The Humanae vitae Prophecies

Pope Paul VI has been called a prophet for his intuitions expressed in the 1968 encyclical, Humanae vitae, about what would happen to society if contraception ever became widely used. But a “prophecy” is much more than just a prediction: it is really a view of reality and an assessment of what happens when the right order of things is snubbed. All the Old Testament prophets told the people of Israel, in unambiguous terms, that they had turned their backs on the Lord’s covenant (God’s view of reality) and that the consequences would be dire if they persevered in that apostasy. Succeeding generations of scholars, who saw the fulfillment of the prophets’ words, then scrupulously wrote their prophecies down for posterity—lest anyone forget them!
Brother priests, faithful to the Magisterium, in a certain sense, we are the true prophets of our modern times when we teach God’s view of reality to our world. Or rather, we are the scribes who echo the teachings of our great papal prophets for the benefit of our flocks. Let us make sure our people know what the Prophet, Paul VI, said in Humanae vitae forty years ago so that their marriages, and their souls, will not perish.
The four prophecies of Humanae vitae are clear, but also stubborn, views of reality. They are unequivocally countercultural. Paul VI said that if a society accepted contraception as a way of life (like all economically developed societies have), then several consequences would inevitably result:
First, contraception would lead to “conjugal infidelity and a general lowering of morality.” Well, when you separate babies from the marital act there is nothing binding that act to, well, marriage. Fornication (pre-marital) and adultery (extra-marital) have thus skyrocketed with the massive practice of contraception. And as for morality, “normal” youthful entertainments today are that despicable MTV channel, hooking up, salacious reality TV shows, heavy metal music, wicca and the New Age, drugs and ubiquitous internet porn. In Janet Smith’s famous words: has anyone noticed a “general lowering of morality” lately?
Second, Paul VI said that contraception would lead men to cease respecting women in their totality and would cause them to treat women as “mere instruments of selfish enjoyment” rather than as cherished partners. Clearly, this prophecy has been vindicated many times over by pornography alone, the most lucrative business in the modern world. That entire industry is singularly dedicated to the “selfish enjoyment” of men.
Third, the Holy Father said that massive acceptance of contraception by couples would lead to a massive imposition of contraception by unscrupulous governments. He predicted, in other words, that contraception would pass from a “lifestyle choice” to a weapon of mass destruction, and how dreadfully his prophecy has been vindicated by population control and coercive sterilization programs, fertility reduction quotas and the promotion of abortion literally everywhere in the world.
Finally, he said that contraception would lead man to feel that he can exercise a limitless “domination over his own body and its functions.” This hubris is perfectly expressed in such modern bio-tech horrors as in vitro fertilization, cloning, the creation of hybrid organisms, embryonic stem cell research, and the like.
Should the blame for all these terrible evils of our modern times be laid at the feet of contraception? Well, yes—at least largely so. That’s the truth that we, as priests, must absolutely get clear so that we can hand this on to our people. Contraception’s destruction of the integrity of the marital act—as unitive and procreative—has dire consequences for society and for souls. Contraception is a rejection of God’s view of reality. It is a wedge driven into the most intimate sphere of communion known to man outside of the Holy Mass. It is a degrading poison that withers life and love both in marriage and in society. No wonder everything goes wrong when contraception shows up.
The Prophet has warned us. Now it’s our turn to warn our people. Brothers, their very souls are at stake!
By Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer

Cardinal Rouco warns that 'crime of abortion casts shadow over history'

Madrid, Spain, Apr 21, 2009 / 08:18 pm (CNA).- The Archbishop of Madrid and President of the Bishops’ Conference of Spain, Cardinal Antonio Maria Rouco Varela, said Monday during the opening of the bishops’ 93rd Plenary Assembly that the “crime of abortion casts a shadow over the history of humanity,” in a reference to a measure the government intends to put forth this summer that would change the country’s law on abortion. The cardinal said the new law “attempts to reduce democracy to an empirical mechanism” through which the approval of laws represents “simply a sort of common denominator of diverse opinions and interests present in society, even when what is in question is the fundamental right to life.” “Without an objective moral foundation,” he continued, “not even democracy can ensure a stable peace, and the more peace is not founded upon the values human dignity and solidarity between all mankind, it is often an illusory peace.” Cardinal Rouco said Spain has been immersed in recent decades “in a process of deterioration of moral awareness with respect to the sacred value of human life.” “Since the 1983 law decriminalizing abortion, the situation has worsened both in practice and in law,” he added. The cardinal noted that the concern over abortion “has always been at the center of the bishops’ interests during recent decades.”
This article can be found at: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=15745

Condoms haven’t stopped AIDS epidemics:

Third World countries that have made condom use their primary AIDS prevention strategy, HIV infection rates have continued to rise or, at best, have not dropped significantly. In 2004, the journal Studies in Family Planning concluded, “No clear examples have emerged yet of a country that has turned back a generalized epidemic primarily by means of condom promotion.” Yet the United Nations, the European Union and its member countries, some U.S. agencies, and international organizations continue to promote condom use as the primary method of combating the spread of HIV and other STDs. Not only do condoms fail regularly even when used consistently and properly, people do not like them. According to the March 2004 “Bulletin of the World Health Organization,” 44% of married couples who start using condoms for birth control stop using them within a year. Despite this, and despite its own admission that the failure rate of condoms for pregnancyprevention is 50% higher than that of the Pill, the bulletin recommended that birth control promoters attempt to convince married couples to switch to condoms from the Pill. The bulletin did not cite the many health problems caused by the Pill, including increased risk of STDs, as reasons for switching, but HIV prevention.

On the Road: Mundelein

On my trip to Chicago I was able to stop by and speak to the men at Mundelein Seminary. It was during lunch, so it was open to whomever was able to come. Although most of the men had to run off to class after the meeting, a few were able to stay and chat.

They had some very good questions ranging from things they could do now to the idea of life issues just being about social justice and nothing more. Certainly the life issues are about social justice, but they also go well beyond the social justice paradigm. If we allow babies to be killed in the womb all the other social justice issues crumble. If the child is dead, what other injustices will she suffer?

A society that will kill an innocent child will never have peace and will never find justice. Life issues concern, well, every aspect of life: morality, economy, mental and physical health, and the health of our culture. Life issues affect every single person in a society, and will surely affect where people will spend all of eternity. It is not just a social justice issue but one of eternal salvation.

Double talk

A short guest commentary from HLI's Tim Ratigan:

Think about this for a moment. Time and time again you hear from Pro-abort people that what they really want is “fewer abortions”. Last year that is all we heard from politicians. And yet these people who claim to want fewer abortions consistently oppose legislation from being passed that will do precisely that. Legislation such as informed consent and mandatory ultrasounds and waiting periods. You will also find that these same people that claim to want fewer abortions will also support laws that will increase tax dollars to abortions and in the end increase the number of abortions, such as tax payer money going to pay for abortions, and blocking parental consent and notification laws. So the question remains, what is their game? Either they want to reduce the number abortions or they are simply using words to get our votes and in actuality they do not want the number to go down.