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Encyclical Letter Of His Holiness
promulgated on 25 July 1968.
To The Venerable Patriarchs, Archbishops And Bishops And Other Local Ordinaries In Peace
And Communion With The Apostolic See, To Priests, The Faithful And To All Men Of Good Will
Venerable Brothers And Beloved Sons:
1. The most serious duty of transmitting human life, for which married persons are the
free and responsible collaborators of God the Creator, has always been a source of great
joys to them, even if sometimes accompanied by not a few difficulties and by distress.
At all times the fulfillment of this duty has posed grave problems to the conscience of
married persons, but, with the recent evolution of society, changes have taken place that
give rise to new questions which the Church could not ignore, having to do with a matter
which so closely touches upon the life and happiness of men.
2. The changes which have taken place are in fact noteworthy and of varied kinds. In the
first place, there is the rapid demographic development. Fear is shown by many that world
population is growing more rapidly than the available resources, with growing distress to
many families and developing countries, so that the temptation for authorities to counter
this danger with radical measures is great. Moreover, working and lodging conditions, as
well as increased exigencies both in the economic field and in that of education, often
make the proper education of a larger number of children difficult today. A change is also
seen both in the manner of considering the person of woman and her place in society, and
in the value to be attributed to conjugal love in marriage, and also in the appreciation
to be made of the meaning of conjugal acts in relation to that love.
Finally and above all, man has made stupendous progress in the domination and rational
organization of the forces of nature, such that he tends to extend this domination to his
own total being: to the body, to psychical life, to social life and even to the laws which
regulate the transmission of life.
3. This new state of things gives rise to new questions. Granted the conditions of life
today, and granted the meaning which conjugal relations have with respect to the harmony
between husband and wife and to their mutual fidelity, would not a revision of the ethical
norms, in force up to now, seem to be advisable, especially when it is considered that
they cannot be observed without sacrifices, sometimes heroic sacrifices?
And again: by extending to this field the application of the so-called "principle of
totality," could it not be admitted that the intention of a less abundant but more
rationalized fecundity might transform a materially sterilizing intervention into a licit
and wise control of birth? Could it not be admitted, that is, that the finality of
procreation pertains to the ensemble of conjugal life, rather than to its single acts? It
is also asked whether, in view of the increased sense of responsibility of modern man, the
moment has not come for him to entrust to his reason and his will, rather than to the
biological rhythms of his organism, the task of regulating birth.
4. Such questions required from the teaching authority of the Church a new and deeper
reflection upon the principles of the moral teaching on marriage: a teaching founded on
the natural law, illuminated and enriched by divine revelation.
No believer will wish to deny that the teaching authority of the Church is competent to
interpret even the natural moral law. It is, in fact, indisputable, as our predecessors
have many times declared,[1] that Jesus Christ, when communicating to Peter and to the
Apostles His divine authority and sending them to teach all nations His commandments,[2]
constituted them as guardians and authentic interpreters of all the moral law, not only,
that is, of the law of the Gospel, but also of the natural law, which is also an
expression of the will of God, the faithful fulfillment of which is equally necessary for
salvation.[3]
Conformably to this mission of hers, the Church has always provided—and even more
amply in recent times—a coherent teaching concerning both the nature of marriage and
the correct use of conjugal rights and the duties of husband and wife.[4]
5. The consciousness of that same mission induced us to confirm and enlarge the study
commission which our predecessor Pope John XXIII of happy memory had instituted in March,
1963. That commission which included, besides several experts in the various pertinent
disciplines also married
couples, had as its scope the gathering of opinions on the new questions regarding
conjugal life, and in particular on the regulation of births, and of furnishing opportune
elements of information so that the magisterium could give an adequate reply to the
expectation not only of the faithful, but also of world opinion.[5]
The work of these experts, as well as the successive judgments and counsels spontaneously
forwarded by or expressly requested from a good number of our brothers in the episcopate,
have permitted us to measure more exactly all the aspects of this complex matter. Hence
with all our heart we express to each of them our lively gratitude.
