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PLEASE NOTE: This page contains
heavy multi-media content. The video download is nearly 20Mb and this
page will only be comfortably viewable by people with broadband connections.
Dial-up users can access an alternative page that contains the same content,
including the pdf file containing the chapter from the book under discussion,
but without the video download. It can be found HERE.
Dear friends,
I have gone through considerable soul-searching over what I am about
to present today principally from a copyright point of view as
I am presenting a significant excerpt from both a book and a television
series. The matters that are raised are significant enough to warrant
pushing the boundaries of the allowable uses within copyright law to do
this though. At the moral and ethical level I do trust that these excerpts
may lead some readers to actually go to the trouble of either buying the
full book, or the dvd of the television series, or borrowing them from
a library. I am not seeking to plagiarise or exploit the works of the
legitimate copyright owners but rather to further promote their work.
What
I am about to present is the segment from Edward Stourton's book and television
series "Absolute Truth The Catholic
Church in the World Today" that deals with the Humanae
Vitae controversy in the immediate aftermath of the Second
Vatican Council.
Leaving aside the recent scandals to do with sexual abuse, I sincerely
believe the root of the current challenges the Church faces today in holding
on to its flock can be traced to the calamitous mistake made in the promulgation
of this Encyclical by Pope Paul VI in 1968.
While Edward Stourton's book examines a far broader canvas of the issue
as to why so many people have lost faith in the Church as the fount and
protector of Absolute Truth, this relatively small section of the book
it occupies one chapter of the 16 in the book and approximately
16 minutes of the 200 minute television series is, I believe, key
to understanding where the significant disenchantment first became entrenched
amongst the educated and reflective sectors of the faithful in the Western
world.
Before leaving you to your own reflections on this quite significant
body of material at least in terms of the length of our normal
daily reflections I should point out that it is worth both viewing
the television segment and then reading the chapter which I have provided
in pdf format. The written work provides considerably finer detail, particularly
in the statistics of what went on in the Vatican leading up to the promulgation
of Humanae Vitae. On the other hand the video material gives a
much more human face to the people who were key players on the Birth Control
Commission and who express their opinions and recollections in both the
book and the video.
The particular issue on the line here is actually not so much the issue
of contraception. It is the issue of authority
and the respect within which the faithful hold our ecclesial leaders as
both interpreters and custodians of ultimate truth. I would
particularly draw your attention to the opinions of the late Cardinal
Basil Hume and the late Archbishop Denis Hurley expressed on this question
of authority at the end of the video segment.
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If
you cannot see a video presentation
in this space there may be some
coding incompatability between your
browser and the software we are using.
You can read a text only version
of this page HERE.
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To read Chapter 4 of Edward Stourton's book, Absolute
Truth (Viking 1998), please click the image at right.
The text expands considerably on the material presented on screen.
The book should be readily available at all good booksellers. I
originally purchased my copy at the ABC shop. As far as I can determine
from a Google search the documentary series has not been released
on vhs or dvd. The copy I have is of low quality recorded off-air
when it was broadcast in Australia in 1998 or 1999. You might make
enquiries of BBC Enterprises,
50 Berry Street, NORTH SYDNEY (Phone: 02 9957 3777) to indicate
interest for the series to be released on dvd. I did notice the
television series does seem to be available in some university libraries.
Those copies were possibly recorded off-air also.
PHOTO
CREDITS: The images used to illustrate this article have
been taken from the book or the video..
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Blessings, Tom
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Tom
Scott is the pen name of the editor of Catholica, Brian Coyne. |
We welcome your thoughts in response to this commentary in our forum.
Tom Scott can be contacted at: tomscott@catholica.com.au
©2006
TomScott
[Tom's Take Archive]
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