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By David Martin
While the canonization of Pope Paul VI has been used as a political tool to try to
“canonize” the Vatican II revolution, it stands that Pope Paul nonetheless demonstrated
an unusual degree of personal sanctity as we see reflected in the works that he himself
produced.
A good example of this is his encyclical on the regulation of human birth, Humanae
Vitae, which is universally regarded as the most authoritative statement ever issued on
human life. With Pope Paul VI having been raised to the altars of Holy Mother the
Church, it is appropriate to reflect on this superlative encyclical, since it gives us a closer
look at the “heroic virtues” which Benedict XVI cited as the grounds for his canonization.
Pope Paul VI was a prophet of our time in the way he stood up before the world and
declared that artificial contraception is a sin that ruins our relationship with God and
with one another. As Supreme Teacher of all Christianity, he made it clear in Humanae
Vitae that contraception is forbidden and will never be accepted by the Church under
any circumstances. His encyclical letter was a historic milestone which laid the
foundation for the international pro-life movement of these latter times.
Consequently, it triggered hostile repercussions throughout the world, both within and
without the Church. It brought upon him all the spittle and hatred of feminists who were
addicted to their shameful promiscuity, as well as the scorn of modern day “high priests”
who were more committed to pacifying the shame of Eve than the injured heart of
Christ.
Even so, Pope Paul remained unmoved by the backlash he received from the modern
world, because he expected it. He knew what he was getting into when he issued the
encyclical, which gave all the more merit to his action, since it showed the selfless
dedication he had in doing what was best for his fellow man. He saw the scourge of
divine justice coming upon humanity for its many crimes against life, and was therefore
attempting to set bulwarks into place to hold back the rising tide of evil that was
beginning to wash mankind out to Death Sea. Like the prophets of old he stood up on
behalf of God and sounded a warning to the earth, stating that if God and his rule of law
continued to be slighted, there would follow divine repercussions in the very near
future.
His prophecy was four-fold, and is unfolding in our time. Paul VI said that if society
accepted contraception as a way of life, several consequences would inevitably result.
First, it would lead to “conjugal infidelity and a general lowering of morality.” This
certainly has come to pass. The marital union that was created for bringing children into
the world has been reduced to a farce in many homes, with decadent behavior and even
sodomy being condoned. The Divine Founder of the marital institution has been blocked
from couples’ lives, thus giving reign to the devil. The Sacrament of Marriage that was
instituted for our sanctification has, for many couples, become an occasion of sin.
What the Archangel Raphael said in Holy Scripture directly applies to those who practice
artificial birth control: “I will show thee who they are, over whom the devil can prevail.
For they who in such manner receive matrimony, as to shut out God from themselves,
and from their mind, and to give themselves to their lust, as the horse and mule, which
hath not understanding, over them the devil hath power.” (Tobias 6:17)
It is this very spirit of fornication that artificial birth control has fostered, as predicted by
Paul VI, so that fornication (pre-marital and extra-marital) has skyrocketed in our time.
Sadly, the sins of the parents have been visited upon the children who think nothing of
feasting their eyes on the despicable MTV channel and Internet porn. Being inflamed
therewith, they’re driven to go out and fornicate with the aid of rock-music and drugs, so
that the ubiquitous fire of sin burns out of control throughout society. The pope said the
pill would ignite this infernal fire whereby there would ensue this “general lowering of
morality.” This indeed has come to pass.
Secondly, Paul VI said that contraception would lead men to cease from respecting the
honor of women, which would cause them to treat women as “mere instruments of
selfish enjoyment.” Clearly, his prophecy has been fulfilled many times over by
pornography alone, which is the most lucrative business in the modern world today.
The entire industry is singularly dedicated to the abuse of women.
Thirdly, the Holy Father said that the widespread acceptance of contraception by
couples would lead to a massive imposition of contraception by godless governments,
which was bellicose during the Obama Administration, though Trump thankfully is in the process of reversing this. However, the deadly poison of contraception has taken its toll. Pregnancy today is treated like a disease that needs to be cured, so that under the whip of global elite-masters the agents of death are working incessantly to break into every facet of life with their intrusive antilife agenda. Finally, the pope said that artificial contraception would lead man to feel that he can rule as a little god and exercise a limitless “domination over his own body and its functions.” This hubris is perfectly expressed in such modern bio-tech horrors as invitro-fertilization, cloning, the creation of hybrid organisms, embryonic stem cell research, and the like. The pill is largely to blame for these terrible evils in our modern world. It is a prolific seed that has helped society grow into the godless jungle it has become. It is a deadly poison that has helped to spawn this Apocalyptic culture of death, which is threatening the very existence of mankind. For the pill was a key part of the devil’s strategy to start weakening the will of women by defiling their conscience and fostering contempt for life, thus paving the way for abortion, through which Satan would be strengthened and glorified on earth. For
abortion is the negative current that charges the devil’s battery and gives him power
over man. It is a sacrifice to Satan that gives him the needed strength to bring about the
fall of nations, and thus facilitate his plan for the enslavement of mankind under a
communistic one-world government. Pope Paul saw this coming, so as a good prophet
he spoke the truth for God, that we “may have life, and may have it more abundantly.”
