HUM ANAE VITAE ’S 50TH A NNI V E RS A RY
HUMANAE V ITA E ’S
G OL D EN A NNI V E RSARY
A f i f t y - y e a r e n c y c l i c a l t h a t ’s
more relevant than ever
T
Dr. Janet E. Smith
he questionnaire distributed by the Pontifical Council on the Family for the Synod
on the Family prior to the Synod’s convening in 2014 asked whether Catholics are
living by the Church’s teaching on sexuality. I remember filling out the questionnaire,
answering time and again: “No, they are not, but they have never been taught these
teachings,” or many others for that matter. Since Humanae Vitae was issued in 1968,
it can be argued no other teaching has presented Catholics with a bigger obstacle to
embracing the faith of the Church wholeheartedly.
How sad it is that so few people have
ever encountered a robust defense of the
Church’s teaching. A brief but nonethe-
less forceful explanation can be found in
Humanae Vitae itself.
The Church’s teaching on sexuality
seems puzzling to many people whose un-
derstanding has been clouded by the cor-
ruption of a culture that practices and
glorifies sex without commitment or even
deep feeling, a culture in which the most
lucrative internet business is pornography.
The Church understands sexuality to
be an inestimable gift from God, one that
allows a man and a woman in a very per-
sonal, profound, spiritual, and physical
way, to express their deep desire to unite
with another and to live out the essential
human need to love and be loved.
God himself is a lover and in fact is Love
itself. It is natural for love to overflow.
2
Indeed, the whole universe is the result of
an explosion of love. Spouses are meant to
image the love of God; they are meant to
be committed, unconditional lovers whose
love overflows into new life. New life is,
of course, not always possible because of
infertility, but the spousal relationship is
the kind of relationship designed to fos-
ter love and life. God created the whole
universe as a support system for human
beings, beings he has destined for eter-
nal unity with him. He chose to involve
spouses in his creative, loving, fruitful en-
terprise. St. John Paul II spoke of spouses
as being “co-creators” with God; they assist
God in bringing forth new human souls.
The marital act speaks a “language.” It
speaks the language of complete self-giv-
ing. It says to another: “I find you over-
whelmingly attractive; I have chosen you
apart from all others; I commit my whole
Sacred Heart Major Seminary | Mosaic | Spring 2018
life to you; I want to enjoy a powerfully
pleasurable and bonding experience with
you, and I am willing to be a parent with
you.” Contraceptive sex cannot speak the
language of love; it does not convey the life-
time bonding message that “I am willing
to bring about another you; I am willing to
spend the whole of my life with you.” Even
those who don’t want a bond with each
other realize having a child with another
creates a great bond. Everyone knows the
difference between saying to another with
one’s sexual acts, “I am willing to be a par-
ent with you,” and the message spoken by
contracepted sexual intercourse: “I want to
experience a great pleasure with you—but
not children, no!” The first is affirming in
an unparalleled way; the second is all too
often exploitative. Again, this is a vision of
marriage and sexuality that nearly seems
to have been forgotten by the modern age.