Of Human Life-Humanae Vitae (Encyclical Letter of Paul VI) [Paperback]

Pope Paul VI (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1968

Pope Paul VI A prophetic encyclical on the dangers of birth control, the problems it causes in society and the possible moral uses of natural family planning. Pope Paul VI saw clearly the problems inherent in the rising culture of death.

Product Details

• Paperback: 16 pages
• Publisher: Pauline Books & Media (May 1, 1968)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0819833479
• ISBN-13: 978-0819833471
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.8 x 0.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #621,542 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #46 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Religion & Spirituality > Christianity > Catholicism > Roman Catholicism

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pope Paul VI's courageous & prophetic encyclical on human life, March 30, 2010

By 

Joseph P. Tevington - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Of Human Life-Humanae Vitae (Encyclical Letter of Paul VI) (Paperback)

One reviewer has recommended a study of "the writings of the respected Catholic scholar and moral theologian the Reverend Father Charles Curran" for a better understanding of Humanae Vitae. That is an absolutely inappropriate recommendation.

As I wrote in a review of one of Curran's works, "Father Curran remains best known for the dissent which he orchestrated to Humanae Vitae....it boggles the mind as to how anyone - particularly one so blessed with intelligence as Father Curran - could possibly miss that encyclical's prophetic nature. The seamless connections it shows between the Church's teachings on the sanctity of human life, marriage and family, and social issues seem to fly over so many heads. To a significant extent, this is the sad and tragic legacy of Father Curran. Thanks to God's mercy, it need not be his fate. As per The Splendor of Truth: Encyclical Letter of John Paul II, "No absolution offered by beguiling doctrines, even in the areas of philosophy and theology, can make man truly happy: only the Cross and the glory of the Risen Christ can grant peace to his conscience and salvation to his life."

1 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Invaluable historical/theological document, February 19, 2002

By 

Book Buff (Indianapolis, IN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Of Human Life-Humanae Vitae (Encyclical Letter of Paul VI) (Paperback)

Whether you agree or disagree with its message--I for the most part disagree--it's impossible to ignore the significance of HUMANAE VITAE in the history of the Roman Catholic Church. Its proponents see it as an reaffirmation of the Church's ages old comittment to the sanctity of human life. Its detractors see it as a rebuke of the principals set forth in Vatican II, and a step backwards in the evolution of the Church as a viable modern religion.

1 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars EMBRYONIC FORMULATION OF THE SEAMLESS GARMENT WOMB TO TOMB DOGMA OF THE SACREDNESS OF LIFE PROSCRIBING WAR AND DEATH PENALTY, October 22, 2007

By 

C. Scanlon "least helpful reviewer" (among us humans) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Of Human Life-Humanae Vitae (Encyclical Letter of Paul VI) (Paperback)

See also Pope Paul VI's On the Development of Peoples, Populorum Progresio. and Evangelii Nuntiandi: On Evangelization in the Modern World. Together they constitute the womb to tomb pro-life seamless garment dogma so clearly delineated by our own Bishop's Conference.

Also read Peace on Earth (Pacem in Terris): Encyclical Letter of His Holiness Pope John XXIII Addressed to All Mankind and Mater et magistra, encyclical letter of his holiness Pope John XXIII; Christianity and social progress.

Unfortunately the other reviewers do not seem to have read this present encyclical any more than they can spell encyclical, or define it.

We cannot support imperialist warfare and claim to support this encyclical. We cannot support our presence in Iraq, where we have ended one million lives in the pursuit of oil fields, and say that we support this encyclical.

We cannot support capital punishment and say that we support this encyclical. Read Catholic writer Antoinette Bosco's Choosing Mercy: A Mother of Murder Victims Pleads to End the Death Penalty. See the United States Conference of Catholic Bishop's The Culture of Life & the Penalty of Death as well as such works of moral theology as Pro-Life/Pro-Peace: Life-Affirming Alternatives to Abortion, War, Mercy Killing and the Death Penalty, Catholics And The Death Penalty: Six Things Catholics Can Do To End Capital Punishment, Commentary on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, Article 37: Prohibition of Torture, Death Penalty, Life Imprisonment and Deprivation of Liberty, etc.

We cannot tacitly approve economic, educational, medical, social, opportunity and other inequalities in this nation, and say we support this encyclical. See the same USCCB's Place At the Table: A Catholic Recommitment to Overcome Poverty and to Respect the Dignity of All God's Children a Pastoral Reflection of the U.s. Catholic Bishops and Economic justice for all: Pastoral letter on Catholic social teaching and the U.S. economy (Publication / Office of Publishing and Promotion Services, United States Catholic Conference)), etc., as well as the final sections of Sacramentum Caritatis.

We cannot vote GOP and say we follow Jesus Christ, or this present encyclical.

Read this encyclical and pray the Holy Spirit of God's Peace and compassion opens your heart and mind to understand how and why.

Read also the USCCB's Challenge of Peace: God's Promise and Our Response a Pastoral Letter on War and Peace and ANYTHING by the Rev. Father John Dear, especially his Disarming the Heart: Toward a Vow of Nonviolence and Jesus the Rebel: Bearer of God's Peace and Justice, and you will see why not. For further understanding of the moral theological questions addressed in this important encyclical also please search the writings of the respected Catholic scholar and moral theologian the Reverend Father Charles Curran.