6. The conclusions at which the commission arrived could not, nevertheless, be considered
by us as definitive, nor dispense us from a personal examination of this serious question;
and this also because, within the commission itself, no full concordance of judgments
concerning the moral norms to be proposed had been reached, and above all because certain
criteria of solutions had emerged which departed from the moral teaching on marriage
proposed with constant firmness by the teaching authority of the Church.
Therefore, having attentively sifted the documentation laid before us, after mature
reflection and assiduous prayers, we now intend, by virtue of the mandate entrusted to us
by Christ, to give our reply to these grave questions.
7. The problem of birth, like every other problem regarding human life, is to be
considered, beyond partial perspectives— whether of the biological or psychological,
demographic or sociological orders—in the light of an integral vision of man and of
his vocation, not only his natural and earthly, but also his supernatural and eternal
vocation. And since, in the attempt to justify artificial methods of birth control, many
have appealed to the demands both of conjugal love and of "responsible
parenthood," it is good to state very precisely the true concept of these two great
realities of married life, referring principally to what was recently set forth in this
regard, and in a highly authoritative form, by the Second Vatican Council in its pastoral
constitution "Gaudium et Spes."
8. Conjugal love reveals its true nature and nobility when it is considered in its supreme
origin, God, who is love,[6] "the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on
earth is named."[7] Marriage is not, then, the effect of chance or the product
of evolution of unconscious natural forces; it is the wise institution of the Creator to
realize in mankind His design of love. By means of the reciprocal personal gift of self,
proper and exclusive to them, husband and wife tend towards the communion of their beings
in view of mutual personal perfection, to collaborate with God in the generation and
education of new lives.
For baptized persons, moreover, marriage invests the dignity of a sacramental sign of
grace, inasmuch as it represents the union of Christ and of the Church.
9. Under this light, there clearly appear the characteristic marks and demands of conjugal
love, and it is of supreme importance to have an exact idea of these.
This love is first of all fully human, that is to say, of the senses and of the spirit at
the same time. It is not, then, a simple transport of instinct and sentiment, but also,
and principally, an act of the free will, intended to endure and to grow by means of the
joys and sorrows of daily life, in such a way that husband and wife become one only heart
and one only soul, and together attain their human perfection.
Then, this love is total, that is to say, it is a very special form of personal
friendship, in which husband and wife generously share everything, without undue
reservations or selfish calculations. Whoever truly loves his marriage partner loves not
only for what he receives, but for the partner's self, rejoicing that he can enrich his
partner with the gift of himself.
Again, this love is faithful and exclusive until death. Thus in fact do bride and groom
conceive it to be on the day when they freely and in full awareness assume the duty of the
marriage bond. A fidelity, this, which can sometimes be difficult, but is always possible,
always noble and meritorious, as no one can deny. The example of so many married persons
down through the centuries shows, not only that fidelity is according to the nature of
marriage, but also that it is a source of profound and lasting happiness.
And finally this love is fecund for it is not exhausted by the communion between husband
and wife, but is destined to continue, raising up new lives. "Marriage and conjugal
love are by their nature ordained toward the begetting and educating of children. Children
are really the supreme gift of marriage and contribute very substantially to the welfare
of their parents."[8]
10. Hence conjugal love requires in husband and wife an awareness of their mission of
"responsible parenthood," which today is rightly much insisted upon, and which
also must be exactly understood. Consequently it is to be considered under different
aspects which are legitimate and connected with one another.
In relation to the biological processes, responsible parenthood means the knowledge and
respect of their functions; human intellect discovers in the power of giving life
biological laws which are part of the human person.[9]
In relation to the tendencies of instinct or passion, responsible parenthood means that
necessary dominion which reason and will must exercise over them.
In relation to physical, economic, psychological and social conditions, responsible
parenthood is exercised, either by the deliberate and generous decision to raise a
numerous family, or by the decision, made for grave motives and with due respect for the
moral law, to avoid for the time being, or even for an indeterminate period, a new birth.
Responsible parenthood also and above all implies a more profound relationship to the
objective moral order established by God, of which a right conscience is the faithful
interpreter. The responsible exercise of parenthood implies, therefore, that husband and
wife recognize fully their own duties towards God, towards themselves, towards the family
and towards society, in a correct hierarchy of values.
