The 43rd anniversary of Humanae Vitae

Today, July 25, the Feast of St. James, is also the anniversary of the much misunderstood encyclical Humanae Vitae, or "On the Regulation of Birth" by Pope Paul VI. Where do you stand with this dry, yet landmark encyclical? This brief article reveals some of the prophecies of the encyclical, if birth control was to become the norm. Did you know that it all began in Connecticut with the Griswold v. Connecticut decision?

As we all know, those prophecies came true, and it seems impossible to turn back the clock. But what does move ahead is research. Janet Smith, in her newest "Contraception:Why Not" talk, she reveals the research of anthropologist Lionel Tiger, on the behavior of male monkeys when subject to contracepted female monkeys. Interesting study, and it explains a lot.



This week is Natural Family Planning Awareness Week, a time to pray for an increase in chastity, within and outside of marriage. On the threshold of New York's decision to redefine marriage, and more states to follow suit, we need to pray more than ever.

This anniversary day, and this NFP Week, is a time to pray for all those who courageously embrace chastity, as a single, married, celibate, or same sex attraction. It is also a day to pray for those who don't.

Miserere nobis.

Connecticut death penalty sentence and Divine Mercy

The new evangelization calls for followers of Christ who are unconditionally pro-life: who will proclaim, celebrate and serve the Gospel of life in every situation. A sign of hope is the increasing recognition that the dignity of human life must never be taken away, even in the case of someone who has done great evil. Modern society has the means of protecting itself, without definitively denying criminals the chance to reform. I renew the appeal I made most recently at Christmas for a consensus to end the death penalty, which is both cruel and unnecessary.

--Pope John Paul II, January 27, 1999, St. Louis, Missouri 

Victim Jennifer Hawke-Petit's father, Rev. Richard Hawke feels differently than John Paul II, Pope Benedict and the Catechism of the Catholic Church about the death penalty. Governor Jodi Rell, also not Catholic, feels that some crimes can only be answered with the death penalty.

Rev. Hawke's position is understandable. Even Pope Benedict has stated "While the Church exhorts civil authorities . . . to exercise discretion and mercy in imposing punishment on criminals, it may still be permissible . . . to have recourse to capital punishment." With a crime so monstrous as the Cheshire home invasion, it's hard not to hope for the harshest retribution for the perpetrators, and to think of them, not as people, but monsters.

But the Church does look at criminals as people. John Paul II, in Evangelium Vitae, asserts: "great care must be taken to respect every life, even that of criminals and unjust aggressors" because of the God-created value and dignity of every life, even the lives of those who do not, themselves, value life.

Catechism of the Catholic Church 2267 ...the traditional teaching of the Church does not exclude recourse to the death penalty, if this is the only possible way of effectively defending human lives against the unjust aggressor. 

If, however, non-lethal means are sufficient to defend and protect people's safety from the aggressor, authority will limit itself to such means, as these are more in keeping with the concrete conditions of the common good and are more in conformity to the dignity of the human person.

Today, in fact, as a consequence of the possibilities which the state has for effectively preventing crime, by rendering one who has committed an offense incapable of doing harm - without definitely taking away from him the possibility of redeeming himself - the cases in which the execution of the offender is an absolute necessity "are very rare, if not practically non-existent."

John Paul II's World Day of Peace message of 2001 focused on forgiveness: "No peace without justice, no justice without forgiveness: I shall not tire of repeating this warning to those who, for one reason or another, nourish feelings of hatred, a desire for revenge or the will to destroy."

Nothing mirrors forgiveness and mercy more beautifully than the story of Joe Walker of Texas, whose 40 year-old daughter was brutally murdered in a home she was selling as a real estate agent. The Divine Mercy Chaplet, which Walker prayed daily, instructed him that he must forgive his daughter's killer.

From the moment his daughter's killer was named, Walker prayed for him. "People want revenge, but revenge never works. Yes, it was just a totally senseless, random act. But everyone deserves every bit of their life so they can have a chance to repent and go to heaven. I believe that totally, completely." Belief in the Divine Mercy allowed Walker to forgive.

Let us be a people of the New Testament, not rendering an eye for an eye, but granting mercy and forgiveness. In the words of John Paul II: "In these troubled times, may the whole human family find true and lasting peace, born of the marriage of justice and mercy!"

Two men of science, two very different paths to fertility

Most of us don’t think of people suffering professionally because of their faith, but it still happens.

Dr. Josef Roetzer, who died earlier this month, was an example. Roetzer is the Austrian doctor who improved fertility awareness science in the 1950s. His work led to the development of the sympto-thermal method of natural family planning.

Roetzer studied human fertility, recording observations from more than 300,000 cycles. Roetzer discovered that by combining temperature in formation with mucus observations, periods of fertility and infertility could be identified with extreme accuracy. His work was revolutionary, but it was shunned by the establishment, which was dominated by the pharmaceutical industry.

Austrian Bishop Klaus Kung reportedly said that Roetzer “suffered many a setback in his work” due to his Catholic faith.

The Austrian bishops funded Roetzer from 1966 to 1974 so he could continue his research. In 1986, he founded the Institute for Natural Family Planning, which today is run by his daughter, Elisabeth. At the age of 91, Josef Roetzer died on Oct. 4.

Read more...

Pro-lifers get all over Guttmacher (OneNewsNow.com)

The Guttmacher Institute has completed a study that suggests Planned Parenthood needs more money. The American Life League, in response, calls the study a "well-timed and self-serving sales pitch" for the abortion provider.


The Guttmacher Institute is a research arm of Planned Parenthood, the largest abortion-provider in the U.S. According to the study -- entitled "Next Steps for America's Family Planning Program" -- the national family planning program annually prevents almost two-million "unintended pregnancies" that statistically would otherwise result in 860,000 "unintended births," 810,000 abortions, and 270,000 miscarriages.

The lead author of the study argues that every dollar spent on "family planning" saves taxpayers $4 in costs associated with unintended births to mothers eligible for Medicaid-funded natal care. "The national family planning program is smart government at its best," states Rachel Benson Gold.

Judie Brown, co-founder of American Life League, says she is amused by the latest Guttmacher study because they play Congress like a violin.

"They always have some new finding that supports their request for more and more taxpayer dollars," says the long-time pro-life activist. "And they are literally parroting what Nancy Pelosi already said when she made that horrible gaffe and suggested that millions of dollars had to be poured into 'family planning' if we are to ever stop the financial crisis in America. It was outrageous when she said it -- and their report is equally as outrageous." (See related story)

Planned Parenthood made a $114 million profit in 2006-2007, so the agency's coffers are loaded. Brown says that money could be put to good use.

"In fact, we're issuing a public statement in which we're asking Planned Parenthood to donate $114 million for programs that would empower the poor...instead of sterilizing them," she notes.

Brown hopes the public will take the Guttmacher Institute study with a grain of salt. And that's exactly what Joseph Scheidler is doing. Scheidler, founder of the Pro-Life Action League, says the Guttmacher Institute apparently thinks that people -- particularly those in the lower-income brackets -- are the greatest drain on the nation's resources.

"Even in difficult economic times, the United States is a land of opportunity for people of all income levels," he says in a press release. "It is not appropriate for government to be in the business of providing birth control, which only serves to promote risky, irresponsible behavior."

Scheidler adds that Guttmacher's particular application of "family planning" to the poor "smacks of racism."