This is a lucid pastoral letter written by Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, while he was Archbishop of Denver. It is so clear and helpful that we wrote the Archbishop and asked him if NEO-NFP could re-publish the pastoral as a series. He enthusiastically supports us and said yes.
Beginning here and over the next two weeks we’ll provide daily food for thought. We hope these assist you in communicating to others how NFP supports the person, the couple, the child, the society.
Day 1: In his introduction Archbishop Chaput provides an analogy of how our society has an impaired capacity to recognize its current condition and the causes.
Of Human Life – 1998
by: Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap.Archbishop of Denver, July 22, 1998
Dear brothers and sisters in the Lord,
- Thirty years ago this week, Pope Paul VI issued his encyclical letter Humanae Vitae (Of Human Life), which reaffirmed the Church’s constant teaching on the regulation of births. It is certainly the most misunderstood papal intervention of this century. It was the spark which led to three decades of doubt and dissent among many Catholics, especially in the developed countries. With the passage of time, however, it has also proven prophetic. It teaches the truth. My purpose in this pastoral letter, therefore, is simple. I believe the message of Humanae Vitae is not a burden but a joy. I believe this encyclical offers a key to deeper, richer marriages. And so what I seek from the family of our local Church is not just a respectful nod toward a document which critics dismiss as irrelevant, but an active and sustained effort to study Humanae Vitae; to teach it faithfully in our parishes; and to encourage our married couples to live it.
I. THE WORLD SINCE 1968
- Sooner or later, every pastor counsels someone struggling with an addiction. Usually the problem is alcohol or drugs. And usually the scenario is the same. The addict will acknowledge the problem but claim to be powerless against it. Or, alternately, the addict will deny having any problem at all, even if the addiction is destroying his or her health and wrecking job and family. No matter how much sense the pastor makes; no matter how true and persuasive his arguments; and no matter how life-threatening the situation, the addict simply cannot understand — or cannot act on — the counsel. The addiction, like a thick pane of glass, divides the addict from anything or anyone that might help.
- One way to understand the history of Humanae Vitae is to examine the past three decades through this metaphor of addiction. I believe people in the developed world find this encyclical so hard to accept not because of any defect in Paul VI’s reasoning, but because of the addictions and contradictions they have inflicted upon themselves, exactly as the Holy Father warned.
Copyright – Archbishop Charles J. Chaput
Next! – the Four Problems sure to arise…