Humanae Vitae: Encyclical Letter of His Holiness Paul VI [Paperback]

Pope Paul VI (Author), Giovanni Battista Montini (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 30, 2002

A revised and improved translation of Pope Paul VI's encyclical letter, Humanae vitae.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Italian

Product Details

• Paperback: 30 pages
• Publisher: Ignatius Press (June 30, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0898707285
• ISBN-13: 978-0898707281
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 6.3 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #121,824 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #88 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Religion & Spirituality > Spirituality > General

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Truth and Beauty, May 8, 2006

By 

Brad Shorr "Brad Shorr" - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Humanae Vitae: Encyclical Letter of His Holiness Paul VI (Paperback)

With barbarians at the gate (and many, sad to say, inside the gate) clamoring for moral license, Pope Paul VI responded with this famous encyclical reconfirming the Church's position on the regulation of births.

It is a beautiful document that glorifies marriage and will inspire any couple to deeper, fuller spirituality. Anyone who is looking for understanding with regard to marriage, relationships, or sexuality will find much wisdom here.

Pope Paul presents the Catholic case against artificial birth control with precision and sound logic. Eerily, he forsees how easy access to birth control will corrupt man and society:

"Let them consider, first of all, how wide and easy a road would thus be opened to conjugal infidelity and to a general lowering of morality. One does not need much experience to know human weakness and to understand that human beings--especially the young, who are so vulnerable on this point--have need of encouragement to be faithful to the moral law, and must not be offered an easy means to evade its observance." You wonder how things would be if schools taught this point of view instead of sex education that facilitates and reinforces immoral actions ...

"Consider also the dangerous weapon that would thus be placed in the hands of those public authorities who have no concern for the requirements of morality." While China is notorious for forced birth control of its population, you wonder if we are not far behind when schools and other public institutions pass out condoms and our government legislates against life.

"Consequently, if one does not want to see the mission of generating life exposed to the arbitrary decisions of men, one must of necessity recognize certain absolute limits to the possibility of a human being's dominion over his or her body and its functions..." With stem-cell research already here and cloning and other advanced methods of genetic engineering on the horizon, I think this point takes on even more importance as a warning.

Two points stood out to me in this brief but powerful document. First, Pope Paul reminds us that sexual relations have a physical and spiritual dimension. Sex cannot be reduced a mere physical act. Second, he explains how self-control with regard to our sexual impulses is a good thing, not a punishment:

"Such discipline bestows upon family life fruits of serenity and peace, and facilitates the solution of other problems; it fosters attention to one's partner, helps both spouses drive out selfishness, the enemy of true love; and deepens their sense of responsibility." Amen.

These words fly in the face of modern secular thinking, where sex is equated with love. Pope Paul was a realist: he mentions a few times that his teaching will be hard for people to accept; in fact, he almost concedes that society as a whole may well reject the teaching. It has, and we can judge for ourselves where it has gotten us since 1968.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pope Paul VI- the Confessor, October 13, 2006

By 

Mark Hennicke (A stone's throw from Carnegie Hall) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Humanae Vitae: Encyclical Letter of His Holiness Paul VI (Paperback)

For the way His Holiness was vilified when this document came out in 1968, Pope Paul VI should be known as Paul the Confessor. He truly suffered for the Church over this encyclical letter. And that is quite a shame, for his teaching in Humanae Vitae has turned out to be prophetic. A must read for anyone interested in life issues today. With the state of much of the world in our time( about 70% of all conceptions in Russia end in abortion) Paul's wisdom is sure help and a much needed path to a more caring and holy world. The sanctity of life is paramount.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Read it first...., June 18, 2008

By 

Stratiotes Doxha Theon "2 Thes 2:15" (Richmond, Missouri) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Humanae Vitae: Encyclical Letter of His Holiness Paul VI (Paperback)

Few teachings of the Church are so challenged as the teaching on artificial birth control. Yet few who malign the Church have made the effort to read this monumental but brief document that explains the beauty that underlies that teaching. Those who would malign would do well to read and understand this great work first. Better to understand than criticize with false assumptions concerning what it contains. It is not, as some contend, an enslavement to blind obedience but an affirmation of the dignity of man. Not a shallow assertion of political sound-bites but real food and real medicine for a wounded human condition. Read it and see the higher calling to which you have been called. Not as mere beasts driven and enslaved by their passions and selfish desires, but as men and women created in the image of God for good works. The brevity of the document and simplicity of the foundational principles it contains make it an easy read. Every Christian, Catholic or Protestant, will find a wealth herein. A must read also for any seeking to understand the later development of the Theology of the Body from Pope John Paul II, the great. Do not presume to understand a Christian view of birth control without first understanding the content of this encyclical. Read it as many times as it takes to grasp the deep beauty and profound significance it contains for our day.