NOT THE LAST WORD

WHATEVER the Pope's decision on birth control, ht was bound tc be wrong in somebody's eyes. The polarisatioi of views appears on this page in comments by Archbishop Murphy and Mr. St. John,Stevas. There is no disguising the crisis of conscience that Humanae Vitae has prompted.
But rpe thing is plain. The answers will come from open and honest discussion in the body of the Church, not from recriminations, and certainly not by suppressing criticism. Perhaps the Vatican Council was too unwieldy a body to handle this complex subject, but last year's Synod of Bishops was not. It is a great pity that the Bishops concerned did not grasp their collegiality in both hands and insist on including birth control in their agenda.
Encyclicals do not purport to be infallible. They are not irreformable. Obviously, the exercise of even the non-infallible nzagarerium carries great weight. The problem is : just how much weight?
Often in the past the real force of a papal statement has become apparent only after it has been tested by argument and experience in the day-to-day life of the Church and the lives of its members. Some excellent ones (like Rerum Novarum, denounced by some Bishops as Marxist) were ultimately vindicated. Others were tactfully consigned to history.
The theology of authority in the Church is developing. It is now an urgent task to clarify the meaning of the "ordinary" but infallible magigterium, as well as the standing and force of noM-infallible teaching. At present, nobody really knows.
It may thus be fair to say that Humanae Vitae is not the 'last word. Does it, meanwhile, bind us in conscience? Suppose that some of the world's Bishops indicate dissent. Would this imply that the question is still in a state of sufficient doubt to leave the individual conscience free?
It has been suggested that this is the true position even now. For what has changed, apart from matters of stress? The Pope has said before what he says this week. Some Bishops are known to be perplexed. Many theologians over the years have dissented. Some confessors leave the issue to the penitent's own judgment. How far does the solemnity of an encyclical change all this?
Frankly, we do not know. Mgr. Lambruschinils statement that the encyclical does bind the faithful is true prima facie but in the light of modern theology would seem to be open to question. Perhaps it will take another Synod, or even a Council, to answer these questions definitively.
Meanwhile, it has at least been noted that the Pope has hurled no anathemas, nor does his statement explicitly seek to bar the Catholic who uses contraceptives from the sacraments. On the contrary, he urges constant recourse to confession.
We write under the pressure of the anguished moment. We fear that many Catholics will be unable in conscience to accept the encyclical. We would also be less than honest if we did not say that we also find it unconvincing because it does not meet in detail the closely reasoned arguments of the papal commission, and does not appear to take account of the conscientious experience of so many of the faithful.