Persona Humana
Humanae Vitae was not the only prophetic document from Pope Paul VI's pontifcate to be -
if not treated with open and outright scorn -
damned with faint praise. In 1975, with Pope Paul VI's approval, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith released a
Declaration on Certain Questions Concerning Sexual Ethics (aka, Persona Humana):
"in the course of a few years, teachings, moral
criteria and modes of living hitherto faithfully preserved have been very much
unsettled, even among Christians. There are many people today who, being
confronted with widespread opinions opposed to the teaching which they received
from the Church, have come to wonder what must still hold as true....the
principles and norms of moral living
reaffirmed in this Declaration must be faithfully held and
taught....they are in complete harmony with the Divine order of creation
and with the spirit of Christ, and therefore also with human dignity".
Sexuality - God's Gift
In 1976, one American bishop responded with Sexuality - God's Gift. While
not rejecting
Persona Humana,
Sexuality - God's Gift does not strike this blogger as embodying the clear, forthright affirmation of truth in
Persona Humana. In closing,
Sexuality - God's Gift states:
"To our brothers and sisters of all ages who are experiencing
difficulties--to those who cannot yet see that the personal and public
commitment of marriage should be the context for the gift of oneself in
sexual relations; to those whose homosexual orientation is causing them
pain and confusion; to the widowed and to the adolescent encountering
sexual needs; to those separated from their spouses by circumstances or
by divorce--to all of you we pledge our willingness to help you bear
your burdens, to try to find new ways to communicate the truth of Christ
because we believe it will make you free."
The law of unintended consequences: New Ways Ministry
"In 1976, Bishop Francis J. Mugavero of Brooklyn wrote one of the first Roman Catholic statements to contain a compassionate and encouraging message to gay and lesbian people . Entitled 'Sexuality: God’s Gift,' it offered that gay and lesbian people deserved to be treated equally in society generally and in the Christian community . Mugavero, tall [Not that it matters, but this blogger recalls the bishop as about 5'5".], bald [That part is accurate.], and staunchly liberal, spoke directly to the homosexual community in his letter: 'We pledge our willingness . . . to try to find new ways to communicate the truth of Christ because we believe it will make you free.' That passage, and that phrase 'new ways,' caught Sister Jeannine [Grammick]’s attention. There had to be a new way, she thought. Soon there would be....so in 1977, borrowing the phrase from Mugavero’s letter, they [Sister Jeannine and Father Bob Nugent] started New Ways Ministry" (Villa Joe alumnus Jo Piazza, If Nuns Ruled the World, 2014).
"In view of the recent booklet Marriage Equality: A Positive Catholic Approach,
by Francis DeBernardo (published by New Ways Ministry), we, as the
respective chairmen of the USCCB Committee on Doctrine and the Ad Hoc
Committee for the Defense of Marriage, wish to reaffirm Francis Cardinal
George's statement of February 12, 2010 and assure Catholics that in no
manner is the position proposed by New Ways Ministry in conformity with
Catholic teaching and in no manner is this organization authorized to
speak on behalf of the Catholic Church or to identify itself as a
Catholic organization."
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