The last few years have been tumultuous in many ways – COVID, war, shortages of people and supplies in many fields, political upheaval, and more. 1968 was tumultuous in many ways, too. The war was then in Vietnam. Riots took place in Washington DC and at the Democratic National Convention. The Civil Rights Act was signed but racial tensions grew. Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy are assassinated. Apollo 8 orbits the moon and the astronauts read from the Book of Genesis to the world from space.
And in the middle of that year, the following words were written: “The most remarkable development of all is to be seen in humanity’s stupendous progress in the domination and rational organization of the forces of nature to the point that we are endeavoring to extend this control over every aspect of our own lives —over the body, over the mind and emotions, over social life, and even over the laws that regulate the transmission of life.” These words appear near the beginning of Saint Pope Paul VI’s encyclical, Humanae Vitae (“Of Human Life”), published on July 25. It is perhaps most remembered for its promotion of Natural Family Planning and openness to life, but that is just one consequence of its ennobling vision of humans as co-creators with God, entrusted by the Maker of all with this stewardship of the very sources of human life, and the profoundly holy vocation to parenthood.
Thanks to all who are parents for accepting this witness to generosity in love and life. You inspire me, over and over.
Over the years, Pope Paul’s teaching has often been described as “prophetic.” This is true in two ways. First, in Scriptural terms, “prophetic” simply means that the speaker is conveying not merely human words, but the Word of God. In this sense, Pope Paul’s encyclical is prophetic: he is teaching from his responsibility to hand on God’s creative goodness in the transmission of human life. He knew it would not be welcomed by some: “It is to be anticipated that perhaps not everyone will easily accept this particular teaching. There is much clamorous outcry against the voice of the Church, and this is intensified by modern means of communication. But it comes as no surprise …like [Jesus] to be a ‘sign of contradiction.’” (HV, 18).
Second, the more common use of “prophetic” implies looking into the future, predicting accurately what is to come. In this sense, too, Pope Paul’s words have proved prophetic. Re-read the opening quote and consider CRISPR. This is a gene-editing technique discovered about a decade ago. It mimics, but is now able to some degree to control, the same process bacteria have always used naturally to combat viruses that invade the cell. “CRISPR” stands for “clustered regularly-interspaced short palindromic repeats” – a phenomenon at the level of cellular DNA discovered by accident and once considered meaningless. In fact, these “repeats” are sections of DNA that has been damaged by a virus and where the cell “cuts out” the foreign
DNA and repairs itself. This process has happened for millennia in our cells, unknown to us.
Now, the technology exists to alter DNA relatively simply at will. While there is great positive potential for therapies, the ethical implications of this capability are also sobering, and governments worldwide are wrestling with what boundaries to draw.
In 1968, Pope Paul foresaw the consequences of the loss of perspective that would occur when the gift of life – co-created by spouses cooperating with the Creator in accord with the natural means God established – was reduced to a merely biological problem to be solved by technology. Rather, as he taught, our capabilities to impact human nature must always be at the service of the human person’s authentic good, even beyond this earthly life.
In our time, Pope Francis has applied this same principle to the growing field of AI or artificial intelligence. Technology can be our servant, or our master – it depends on how we choose to use the capabilities entrusted to us as stewards.
In a world still marked by so much indifference to human dignity, violence, and political and social turmoil, it is helpful to turn back the page to an earlier time when these issues were also shaping culture, and hear again the voice of the Holy Spirit guiding the Church to navigate these difficult times – as those created in love, in the very image of God.
For many more resources, see www.usccb.org/ and click on the highlight for NPF Week: “Love Beyond Measure.”
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