Soft Line on Contraception

The Pope's encyclical against contraception is continuing to meet remarkable resistance from Catholics on all levels of the church. A sharp reminder of that fact occurred when Pat rick Cardinal O'Boyle was the speaker at the Sunday noon Mass at St. Mat thew's Cathedral in Washington. Instead of delivering a sermon, he entered the pulpit to read a pastoral letter that, it had been announced in advance, would exhort the faithful to obey the encyclical. As O'Boyle began to speak, about 400 worshipers, roughly one-third of the congregation, rose and walked out of the church. Despite this stunning rebuke, prearranged by two local organizations, the cardinal calmly delivered his message, which warned against "false prophets" who contend that birth control is a matter for individual conscience.* "Even a few of my brother bishops in other lands," O'Boyle lamented, "seem to have adopted 'the new morality.' "

There are more than a few. The fact is that almost every national Catholic episcopate to issue an interpretation of Humanae Vitae has modified, subtly or otherwise, the Pope's decree that "each and every marriage act must remain open to the transmission of life." The episcopal pronouncements have been careful to stress the Pope's teaching authority. But they also emphasize the pri macy of individual conscience and have said, in effect, that Catholic couples who feel duty-bound to practice contraception may do so and still remain in the church. Thus Paul's teaching is being presented more as an ideal to be striven for than as an absolute norm to be followed.

No Damnation. The latest to pro mote a soft line on contraception are the hierarchies of Austria, Britain and Canada which released statements last week. The Austrian episcopate dutifully commended rhythm or sexual abstinence as the "most proper means" of family planning. Nonetheless, the bish ops added that Catholics who "for ethical reasons" reject the pontifical guide lines "need not necessarily feel that they have separated themselves from God's love." Conscientious objectors to Humanae Vitae may continue to receive Communion without confessing that they practice contraception. The only conditions are that they keep their decision to themselves, refrain "from sowing confusion in the ranks of the faithful," and continually reassess the moral propriety of their course.

Britain's 26 Roman Catholic bishops produced an artfully worded document that stressed obedience to the Pope's decree but also had kind words for those who cannot accept its teachings. The bishops cautioned that "if we are to neglect the guidance of the church, morality could easily become merely subjective. That would be disastrous." They also affirmed that "neither this encyclical nor any other document of the church takes away from us our right and duty to follow our conscience." They noted the dilemma of "faithful couples" who cannot easily support another child, and of wives whose health might be endangered by pregnancy. The statement added that Humanae Vitae contains "no threat of damnation" against Catholics who fall short of its teachings and that, "far from being excluded from the sacraments, those in difficulties are invited to receive them more frequently." The Canadian bishops even more strongly suggested that in the conflict between the encyclical's teaching and the burdens of parenthood, "whoever honestly chooses the course which seems right to him does so in good conscience."

Final Word. Similar positions have already been reached by the hierarchies of The Netherlands, West Germany and Belgium. As usual, the bishops of Holland's avant-garde church were the first to take issue with the Pope. Only three days after the encyclical was issued, the Dutch episcopate declared: "Personal conscience cannot lightly pronounce itself on an encyclical of such authority, but personal conscience has the final word." West Germany's bishops conceded that "a Catholic Christian might have serious reasons for wanting to deviate" from the Pope's teaching. The Belgian episcopate ruled that any Catholic "who is capable of forming a well-founded judgment" on the birth control question "has the right to follow his conviction, provided that he remains sincerely disposed to continue his inquiry" into the issue.

Even the generally docile and conservative hierarchy of Italy has issued a less than rigorous interpretation of the encyclical--much to the dismay of the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith which tried to get the statement toughened. The 20 cardinals and bishops who approved it expressed "profound gratitude" to the Pope for Humanae Vitae. However, they described the encyclical as but one "essential element in the formation of conscience so that responsible judgment can result in conformity with God's will." They recommended that priests exercise lenience with couples who, for reasons other than "egoism or hedonism," are unable to observe the teaching. "Evangelical tolerance," the bishops suggested, should take into account the difficulties that many couples experience "in trying to reconcile the demands of responsible parenthood with those of their reciprocal love, which is both sensuous and spiritual."

* Last week O'Boyle summarily rejected a suggestion that he submit to arbitration his dispute with 47 Washington priests who have dissented from the encyclical. The National Federation of Priests' Councils proposed that the argument be resolved by a commission of the U.S. hierarchy. O'Boyle, who has suspended at least 17 of the dissenters from one or more of their pastoral functions, answered that "a doctrinal matter is not subject to mediation."

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