In the task of transmitting life, therefore, they are not free to proceed completely at
will, as if they could determine in a wholly autonomous way the honest path to follow; but
they must conform their activity to the creative intention of God, expressed in the very
nature of marriage and of its acts,
and manifested by the constant teaching of the Church.[10]
11. These acts, by which husband and wife are united in chaste intimacy, and by means of
which human life is transmitted, are, as the Council recalled, "noble and
worthy,"[11] and they do not cease to be lawful if, for causes independent of the
will of husband and wife, they are foreseen to be infecund, since they always remain
ordained towards expressing and consolidating their union.
In fact, as experience bears witness, not every conjugal act is followed by a new life.
God has wisely disposed natural laws and rhythms of fecundity which, of themselves, cause
a separation in the succession of births. Nonetheless the Church, calling men back to the
observance of the norms
of the natural law, as interpreted by their constant doctrine,
teaches that each and every marriage act (quilibet matrimonii usus) must remain open to
the transmission of life.[12]
12. That teaching, often set forth by the magisterium, is founded upon the inseparable
connection, willed by God and unable to be broken by man on his own initiative, between
the two meanings of the conjugal act: the unitive meaning and the procreative meaning.
Indeed, by its intimate structure, the conjugal act, while most closely uniting husband
and wife, capacitates them for the generation of new lives, according to laws inscribed in
the very being of man and of woman. By safeguarding both these essential aspects, the
unitive and the procreative, the conjugal act preserves in its fullness the sense of true
mutual love and its ordination towards man's most high calling to parenthood. We believe
that the men of our day are particularly capable of seeing the deeply reasonable and human
character of this fundamental principle.
13. It is in fact justly observed that a conjugal act imposed upon one's partner without
regard for his or her condition and lawful desires is not a true act of love, and
therefore denies an exigency of right moral order in the relationships between husband and
wife. Likewise, if they consider the matter, they must admit that an act of mutual love,
which is detrimental to the faculty of propagating life, which God the Creator of all, has
implanted in it according to special laws, is in contradiction to both the divine plan,
according to whose norm matrimony has been instituted, and the will of the Author of human
life. To use this divine gift destroying, even if only partially, its meaning and its
purpose is to contradict the nature both of man and of woman and of their most intimate
relationship, and therefore it is to contradict also the plan of God and His will. On the
other hand, to make use of the gift of conjugal love while respecting the laws of the
generative process means to acknowledge oneself not to be the arbiter of the sources of
human life, but rather the minister of the design established by the Creator. In fact,
just as man does not have unlimited dominion over his body in general, so also, with
particular reason, he has no such dominion over his generative faculties as such, because
of their intrinsic ordination towards raising up life, of which God is the
principle. "Human life is sacred," Pope John XXIII recalled; "from its very
inception it reveals the creating hand of God."[13]
14. In conformity with these landmarks in the human and Christian vision of marriage, we
must once again declare that the direct interruption of the generative process already
begun, and, above all, directly willed and procured abortion, even if for therapeutic
reasons, are to be absolutely excluded as licit means of regulating birth.[14]
Equally to be excluded, as the teaching authority of the Church has frequently declared,
is direct sterilization, whether perpetual or temporary, whether of the man or of the
woman.[15] Similarly excluded is every action which, either in anticipation of the
conjugal act, or in its accomplishment, or in the development of its natural consequences,
proposes, whether as an end or as a means, to render procreation impossible.[16]
To justify conjugal acts made intentionally infecund, one cannot invoke as valid reasons
the lesser evil, or the fact that such acts would constitute a whole together with the
fecund acts already performed or to follow later, and hence would share in one and the
same moral goodness. In truth, if it is sometimes licit to tolerate a lesser evil in order
to avoid a greater evil or to promote a greater good,[17] it is not licit, even for the
gravest reasons, to do evil so that good may follow therefrom;[18] that is, to make into
the object of a positive act of the will something which is intrinsically disorder, and
hence unworthy of the human person, even when the intention is to safeguard or promote
individual, family or social well-being. Consequently it is an error to think that a
conjugal act which is deliberately made infecund and so is intrinsically dishonest could
be made honest and right by the ensemble of a fecund conjugal life.