(John 10:10) This truth issuing forth from the Chair of Peter must be adopted and echoed throughout the churches of the world, especially by the clergy. If today’s bishops and priests are truly interested in renewing their faith, they must read and reread “Humanae Vitae,” so that they will have that zeal to warn the people of contraception’s destruction of the integrity of the marital act—as unitive and procreative—and how it is a degrading
venom that withers life and love both in marriage and in society.
In 2008, Fr. George Welzbacher, Professor at St. Thomas University, stated publicly: “The
fruits of the contraceptive revolution point persuasively to the conclusion that Pope Paul
VI was right and the world was wrong when he warned in Humanae Vitae that evil is evil and will bring forth evil, which 40 years later has come to pass.” Amen to that! “By their fruits you shall know them.” (Matthew 7:20) None less than the saintly Padre Pio paid tribute to Pope Paul VI in a letter to His Holiness, dated September 12, 1968. Therein he pledged his unwavering allegiance to the pope in the face of demonic persecutions he was receiving because of Humanae Vitae. The late stigmatist said:
“I know that your heart is suffering much these days on account of the happenings in the
Church, for peace in the world, for the great needs of its peoples; but above all, for the
lack of obedience of some, even Catholics, to the high teaching that you, assisted by the
Holy Spirit and in the name of God, are giving us…. I thank you for your clear and
decisive words that you especially pronounced in the last encyclical “Humanae Vitae”;
and I reaffirm my faith, my unconditional obedience to your illuminated directions.”
In his letter, St. Padre Pio addressed Paul VI as “The Supreme Teacher of all Christianity,”
acknowledging that he was speaking ex-cathedra in declaring the essential point of
Humanae Vitae. It behooves us to focus on Article 14 where he states: “The direct interruption of the generative process already begun and, above all, all direct abortion, even for therapeutic reasons, are to be absolutely excluded as lawful means of regulating the number of children. Equally to be condemned, as the Magisterium of the Church has affirmed on many occasions, is direct sterilization, whether of the man or of the woman, whether permanent or temporary. “Similarly excluded is any action which either before, at the moment of, or after sexual intercourse, is specifically intended to prevent procreation.” Hence women who take birth control pills sin grievously, and as such, cannot be admitted to Holy Communion. The same applies to husbands who consent to the pill or who use condoms. As with divorced and civilly remarried couples, contraceptive couples place themselves outside the Church, making it morally wrong for them to enter the Church unless their intention is to go to confession and reform.
As a wholesome recourse for travailing couples that are not able to birth children at a
given time, the pope benevolently recommends that they adopt the natural rhythm
method of regulating birth. There are those who criticize this recommendation, arguing
that it encourages couples to deliberately duck-and-hide from God so that the marital
act is habitually used for non-procreative purposes.
However, this was not the pope’s design, and he makes this very clear. The point of
Humanae Vitae is to say that God must be allowed to work procreatively through a
couples’ marriage so that God is the very heart and center of their union. The rhythm method is only prescribed for couples who cannot make ends meet at a given time, or who for reasons of health or scandal decide they must defer the birthing of children to a later date. They are given this option to preserve their union with God and with each other. The pope is pointing out that this is an acceptable path they can take for the preservation of their marital bond, provided it is temporary and not motivated by a desire to not have children. On that note, we might point out that couples who practice this ‘natural family planning’ as a regular means of avoiding pregnancy are essentially no different than those who use the pill, since the intention is the same. It is only when the rhythm method is temporary and goes against their truest desire to have children that it is acceptable. The bottom line is that artificial contraception is forbidden in the Christian life, which means that couples may never resort to the use of birth control pills, preventative or abortive, or to sterilization, or to surgical abortions. Such methods of regulating birth only ruin their relationship with God and plague their marriage with guilt, leading to discord and divorce, and their contribution to the growing culture of death on earth.
Birth control feeds the infernal monster and gives him power over man, whereas the
birthing and raising children is the victorious path that delivers us from Satan’s power,
this being especially applicable to the woman. St. Paul spells it out in clear, unambiguous
terms: “She shall be saved) through child bearing; if she continue in faith, and love, and
sanctification, with sobriety.” (1 Timothy 2: 15) If even a sector of today’s contraceptive women heeded Pope Paul’s directive to renounce artificial birth control of every kind, it no doubt would stay the hand of divine execution that is poised to strike our world for its many executions against life. Faithful Catholics are encouraged to read Pope Paul VI’s encyclical on human life and to ponder his words well. For his prophecy is unfolding in our time.
© 2019, Anthony Stine. All rights reserved. You may reuse or copy this post by giving credit and providing a link.
