Archbishop Terrence Prendergast, SJ: Embrace Humanae Vitae

Last Saturday (15 November 2008) The Humanae Vitae Conference took place at St. Michael's College in Toronto, Ontario. It was organized to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Pope Paul VI's 1968 encyclical Humanae Vitae (On Human Life).

Ottawa Archbishop Terrence Prendergast, SJ spoke on the encyclical & its reception, including what is known as The Winnipeg Statement that was issued by the Canadian Bishops Conference. That statement was used to justify dissent from the Encyclical's reststing of Church teaching.

He said: "The time at which it appeared (the encyclical) was one of great discontinuity ... not only in public life but also for the church." He went on to talk about the Winnipeg Statement and a follow-up statement that sought to clarify it. "Many felt, and some still feel, that the bishops' first message was confusing and ambiguous, and that the follow up statement was too weak to correct mistaken notions communicated earlier."

Acknowledging that we can't change the past, he said it is time to move on. "We need to go back and embrace or re-embrace the prophetic encyclical Humanae Vitae given through the Theology of the Body. He went on to say: "There is no doubt that we need to do more to promote the teaching of Humanae Vitae. Many in our time do not understand the evil of the contraceptive act."

He called the encyclical a prophetic gift to be read because it is "just as important today as it was in 1968." He also quoted Cardinal Edward Gagnon who said that Humanae Vitae is "one of the most important documents in the history of the church."

He also prayed "for the conversion of those who are still resisting" the teaching of the encyclical.

After urging faithful Catholics to "work for a better future by moving ahead and leaving the past in the Lord's hands," he concluded by saying: "I want to thank all of you who over the past 40 years have kept the truths of HV before us. I know that God will bless you for your efforts and your suffering and I ask that we all go forward now with the task of building the culture of life and love here in Canada."

The conference was sponsored by Campaign Life Coalition, Priests for Life Canada, the Natural Family Planning Association, the Catholic Doctors Guild and LifeSiteNews.com.

Source: Ottawa Archbishop Thanks Canadian Catholics who Promoted Humanae Vitae in the Last 40 Years