15. The Church, on the contrary, does not at all consider illicit the use of those
therapeutic means truly necessary to cure diseases of the organism, even if an impediment
to procreation, which may be foreseen, should result therefore, provided such impediment
is not, for whatever motive, directly willed.[19]
16. To this teaching of the Church on conjugal morals, the objection is made today, as we
observed earlier (no. 3), that it is the prerogative of the human intellect to dominate
the energies offered by irrational nature and to orientate them towards an end conformable
to the good of man.
Now, some may ask: in the present case, is it not reasonable in many circumstances to have
recourse to artificial birth control if, thereby, we secure the harmony and peace of the
family, and better conditions for the education of the children already born? To this
question it is necessary to reply with clarity: the Church is the first to praise and
recommend the intervention of intelligence in a function which so closely associates the
rational creature with his Creator; but she affirms that this must be done with respect
for the order established by God.
If, then, there are serious motives to space out births, which derive from the physical or
psychological conditions of husband and wife, or from external conditions, the Church
teaches that
it is then licit to take into account the natural rhythms immanent in the generative
functions, for the
use of marriage in the infecund periods only, and in this way to regulate birth without
offending the
moral principles which have been recalled earlier.[20]
The Church is coherent with herself when she considers recourse to the infecund periods to
be licit, while at the same time condemning, as being always illicit, the use of means
directly contrary to fecundation, even if such use is inspired by reasons which may appear
honest and serious. In reality, there are essential differences between the two cases; in
the former, the married couple make legitimate use of a natural disposition; in the
latter, they impede the development of natural processes. It is true that, in the one and
the other case, the married couple are concordant in the positive will of avoiding
children for plausible reasons, seeking the certainty that offspring will not
arrive; but it is also true that only in the former case are they able to renounce the use
of marriage in the fecund periods when, for just motives, procreation is not desirable,
while making use of it during infecund periods to manifest their affection and to
safeguard their mutual fidelity. By so doing, they give proof of a truly and integrally
honest love.
17. Upright men can even better convince themselves of the solid grounds on which the
teaching of the Church in this field is based, if they care to reflect upon the
consequences of methods of artificial birth control. Let them consider, first of all, how
wide and easy a road would thus be opened up towards conjugal infidelity and the general
lowering of morality. Not much experience is needed in order to know human weakness, and
to understand that men—especially the young, who are so vulnerable on this
point—have need of encouragement to be faithful to the moral law, so that they must
not be offered some easy means of eluding its observance. It is also to be feared that the
man, growing used to the employment of anti-conceptive practices, may finally lose respect
for the woman and, no longer caring for her physical and psychological equilibrium, may
come to the point of considering her as a mere instrument of selfish enjoyment, and no
longer as his respected and beloved companion.
Let it be considered also that a dangerous weapon would thus be placed in the hands of
those public authorities who take no heed of moral exigencies. Who could blame a
government for applying to the solution of the problems of the community those means
acknowledged to be licit for married couples in the solution of a family problem? Who will
stop rulers from favoring, from even imposing upon their peoples, if they were to consider
it necessary, the method of contraceptionwhich they judge to be most efficacious? In such
a way men, wishing to avoid individual, family, or social difficulties encountered in the
observance of the divine law, would reach the point of placing at the mercy of the
intervention of public authorities the most personal and most reserved sector of conjugal
intimacy.
