For those bewildered by the mysteries of love, Canada's bishops have a suggestion: reread "Humanae Vitae."At the end of its plenary assembly Friday, the Canadian episcopal conference issued a pastoral message encouraging the faithful to "discover or rediscover" Pope Paul VI's 1968 encyclical 40 years after its publication. The message, titled "Liberating Potential," draws a connection between "Humanae Vitae" and Pope John Paul II's theology of the body.
The bishops said the encyclical's prophetic character cannot be denied, especially in view of the troubling evolution of two fundamental human institutions, marriage and the family. The message goes on to say that family and marriage continue to be affected by the contraceptive mentality feared and rejected in the encyclical of Pope Paul VI.
Though the '68 encyclical is most known for its rejection of artificial contraception, the bishops affirmed that it is much more than that."This encyclical is in reality a major reflection on Gods design for human love. It proposes a vision of 'the whole man and the whole mission to which he is called ... both its natural, earthly aspects, and its supernatural, eternal aspects.' It is an invitation to be open to the grandeur, beauty and dignity of the Creators call to the vocation of marriage," they wrote.
