XI, encyc. letter Casti connubii: AAS 22 (1930),
565; Decree of the Holy Office, Feb. 22, 1940: AAS 32 (1940),
73; Pius XII, Address to Midwives: AAS 43
(1951), 843-844; to the Society of Hematology: AAS 50 (1958),
734-735 [TPS VI, 394-395].
(16) See Council of Trent Roman Catechism, Part II, ch. 8; Pius
XI, encyc. letter Casti connubii: AAS 22 (1930), 559-561; Pius
XII, Address to Midwives: AAS 43 (1951), 843; to the Society of
Hematology: AAS 50 (1958), 734-735 [TPS VI, 394-395]; John
XXIII, encyc.letter Mater et Magistra: AAS 53 (1961), 447 [TPS
VII, 331].
(17) See Pius XII, Address to National Congress of Italian
Society of the Union of Catholic Jurists: AAS 45 (1953), 798-799
[TPS I, 67-69].
(18) See Rom 3. 8.
(19) See Pius XII, Address to 26th Congress of Italian
Association of Urology: AAS 45 (1953), 674-675; to Society of
Hematology: AAS 50 (1958), 734-735 [TPS VI, 394-395].
(20) See Pius XII, Address to Midwives: AAS 43 (1951), 846.
(21) See Pius XII, Address to Association of Urology: AAS 45
(1953), 674-675; to leaders and members of Italian Association
of Cornea Donors and Italian Association for the Blind: AAS 48
(1956), 461-462 [TPS III, 200-201].
(22) Lk 2. 34.
(23) See Paul Vl, encyc. letter Populorum progressio: AAS 59
(1967), 268 [TPS XII, 151].
(24) See Rom 8.
(25) See Second Vatican Council, Decree on the Media of Social
Communication, nos. 6-7: AAS 56 (1964), 147 [TPS IX, 340-341].
(26) Encyc. letter Mater et Magistra: AAS 53 (1961), 447 [TPS
VII, 331].
(27) See encyc. letter Populorum progressio, nos. 48-55: AAS 59
(1967), 281-284 [TPS XII, 160-162].
(28) Second Vatican Council, Pastoral Constitution on the Church
in the World of Today, no. 52: AAS 58 (1966), 1074 [TPS XI,
294].
(29) Address to Family Campaign and other family associations:
AAS 43 (1951), 859.
(30) Second Vatican Council, Pastoral Constitution on the Church
in the World of Today, no. 51: AAS 58 (1966), 1072 [TPS XI,
293].
(31) See Mt 11. 30.
(32) See Second Vatican Council, Pastoral Constitution on the
Church in the World of Today, no. 48: AAS 58 (1966), 1067-1069 [TPS
XI,290-291]; Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, no. 35: AAS 57
(1965), 40-41 [TPS X, 382-383].
(33) Mt 7. 14; see Heb 12. 11.
(34) See Ti 2. 12.
(35) See 1 Cor 7. 31.
(36) Rom 5. 5.
(37) Eph 5. 25, 28-29, 32-33.
(38) See Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the
Church, nos. 35, 41: AAS 57 (1965), 40-45 [TPS X, 382-383,
386-387; Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the World of
Today, nos. 48-49: AAS 58 (1966),1067-1070 [TPS XI, 290-292];
Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity, no. 11: AAS 58 (1966),
847-849 [TPS XI, 128-129].
(39) See Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the
Church, no. 25: AAS 57 (1965), 29-31 [TPS X, 375-376].
(40) 1 Cor 1. 10.
(41) See Jn 3. 17
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