By F.K. Bartels, GLADE PARK, CO (Catholic Online) — On Wednesday, December 20, 2012, during a private audience with Cardinal Angelo Amato S.D.B., prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, the Pope authorized the Congregation to promulgate a number of decrees. Among them this one, "Servant of God Paul VI, Giovanni Battista Montini, Italian, Supreme Pontiff (1897-1978)." This is the beginning of the long awaited path to his possible canonization. The champion of human life, prophetic Pope Paul VI is now called Venerable. Pope Paul VI’s Humanae Vitae, promulgated three years after the close of the Second Vatican Council, rapidly became at the time of its release the most intensely mocked and reviled Church document in centuries, perhaps amassing more derision than any other solemn teaching of the Church in the entire history of Christendom. To this day, many Catholic proponents of Pope Paul’s teaching hesitate to mention Humanae Vitae to those who grew up in the 60s and 70s for fear of the averse reactions which not infrequently follow.
On the other hand, Catholics who broach the subject of Humanae Vitae with those whose birthdate allowed them to be spared the brunt of the 60s sexual revolution and acute-suspicion-of-authority influence, experience a different reaction: Paul VIs encyclical is often not part of their vocabulary because they have never heard of it. So the first step is to invite them to read it. The situation with these Catholics, especially those who are approximately thirty years of age and younger, is both interesting and encouraging: once they are properly catechized on the theology of the human body and the spiritual language it speaks, along with the consequences of making a lie of one’s body during the marital act through the use of artificial birth control, treating fertility as if it is a disease, objectifying one’s spouse and refusing to be open to life, they very quickly recognize the profound worth of Pope Paul’s teaching. And not only that; as a result they often develop a deep and lasting appreciation for the Church. They begin to see that the Church is our mother who desires to take us into her womb and, by nourishing her children with the words of truth and the sacraments of life, raise us to new and eternal life in Christ.