Consequently, if the mission of generating life is not to be exposed to the arbitrary will
of men, one must necessarily recognize insurmountable limits to the possibility of man's
domination over his own body and its functions; limits which no man, whether a private
individual or one invested with authority, may licitly surpass. And such limits cannot be
determined otherwise than by the respect due to the integrity of the human organism and
its functions, according to the principles recalled earlier, and also according to the
correct understanding of the "principle of totality" illustrated by our
predecessor Pope Pius XII.[21]
18. It can be foreseen that this teaching will perhaps not be easily received by all: Too
numerous are those voices—amplified by the modern means of propaganda—which are
contrary to the voice of the Church. To tell the truth, the Church is not surprised to be
made, like her divine Founder, a "sign of contradiction",[22] yet she does not
because of this cease to proclaim with humble firmness the entire moral law, both natural
and evangelical. Of such laws the Church was not the author, nor consequently can she be
their arbiter; she is only their depositary and their interpreter, without ever being able
to declare to be licit that which is not so by reason of its intimate and unchangeable
opposition to the true good of man.
In defending conjugal morals in their integral wholeness, the Church knows that she
contributes towards the establishment of a truly human civilization; she engages man not
to abdicate from his own responsibility in order to rely on technical means; by that very
fact she defends the dignity of man and wife. Faithful to both the teaching and the
example of the Savior, she shows herself to be the sincere and disinterested friend of
men, whom she wishes to help, even during their earthly sojourn, "to share as sons in
the life of the living God, the Father of all men."[23]
19. Our words would not be an adequate expression of the thought and solicitude of the
Church, Mother and Teacher of all peoples, if, after having recalled men to the observance
and respect of the divine law regarding matrimony, we did not strengthen them in the path
of honest regulation of birth, even amid the difficult conditions which today afflict
families and peoples. The Church, in fact, cannot have a different conduct towards men
than that of the Redeemer: She knows their weaknesses, has compassion on the crowd,
receives sinners; but she cannot renounce the teaching of the law which is, in reality,
that law proper to a human life restored to its original truth and conducted by the spirit
of God.[24]
20. The teaching of the Church on the regulation of birth, which promulgates the divine
law, will easily appear to many to be difficult or even impossible of actuation. And
indeed, like all great beneficent realities, it demands serious engagement and much
effort, individual, family and social effort. More than that, it would not be practicable
without the help of God, who upholds and strengthens the good will of men. Yet, to anyone
who reflects well, it cannot but be clear that such efforts ennoble man and are beneficial
to the human community.
21. The honest practice of regulation of birth demands first of all that husband and wife
acquire and possess solid convictions concerning the true values of life and of the
family, and that they tend towards securing perfect self-mastery. To dominate instinct by
means of one's reason and free will undoubtedly requires ascetical practices, so that the
affective manifestations of conjugal life may observe the correct order, in particular
with regard to the observance of periodic continence. Yet this discipline which is proper
to the purity of married couples, far from harming conjugal love, rather confers on it a
higher human value. It demands continual effort yet, thanks to its beneficent influence,
husband and wife fully develop their personalities, being enriched with spiritual values.
Such discipline bestows upon family life fruits of serenity and peace, and facilitates the
solution of there problems; it favors attention for one's partner, helps both
parties to drive out selfishness, the enemy of true love; and deepens their sense of
responsibility. By its means, parents acquire the capacity of having a deeper and more
efficacious influence in the education of their offspring; little children and youths grow
up with a just appraisal of human values, and in the serene and harmonious development of
their spiritual and sensitive faculties.
22. On this occasion, we wish to draw the attention of educators, and of all who perform
duties of responsibility in regard to the common good of human society, to the need of
creating an atmosphere favorable to education in chastity, that is, to the triumph of
healthy liberty over license by means of respect for the moral order.
Everything in the modern media of social communications which leads to sense excitation
and unbridled customs, as well as every form of pornography and licentious performances,
must arouse the frank and unanimous reaction of all those who are solicitous for the
progress of civilization and the defense of the common good of the human spirit. Vainly
would one seek to justify such depravation with the pretext of artistic or scientific
exigencies,[25] or to deduce an argument from the freedom allowed in this sector by the
public authorities.
23. To Rulers, who are those principally responsible for the common good, and who can do
so much to safeguard moral customs, we say: Do not allow the morality of your peoples to
be degraded; do not permit that by legal means practices contrary to the natural and
divine law be introduced into that fundamental cell, the family. Quite other is the way in
which public authorities can and must contribute to the solution of the demographic
problem: namely, the way of a provident policy for the family, of a wise education of
peoples in respect of moral law and the liberty of citizens.
