Humanae Vitae – 40 years on and Rome still doesn't get it!

Dear Friends,

Yesterday was the 40th Anniversary of the promulgation of the Encyclical that history will possibly view as undoing much of the good work of the Second Vatican Council in one fell swipe, Humanae Vitae. What is perhaps most surprising in the huge survey The Tablet has commissioned in the UK looking at the attitudes of still participating Catholics is the level of ignorance about the encyclical itself. What there is no ignorance about is the understanding of what the Church fathers have been trying to teach and the compreshensive rejection of those teachings by the popular mind. People might not know that Humanae Vitae is the name of the teaching that frames the official Church teaching on these matters. They do know, in broad terms, what the teaching is, and they disagree with it and largely ignore it today. No wonder our gentle, Bavarian pontiff dreams of a "smaller, purer" Church where everybody says "yes, father, no, father, three bags full father. Can I have a ticket to heaven, please?". The question Benedict will have to face, and which you and I will eventually have to face is "what does God want in these vexed matters?" All I can say is "make sure you've worked out your answers in response otherwise you're likely to be in for an Almighty shock". Meanwhile I do recommend you make yourself aware of the information published in this valuable survey The Tablet has commissioned. Click the front cover image for a link to The Tablet article or you can also find the links on the home page and forum page of our website.

For weekly readers of Catholica It is a pleasure to inform you that Catholica has been a buzz in the past week with some of the best commentaries and conversations we have ever hosted. It's getting to the point where it is becoming very difficult to keep up with it all. That doesn't seem be daunting many though. Our readership statistics and new subscriptions continue to increase in dramatic fashion now week in and week out. I again just say thank you from the very bottom of our hearts for the extensive expressions of good will that are being extended to our endeavour. As well as scanning the week's lead commentaries I do urge you to at least scan the index page of the forum to get an overview of the subjects under discussion there as well.

In today's lead commentary Dr Ian Elmer continues his exploration of the importance and place of St Paul in the development of our faith and beliefs. I find it a cheeky commentary. It's a commentary about ancient historical things but, at the same time, it is also a commentary about very contempotary things. Paul was passionate about his mission. Like all passionate leaders he developed both strong critics and loyal supporters. The challenge we face with all such leaders is navigating between "the spin" and the "put downs". How do we put Paul in his place? <Click here to read Dr Elmer's commentary>

Challenging the idea of a "smaller, purer" Church… Ted Schmidt, Editor of Canada's independent Catholic online magazine, new catholic times sensus fidelium argues that now that Pope Benedict has left Australia it might be helpful to briefly tease out his oft-quoted ruminations of the "Church of the little flock". <more>

A participating priest's reflection on WYD… We have much pleasure today in publishing this unsolicited reflection which Fr Paul Roberts sent in to us last night giving his reflections on World Youth Day. The publishers of Catholica have enormous respect for Fr Roberts as a personal friend but much of this personal respect has been forged through his honesty and his self-evident success as a very pastoral priest in the communities he has led. He has recently taken on a significant challenge in rejuvenating a very old parish in the diocese of Parramatta in addition to his diocesan duties as Vocations Director. He had a very active part in encouraging a very multi-cultural group of young pilgrims from his parish to participate in the major events of World Youth Day and he was active at the Vocations Hall at Darling Harbour. As editor of Catholica I have little hestitation is writing that of all the parish priests I have seen at work in my 60 years in diverse parts of Australia Paul Roberts would have to be up there amongst the most successful community builders I have ever seen. I urge readers to pay special attention to his reflections. This priest seems to understand where ordinary Aussies are at in their lives and spiritual journeys more than most. <Read Bishop Robinson's report>

Do you find it easy "trusting in God"? A slightly different tack for our Wednesday forum looking at a subject we've perhaps not fully explored before: "How do we go about trusting in God". Brian Coyne shares some of his experiences and difficulties with the subject and invites others to share their experiences. This is part of the "sharing our story" aspect of Catholica where the sharing of our experiences might help others, or their experiences might help us to get a handle on some aspect of life we've been grappling with. <Dr Kania's commentary>

Models of Leadership! Dr Kania entitled today's commentary "Lillies that Fester". He takes the title from Shakespeare's Sonnet 94: "But if that flower with base infection meet, The basest weed outbraves his dignity: For sweetest things turn sourest by their deeds; Lilies that fester smell far worse than weeds." It is a thought-provoking discussion starter on the subject of leadership. By way of introduction Andrew informs us that he was born on the 22nd of November, 1966 and shares his birthday with the anniversary of John F Kennedy's assassination. His interest in Kennedy began with each birthday having a documentary, or eulogy, about and to Kennedy. In time this interest developed into an admiration for the man, eventually Kennedy becoming a hero figure for Andrew as a teenager. With the focus also these days on the flaws that are evident in ecclesial leaders, the ideas that Andrew touches upon in this commentary might lead us to ponder: how do we integrate the very human flaws that all of us exhibit into our picture of leadership — do we go back to a system of hypocrisy where, for example the media, carefully camouflage the personal failings and flaws of our leaders, or do we seek out "lilly-white, goody two shoes" who lack the capacity to inspire, or are we seeking some different model? Do the sort of qualities Dr Kania articulates towards the conclusion of this commentary offer the basis for a model of leadership or is it an ideal that is unrealisable in practice without throwing up the sort of insipid leadership that makes people blanch and leads a community into the sort of irrelevant place in human affairs the Christian churches seem to be rapidly heading towards? How do we find the right balance in these matters? What modelling of leadership does Jesus Christ, or Peter or Paul offer to us? <more>

Wisdom from overseas… We publish this as the final song and images fade from the screen for World Youth Day 2008 in Sydney. In summary this World Youth Day will more likely be remembered as the birth of a "smaller, purer Church" rather than one endeavouring to reach out to all people. Tom McMahon's commentary today is nostalgic also — calling us back to re-capture the excitement that gripped the world in the promise held out by Vatican II. The focus today in Tom's commentary is the sacrament of ordination. <more>

Best wishes for a great day wherever you happen to be ... in life or in our world!

Brian Coyne
Editor and Publisher