In the aftermath of Humanae Vitae in 1968, the American bishops apparently decided not to exercise their teaching authority and thus have largely lost it among rank and file Catholics. As the old saying goes, “Use it or lose it.” Despite surveys showing the lack of acceptance of Catholic teaching on birth control by Catholics, our bishops have continued to do almost nothing. Thus President Obama put them in the uncomfortable position of having to defend what they had been ignoring for the past 44 years. In 1989, a group of bishops authored a booklet on marriage in which they urged that every engaged couple should be required to attend a full course on natural family planning. Only six or seven dioceses have implemented that policy in the subsequent 23 years. In my opinion, if the Church had even half its married couples believing and living out the teaching of Humanae Vitae, there would be a Catholic vote in favor of life and good sexual morality, and the results of Tuesday’s election would have been different.
John F. Kippley
NFP International
www.NFPandmore.org