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*Original Title: "Humamae vitae: cosi le nata e guai a chi le tocca" Google translation, lightly copy-edited for clarity The demolition project aimed at "Humanae Vitae" --- Paul VI's 1968 encyclical that said no to artificial contraceptives --- now faces an unexpected stumbling block in a book that reconstructs the genesis of that text, thanks to the access, for the first time, to the secret documents concerning it, authorized by Pope Francis in person: Gilfredo Marengo, "The birth of an encyclical, 'Humanae vitae' in the light of the Vatican archives", Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Vatican City, 2018. The stumbling block is...

Did the New World Order mind set play a sick joke on Catholics and the Pope in particular with the design of Pope Paul VI's audience hall in the Vatican? The depictions in a horrific sculpture of Our Lord and the hall itself seem to resemble a snake's body! This is the hypothesis of English writer David Icke whose interpretation is featured in Outer Dark's video discussing construction details. According to Icke, "The global conspiracy is ruled by reptilian aliens who rule by blood lines and they control the world's resources. The elites are different from us." The video's producer...

A few days ago, Pope Francis and his spokesman Federico Lombardi directly contradicted the traditional teaching of the Catholic Church on contraception, including directly contradicting the clear words of Pope Paul's 1968 encyclical Humanae vitae. Various "Catholic" individuals and groups quickly lined up to support Francis, including the often heterodox Filipino Catholic Bishops Conference. But a surprisingly large and strong set of Catholics--beyond the expected set of minority traditionalists--has now risen up to resist, as if Francis, after years of this this sort of thing, has now crossed an obvious line. Who knew that line would be you know where....

Dear Pope Francis: I write this letter to you as a priest to the Bishop of Rome and as a son to a father. I write with a heavy heart, and I know that heaviness of heart is shared by many of my Catholic brethren both clergy and laity. I watched the early news one morning last week to find that one of the headlines proclaimed that in an interview on the flight from Mexico to Rome you indicated that the Church's teaching on contraception may be undergoing a change. As in the past, I went to the official translation...

I wanted to briefly mention a few observations of discussions about the Holy Father's latest plane interview. 1. Astoundingly, when Catholics raise concerns about Pope Francis suggestion to women that they can use birth control pills and condoms to prevent perfectly healthy babies from being conceived because of a remote chance of birth defects, I am still seeing Catholics claim the press is misinterpreting what is being said. I will not cite the dozens of examples, suffice it to say that the Father has accountability for his own words and actions. His contradiction of Humane Vitae was as clear as...

From the canonist Ed Peter’s fine blog In The Light Of The Law. He doesn’t have a combox over there and doesn’t mind if we use his stuff here. DO, however, go over there to his place regularly. Emphases are from Peters, comments mine: Misunderstanding the (alleged) 'Congo contraception' caseEven by the standards of his reign, the presser Pope Francis conducted on his return flight from Mexico has provoked an unusual number of questions. [No kidding. You should see my inbox, too!] I wish to address only one of those here.Preliminarily, I note that the burden is not on the...

"There are times that lay Catholics have to step forward to say what we as priests cannot." These were the words spoken to me during a time in my life that I felt called as a Catholic to defend my Catholic Church from an assault from within. That time has come again this week. To do so is never easy. For nearly three years now Catholics have defended Pope Francis as being "taken out of context" or "misunderstood" by the media. We have watched and cringed at what has come out of the Vatican, been ignored by the Vatican, and...

Pope Francis hinted that the use of contraceptives may be morally acceptable as a response to the Zika epidemic, during an question-and-answer session on February 18. Speaking to reporters who accompanied him on his return flight to Rome, after a visit to Mexico, the Pope said that "avoiding pregnancy is not an absolute evil." While abortion cannot ever be justified, he suggested, avoiding pregnancy could be a "lesser evil" in light of the alleged dangers of birth defects. During an interview session that proved controversial even by the standards of this pontificate, the Pope said: * US presidential candidate Donald...

Pope Francis has suggested it is acceptable to use artificial contraception methods in countries affected by the Zika virus. "Avoiding pregnancy is not an absolute evil," he told reporters en route to Rome following his five-day trip to Mexico. He cited Pope Paul VI's decree in the 1960s that allowed nuns serving in Africa to use contraception due to the threat of rape. He said, "In certain cases, as in this one, such as the one I mentioned of Blessed Paul VI, it was clear." But he maintained the church's stance against abortion calling it "an absolute evil". CDC's advice...