We are well aware of the serious difficulties experienced by public authorities in this
regard, especially in the developing countries. To their legitimate preoccupations we
devoted our encyclical letter Populorum Progressio. But with our predecessor Pope John
XXIII, we repeat: no solution to these difficulties is acceptable "which does
violence to man's essential dignity" and is based only on an utterly materialistic
conception of man himself and of his life. The only possible solution to this question is
one which envisages the social and economic progress both of individuals and of the whole
of human society, and which respects and promotes true human values.[26] Neither can one,
without grave injustice, consider divine providence to be responsible for what depends,
instead, on a lack of wisdom in government, on an insufficient sense of social justice, on
selfish monopolization, or again on blameworthy indolence in confronting the efforts and
the sacrifices necessary to ensure the raising of living standards of a people and of all
its sons.[27]
May all responsible public authorities—as some are already doing so
laudably—generously revive their efforts. And may mutual aid between all the members
of the great human family never cease to grow: This is an almost limitless field which
thus opens up to the activity of the great international organizations.
24. We wish now to express our encouragement to men of science, who "can considerably
advance the welfare of marriage and the family, along with peace of conscience, if by
pooling their efforts they labor to explain more thoroughly the various conditions
favoring a proper regulation of births."[28] It is particularly desirable that,
according to the wish already expressed by Pope Pius XII, medical science succeed in
providing a sufficiently secure basis for a regulation of birth,
founded on the observance of natural rhythms.[29] In this way, scientists and especially
Catholic scientists will contribute to demonstrate in actual fact that, as the Church
teaches, "a true contradiction cannot exist between the divine laws pertaining to the
transmission of life and those pertaining to the fostering of authentic conjugal
love."[30]
25. And now our words more directly address our own children, particularly those whom God
calls to serve Him in marriage. The Church, while teaching imprescriptible demands of the
divine law, announces the tidings of salvation, and by means of the sacraments opens up
the paths of grace, which makes man a new creature, capable of corresponding with love and
true freedom to the design of his Creator and Savior, and of finding the yoke of Christ to
be sweet.[31]
Christian married couples, then, docile to her voice, must remember that their Christian
vocation, which began at baptism, is further specified and reinforced by the sacrament of
matrimony. By it husband and wife are strengthened and as it were consecrated for the
faithful accomplishment of their proper duties, for the carrying out of their proper
vocation even to perfection, and the Christian witness which is proper to them before the
whole world.[32] To them the Lord entrusts the task of making visible to men the holiness
and sweetness of the law which unites the mutual love of husband and wife with their
cooperation with the love of God the author of human life.
We do not at all intend to hide the sometimes serious difficulties inherent in the life of
Christian married persons; for them as for everyone else, "the gate is narrow and the
way is hard, that leads to life."[33] But the hope of that life must illuminate their
way, as with courage they strive to live with wisdom, justice and piety in this present
time,[34] knowing that the figure of this world passes away.[35]
Let married couples, then, face up to the efforts needed, supported by the faith and hope
which "do not disappoint … because God's love has been poured into our hearts
through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to Us"[36]; let them implore divine
assistance by persevering prayer; above all, let them draw from the source of grace and
charity in the Eucharist. And if sin should still keep its hold over them, let them not be
discouraged, but rather have recourse with humble perseverance to the mercy of God, which
is poured forth in the sacrament of Penance. In this way they will be
enabled to achieve the fullness of conjugal life described by the Apostle: "husbands,
love your wives, as Christ loved the Church … husbands should love their wives as
their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no man ever hates his own
flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, as Christ does the Church … this is a great
mystery, and I mean in reference to Christ and the Church. However, let each one of you
love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband."[37]
26. Among the fruits which ripen forth from a generous effort of fidelity to the divine
law, one of the most precious is that married couples themselves not infrequently feel the
desire to communicate their experience to others. Thus there comes to be included in the
vast pattern of the vocation of the laity a new and most noteworthy form of the apostolate
of like to like; it is married couples themselves who become apostles and guides to other
married couples. This is assuredly, among so many forms of apostolate, one of those which
seem most opportune today.[38]
27. We hold those physicians and medical personnel in the highest esteem who, in the
exercise of their profession, value above every human interest the superior demands of
their Christian vocation. Let them persevere, therefore, in promoting on every occasion
the discovery of solutions inspired by faith and right reason, let them strive to arouse
this conviction and this respect in their associates. Let them also consider as their
proper professional duty the task of acquiring all the knowledge needed in this delicate
sector, so as to be able to give to those married persons who consult them wise counsel
and healthy direction, such as they have a right to expect.
