A culture of life

by Dr. Janet E. Smith

Humanae Vitae

When Humanae Vitae was released in July, 1968, it went off like a bomb. Though there was much support for the encyclical, no document has ever met with as much dissent.

It was a historic and pivotal moment in Church history. Dissent became the coin of the day. This had not been true prior to Humanae Vitae. Dissenting theologians had never before made such a public display of their opposition on any given issue. The open dissent to Humanae Vitae was a real watershed in the history of the Church. One can view the phenomenon as either a crystalliza-tion of something that had been bubbling under the surface for some time, or as a catalyst for everything that was yet to come. Soon theologians and eventually lay people were dissenting not only about contraception but also about homosexuality, masturbation, adultery, divorce and many other issues.

In spite of the dissent and in spite of widespread use of contraception among Catholics, the Church continually reiterates its opposition to contraception as a great moral wrong; Pope John Paul II made opposition to contraception one of the cornerstones of his pontificate and wrote and spoke extensively on the topic.

I think the experience of the last few decades has revealed that the Church has been very wise in its continual affirmation of this teaching for we have begun to see that contraception leads to many vicious wrongs in society; it facilitates the sexual revolution which leads to much unwanted pregnancy and abortion. It has made women much more open to sexual exploitation by men. In fact, Humanae Vitae predicted a general lowering of morality should contraception become widely available and I think it is manifest that ours is a period of very low morality-much of it in the sexual realm.

Western society has undergone a rapid transformation in terms of sexual behavior and few would argue that it is for the better. The millions of abortions over the last few decades and the phenomenal spread of AIDS alone indicate that we have serious problems with sexuality. The statistics of ten years ago were bad enough; many thought things could hardly get worse-as did many twenty years ago, and thirty years ago. In the last generation the incidence of sexual activity outside of marriage and all the attendant problems have doubled and tripled-or worse.

Statistics do not really capture the pervasive ills attendant upon sexual immorality. Premature and promiscuous sexuality prevent many from establishing good marriages and good family life. Few deny that a healthy sexuality and a strong family life are among the most necessary elements for human happiness and well-being. It is well attested that strong and secure families are less likely to have problems with alcohol, sex, and drugs; they produce individuals more likely to be free from crippling neuroses and psychoses. Since healthy individuals are not preoccupied with their own problems, they are able to be strong leaders; they are prepared to tackle the problems of society. While many single parents do a worthy and valiant job of raising their children, it remains sadly true that children from broken homes grow up to be adults with a greater propensity for crime, with a greater tendency to engage in alcohol and drug abuse, and with a greater susceptibility to psychological disorders.

Professor Janet E. Smith is the Father Michael J. Mc Givney Chair of Life Ethics at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit. These columns, syndicated by www.OneMoreSoul.com, are excerpts of a longer work by Smith.