Despite a rush of headlines claiming Pope Francis is softening the Church's stance on contraception. A closer look at his recent remarks could suggest otherwise. During an in-flight press conference on his way back from Mexico, Pope Francis was asked by a reporter about the threat of Zika virus in many Latin American countries. Noting that the virus may be linked to birth defects when transmitted from a pregnant woman to her unborn baby, the reporter asked the Holy Father about proposals involving "abortion, or else avoiding pregnancy" in areas where Zika virus is prevalent. The Pope responded by emphatically...

It is interesting now to look back at the various reactions when the pope issued his encyclical on contraception. I dug up the following, and I think they pretty much speak for themselves. It is hardly necessary to add any comments at all except to say how little things have changed.A leader from an association of Protestant mainline denominations called it “the most important encyclical ever promulgated in the entire history of the papal succession.” He said, “I am glad that this pronouncement is so thoroughly clear-cut and uncompromising.” He was glad that everyone had to be either for...

Both in anecdotes and “exit polls,” former Catholics frequently cite the Church’s teachings on sexuality as a reason for leaving the Faith. But these same countercultural teachings have also been the door into the Catholic Church for believers seeking a consistent morality grounded in the Gospel. Converts have benefited from both the gift of the teaching as well as their entry into the Catholic Church.Krista Millegan is one such convert. She read Blessed Pope Paul VI’s landmark encyclical Humanae Vitae (“Of Human Life”) with her then-fiancé, Brantly, while they were undergraduates at the evangelical Wheaton College in Illinois. “The...

Today, Pope Francis beatified Pope Paul VI, who served the Catholic Church as the bishop of Rome 1963-1978. (“Beatification” is one step below being canonized a saint.) Paul VI had a jam-packed papacy, including finishing the Second Vatican Council, traveling to all six inhabited continents (a first for popes), and historic ecumenical break-throughs. But today he’s probably most remembered for his 1968 encyclical Humanae Vitae, which confirmed the Catholic Church’s long-standing teaching against contraception, abortion, and sterilization. Outside of the Catholic Church (and, unfortunately, by a large number of people within the Church as well), the teaching of Humanae Vitae...

Michael Voris attended the March for Life and some of the pro-life gatherings in the past few days.  He interviewed a number of young people at the Capital Hyatt in Washington.  Just prior to the march, it is filled with pro-life people.  I believe one of the major pro-life groups has a convention there.  At any rate, Voris interviewed a number of the pro-life youth in attendance and obtained some very disturbing replies.  Ladies and gentlemen, please watch the video, then see my comments below it. (video at link) There are those who say that these young people point to...

Following the devaluation of babies in the developed world in the 1970s and 80s, babies became scarce and, consequently, desirable once again. Now, any means used to make babies is seen as good, as long as pregnancy occurs at a convenient time.Some cannot conceive naturally. The prevailing view is that those who cannot do so should have free access to such reproductive technologies as in vitro fertilization (IVF) or the purchase of gametes, i.e., sperm and eggs. Yet, many do not know what occurs in IVF labs and others do not care, as long as offspring result. The zeitgeist...

I've been rummaging in the TIME archives and came across an article from 1968 entitled "Freedom vs Authority in the Catholic Church". Here some excerpts (article is subscribers-only) - it's scary that some of the same guys are still around kvetching. JULY 29, 1968, may prove to be a major landmark in the long history of the Roman Catholic Church—as significant, perhaps, as the moment when Martin Luther decided to post his theses on indulgences at Wittenberg Castle Church. On that day last summer, Pope Paul VI promulgated his seventh encyclical, Humanae Vitae (Of Human Life), which condemned all...

THE MONTINI-DE LUBAC ALLIANCE: PAUL VI AND THE MASTERSTROKE OF SATAN The "new theology," as our readers who have followed us thus far have been able to discover, is not, as Pirandello would say, something to be taken seriously in itself. On the other hand, what is extremely serious is the fact that in order to force itself upon the Catholic world, it was and still is able to count on the strength of the one who is the successor of Peter in the Church. It is, therefore, of utmost importance to make a careful and close study of "Satan's...

With the renewal of the Second Vatican Council, certain Eucharistic heresies began to emerge within the Church. Oftentimes one is tempted to blame their resurgence on the reigning Roman Pontiff of the day, Paul VI. One notes that Paul VI broke with many customs during the era of the Second Vatican Council in his attempt to lead the Church towards a renewal in her Divine mission. One ancient custom in particular with which Pope Paul VI broke is that he interrupted an Ecumenical Council to promulgate a papal encyclical. Previous to the Second Vatican Council, it was unheard of that...

<p>No one can accuse the Torodes of failing to practice what they preach. Their son Gideon was born almost exactly nine months after their November 2000 wedding.</p> <p>"We don't waste any time," says Mr. Torode, 26, of South Wayne, Wis. He and his 21-year-old wife are expecting their second child in February.</p>