28. Beloved priest sons, by vocation you are the counselors and spiritual guides of
individual persons and of families. We now turn to you with confidence. Your first
task—especially in the case of those who teach moral theology—is to expound the
Church's teaching on marriage without ambiguity. Be the first to give, in the exercise of
your ministry, the example of loyal internal and external obedience to the teaching
authority of the Church. That obedience, as you know well,obliges not only because of the
reasons adduced, but rather because of the light of the Holy Spirit, which is given in a
particular way to the pastors of the Church in order that they may illustrate the
truth.[39] You know, too, that it is of the utmost importance, for peace of consciences
and for the unity of the Christian people, that in the field of morals as well as in that
of dogma, all should attend to the magisterium of the Church, and all should speak the
same language. Hence, with all our heart we renew to you the heartfelt plea of the great
Apostle Paul: "I appeal to you, brethren, by the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ, that
all of you agree and that there be no dissensions among you, but that you be united in the
same mind and the same judgment."[40]
29. To diminish in no way the saving teaching of Christ constitutes an eminent form of
charity for souls. But this must ever be accompanied by patience and goodness, such as the
Lord himself gave example of in dealing with men. Having come not to condemn but to
save,[41] he was indeed intransigent with evil, but merciful towards individuals.
In their difficulties, may married couples always find, in the words and in the heart of a
priest, the echo of the voice and the love of the Redeemer.
And then speak with confidence, beloved sons, fully convinced that the spirit of God,
while He assists the magisterium in proposing doctrine, illumines internally the hearts of
the faithful inviting them to give their assent. Teach married couples the indispensable
way of prayer; prepare them to have recourse often and with faith to the sacraments of the
Eucharist and of Penance, without ever allowing themselves to be discouraged by their own
weakness.
30. Beloved and venerable brothers in the episcopate, with whom we most intimately share
thesolicitude of the spiritual good of the People of God, at the conclusion of this
encyclical our reverent and affectionate thoughts turn to you. To all of you we extend an
urgent invitation. At the head of the priests, your collaborators, and of your faithful,
work ardently and incessantly for the safeguarding and the holiness of marriage, so that
it may always be lived in its entire human and Christian fullness. Consider this mission
as one of your most urgent responsibilities at the present time. As you know, it implies
concerted pastoral action in all the fields of human activity, economic, cultural and
social; for, in fact, only a simultaneous improvement in these various sectors will make
it possible to render the life of parents and of children within their families not only
tolerable, but easier and more joyous, to render the living together in human society more
fraternal and peaceful, in faithfulness to God's design for the world.
31. Venerable brothers, most beloved sons, and all men of good will, great indeed is the
work of education, of progress and of love to which we call you, upon the foundation of
the Church's teaching, of which the successor of Peter is, together with his brothers in
the episcopate, the depositary and interpreter. Truly a great work, as we are deeply
convinced, both for the world and for the Church, since man cannot find true
happiness—towards which he aspires with all his being—other than in respect of
the laws written by God in his very nature, laws which he mustobserve with intelligence
and love. Upon this work, and upon all of you, and especially upon married couples, we
invoke the abundant graces of the God of holiness and mercy, and in pledge thereof we
impart to you all our apostolic blessing.
Given at Rome, from St. Peter's, this 25th day of July, feast of St. James the Apostle, in
the year 1968, the sixth of our pontificate.
