. . . The church has not only changed throughout the ages, it has changed more in the 50 years since Vatican II than in the first 2,000 years – just like everything else in the world. . . . Consider birth control. In 1966 a Papal Commission of 72 experts from five continents, including bishops, clergy, physicians, and married couples, after three years of study advised Pope Paul VI that artificial birth control was not intrinsically evil and that Catholic couples should be allowed to decide for themselves what methods to use. But the head of the commission, Cardinal Alfredo Ottaviani, counseled the pope that a change in this teaching would jeopardize the church's credibility. In 1968 the pope issued the encyclical Humanae Vitae which reiterated the church's anti-birth-control position. Immediately the church's credibility was in jeopardy. In 2011 eight out of ten Catholics are certain that artificial birth control is a blessing, not a sin. This non-definitive teaching can change. What will not change is the chosen part of sexual intimacy in marriage: love.
The church has changed. It is changing. It will change.
After the dust settles, the gold will remain.
NOTE: Michael Leach is the author of the recently released book Why Stay Catholic? Unexpected Answers to a Life-Changing Question.
See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
What It Means to Be Catholic
A Church That Can and Cannot Change
Robert McClory on Humane Vitae
Mary Hunt: "Catholicism is a Very Complex Reality"
Tips for Thinking Catholics
Who Gets to Be Called Catholic – and Why?
Staying on Board
Beyond Papalism
A Return to the Spirit
The Catholic Challenge
The Treasure and the Dross
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