Catholic Review Online: How the Cafeteria Opened
H. E. Archbishop Edwin O'Brien in his column, Thoughts on Our Church , continues his series discussing the backdrop to Humanae Vitae . His latest column documents the period of discussion and then the publication of the encyclical by Pope Paul VI: 5. On June 28, 1968, Pope Paul issued “Humanae Vitae,” acknowledging the commission’s recommendations and thanking them for their efforts, while insisting that nothing could relieve him as supreme teacher of the Church from the duty of making the final decision. After no little thought and prayer, the Pope came to the conclusion that the Church’s long-standing tradition was, in fact, true to both the laws of God and to the nature of human love: “It is necessary that each conjugal act remain ordained in itself to the procreation of human life.” 6. Even before receiving the text of the encyclical, 10 faculty members of The Catholic University of America circulated a “Statement of Dissent” which overnight gained signatures of 72 other Cath