FatherZ: It’s not an urban legend, it’s a LIE: Paul VI did NOT give permission to nuns to use contraceptives.

Let's just start here for the week, in case anyone has missed it over the weekend.

The other day Pope Francis, in the infamous post-Mexico airplane presser, said:

Paolo VI – il grande! – in una situazione difficile, in Africa, ha permesso alle suore di usare gli anticoncezionali per i casi di violenza. … Paul VI – the great one! – in a difficult situation in Africa, permitted sisters to use contraceptives for cases of violenze.

I’ve heard this before. I never believed it.

Years ago on the COL Forum (which I ran) we had a discussion about this. One of the staffers tried to dig up the old files. In the meantime he – The Great Roman™ – sent this information. It was not originally written in English, so I touched it up here and there… but not very much.

This reads like a soap opera, the one hand. It reads like a vicious campaign of lies and disinformation designed to confuse the faithful and undermine the Church, on the other.

The urban legend (lie) is now so common that even high-ranking churchmen cite it as if it happened. They aren’t lying, per se. They are passing on something that isn’t true but that they think is true… even if it really doesn’t pass the smell test.

continue at Father Z

Cardinal Burke on Canon Law and the New Evangelization

Bp. Callahan hits home run: Humanae Vitae - Still relevant and real

via St. Louis Review

A recent column written by Bishop Callahan.  It is fantastic!  My emphasis.

A while ago I spoke concerning the truth and the integrity of Pope Paul VI’s great encyclical letter, Humanae Vitae. I said that it was one of the most prophetic and true papal documents ever written. Believe it or not, I received several letters in response to that statement from all over the country. Some very intelligent people told me that I was truly out of my mind and I should recognize that “we are beyond that” and “nobody believed that stuff then, and even fewer believe it now.” Well, I guess I never claimed to be all that “current” and “progressive” and all, so I continue to speak and write about it because it matters—and must be made part of our discussions, because as Catholics we seem to have become desensitized surrounding the issues of contraception and abortion (AKA “birth control,” or “women’s health care”).

In 1968—what a year—I graduated from high school and Pope Paul VI issued Humanae Vitae. It was surprising for me to see how many priests and sisters did not support the encyclical and were eagerly trashing the Pope who wrote it! Yes, that was quite a hot summer—1968. As I later began to study theology in the seminary, I discovered the central facts—predictions—prophecies—of the encyclical and their impact upon society.

• First—a “general lowering of moral standards” resulting from sex without consequences;
• Second—the danger that men may reduce women “to being a mere instrument for the satisfaction of [their] own desires;”
• Third—an abuse of power by public authorities; and,
• Lastly—a false sense of autonomy.

The encyclical acknowledges that “perhaps not everyone will easily accept this particular teaching.” The Pope, however, goes on to point out that “Since the Church did not make either of these laws, she cannot be their arbiter—only their guardian and interpreter.” The Church cannot “declare lawful what is in fact unlawful.” The encyclical closes with an appeal to public authorities to oppose laws that undermine the natural moral law, an appeal to scientists to further study effective natural methods of family planning, and appeals to doctors, nurses, and priests, to actively promote those methods. Five years later on 22 January 1973, the Supreme Court ruled favorably in the case of Roe vs. Wade. The world has never been the same.

A sad commentary on our time, based on that little chapter of history, is how the Church now finds Herself engaged in a battle to safeguard religious liberty and individual conscience protection in the matter of the mandatory inclusion of contraceptives, abortifacients, and other medical procedures in the Affordable Care Act and reform of healthcare for our country. Currently, the battle seems to focus its attention on the Little Sisters of the Poor, an outstanding community of consecrated Religious women whose only mission is to care for the elderly poor. They fulfill their mission with the zeal and compassion of Christ Himself. My mother died with ten Little Sisters surrounding her bed praying for her and consoling her in those last moments. I am very fond of these Sisters.

A must watch: Cardinal Burke on Canon Law and the New Evangelization

VERY good. Wow, a must watch.  "pseudo-pastoral" invoked.  Many cardinals think that canon law is opposed to charity or opposed to a pastoral approach to situations. 


Would love to hear this whole talk, does anyone know it's origin?

UPDATE:

2012 Priests Retreat at Bloomington Indiana with Cardinal Burke

Which pope said Latin is "worthy of being defended"

‎"The Latin language is assuredly worthy of being defended with great care instead of being scorned; for the Latin Church it is the most abundant source of Christian civilization and the richest treasury of piety…. We must not hold in low esteem these traditions of your fathers, which were your glory for centuries."

Pope Paul VI, Sacrificium Laudis, August 15, 1966, Epistle to Superiors General of Clerical Religious Institutes Bound to Choir, on the Celebration of the Divine Office in Latin

continue at St. Peters List for 13 more powerful quotes on Latin

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BusinessInsider: Time To Admit It: The Church Has Always Been Right On Birth Control

Painting the Catholic Church as "out of touch" is like shooting fish in a barrel, what with the funny hats and gilded churches. And nothing makes it easier than the Church's stance against contraception.

Many people, (including our editor) are wondering why the Catholic Church doesn't just ditch this requirement. They note that most Catholics ignore it, and that most everyone else finds it divisive, or "out-dated." C'mon! It's the 21st century, they say! Don't they SEE that it's STUPID, they scream.

Here's the thing, though: the Catholic Church is the world's biggest and oldest organization. It has buried all of the greatest empires known to man, from the Romans to the Soviets. It has establishments literally all over the world, touching every area of human endeavor. It's given us some of the world's greatest thinkers, from Saint Augustine on down to René Girard. When it does things, it usually has a good reason. Everyone has a right to disagree, but it's not that they're a bunch of crazy old white dudes who are stuck in the Middle Ages.

So, what's going on?

The Church teaches that love, marriage, sex, and procreation are all things that belong together. That's it. But it's pretty important. And though the Church has been teaching this for 2,000 years, it's probably never been as salient as today.

Today's injunctions against birth control were re-affirmed in a 1968 document by Pope Paul VI called Humanae Vitae. He warned of four results if the widespread use of contraceptives was accepted:

• General lowering of moral standards 
• A rise in infidelity, and illegitimacy 
• The reduction of women to objects used to satisfy men. 
• Government coercion in reproductive matters. 

Does that sound familiar?

Because it sure sounds like what's been happening for the past 40 years.

Continue at Business Insider

Wow, just a fantastic article from a business journal!  A few other notes on the issue, EWTN and Priests for Life are pressing changes against the HHS.  The head of the Southern Baptist Convention is supporting the Catholics and challenging his own congregation to be ready to go to jail over the mandate.  LifeSiteNews posted the story and Drudge headlined it so their site is a bit bogged down at the moment.  Mainstream media has provided a lot of misinformation on the issue, but how good to see the issue of contraception actually being discussed (although the ruling is more specifically an issue with the government to force any religious entity into any universal morally evil act).

Hopefully the HHS ruling doesn't distract from the fact that 2012 is a referendum on Obamacare itself.  Repealing the HHS ruling should not be the focus; the focus should be repealing Obamacare in its entirety.  

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