By Charles W. Norris | hprweb.com

Humanae Vitae, correctly understood and followed, could change the world.

In September 2010, Fr. Matthew Habiger, OSB, Associate Director of Natural Family Planning (NFP) Outreach visited made a presentation to adults and teenagers here in Camas, Washington. Fr. Habiger recommended that I procure a copy of Michael J. Waldstein’s book on the theology of the body, entitled; Man and Woman He Created Them, (Paulist Press). I was certainly impressed with the beauty of his translation, but it was not until reading the last section pertaining to John Paul II’s discussion and analysis of Humanae Vitae that I concluded that the Pope saved till last the crowning gem of his weekly catecheses. George Weigel, in his book, Witness to Hope, asserted his belief that the theology of the body “constitute(s) a kind of theological time bomb set to go off, with dramatic consequences, sometime in the third millennium of the Church”. So, let it be.

In the Book of Tobit, we read that Sarah’s marriage to seven former husbands resulted in their deaths on each of the wedding nights. Although it does not explicitly say so, the implication is that they were killed by an evil spirit because they lusted after Sarah. Tobiah, on the other hand, arose from bed, and with Sarah, prayed to God for safety and delivery. They not only survived but, as the story ends, grew old together. In Michael Waldstein’s introduction, we read: “The Sexual Revolution was heralded by its advocates as a breakthrough for human development.” Waldstein goes on to quote Wilhelm Reich, a student of Freud, self-acclaimed advocate for the sexual revolution, who stated: “The essential social expression of this damage (sexual repression) is purposeless (irrational) action by human beings: their insanity, their mysticism, their readiness for war, etc. … The core of life’s happiness is sexual happiness.”

Yeah, right. The question is: What has the “Sexual Revolution” wrought? I would suggest it encouraged: infidelity, increasing divorce rates, increased out-of-wedlock pregnancy, pornography, blatant homosexuality, AIDS, and massive multi-billion dollar abortion and contraception industries.

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