FOOTNOTES
1. Cf. Pius IX, encyclical Qui Pluribus, Nov. 9, 1846; in PII IX P. M. Acta, I, pp. 9-10;
St. Pius
X, encyc. Singulari Quadam, Sept. 24, 1912; in AAS IV (1912), p. 658; Pius XI, encyc.
Casti
Connubii, Dec. 31, 1930; in AAS XXII (1930), pp. 579-581; Pius XII, allocution Magnificate
Dominum to the episcopate of the Catholic world, Nov. 2, 1954; in AAS XLVI (1954), pp.
671-672; John XXIII, encyc. Mater et Magistra, May 15, 1961; in AAS LIII (1961), p. 457.
2. Cf. Matt. 28: 18-19.
3. Cf. Matt. 7: 21.
4. Cf. Catechismus Romanus Concilii Tridentini, part II, ch. VIII; Leo XIII, encyc.
Arcanum,
Feb. 19 1880; in Acta Leonis XIII, II (1881), pp. 26-29; Pius Xl, encyc. Divini Illius
Magistri,
Dec. 31, 1929, in AAS XXII (1930), pp. 58-61; encyc. Casti Connubii, in AAS XXII (1930),
pp. 545-546; Pius XII, alloc. to the Italian medico-biological union of St. Luke, Nov. 12,
1944, in
Discorsi e Radiomessaggi, VI, pp. 191-192; to the Italian Catholic union of midwives, Oct.
29,
1951, in AAS XLIII (1951), pp. 857-859; to the seventh Congress of the International
Society of
Haematology, Sept. 12, 1958, in AAS L (1958), pp. 734-735; John XXIII, encyc. Mater et
Magistra, in AAS LIII (1961), pp. 446-447; Codex luris Canonici, Canon 1067; Can. 1968, S
1,
Can. 1066 S 1-2; Second Vatican Council, Pastoral constitution Gaudium et Spes, nos.
47-52.
5. Cf. Paul VI, allocution to the Sacred College, June 23, 1964, in AAS LVI (1964 ), p.
588; to
the Commission for Study of Problems of Population, Family and Birth, March 27, 1965, in
AAS
LVII (1965), p. 388, to the National Congress of the Italian Society of Obstetrics and
Gynaecology, Oct. 29, 1966, in AAS LVIII (1966), p. 1168.
6. Cf. I John 4: 8.
7. Cf. Eph. 3: 15.
8. Cf. II Vat. Council, Pastoral const. Gaudium et Spes, No. 50.
9. Cf. St. Thomas, Summa Theologica, I-II, q. 94, art. 2. 10. Cf. Pastoral Const. Gaudium
et
Spes, nos. 50, 51. 11. Ibid, no. 49.
12. Cf. Pius XI, encyc. Casti Connubii, in AAS XXII (1930), p. 560; Pius XII, in AAS XLIII
(1951), p. 843.
13. Cf. John XXIII, encyc. Mater et Magistra, in AAS LIII (1961), p. 447.
14. Cf. Catechismus Romanus Concilii Tridentini, part. II, Ch. VIII; Pius XI, encyc. Casti
Connubii, in AAS XXII (1930), pp. 562-564; Pius XII, Discorsi e Radiomessaggi, VI (1944),
pp. 191-192; AAS XLIII (1951), pp. 842-843; pp. 857-859; John XXIII, encyc. Pacem in
Terris, Apr. 11, 1963, in AAS LV (1963), pp. 259-260; Gaudium et Spes, no. 51.
15. Cf. Pius XI encyc. Casti Connubii, in AAS XXII (1930) p. 565; decree of the Holy
Office,
Feb. 22, 1940, in AAS L (1958), pp. 734-735.
16. Cf. Catechismus Romanus Concilii Tridentini, part. II, Ch. VIII; Pius XI, encyc. Casti
Connubii, in AAS XXII (1930), pp. 559-561; Pius XII, AAS XLIII (1951), p. 843; AAS L.
(1958), pp. 734-735; John XXIII, encyc. Mater et Magistra, in AAS LIII (1961), p. 447.
17. Cf. Pius XII, alloc. to the National Congress of the Union of Catholic Jurists, Dec.
6, 1953, in
AAS XLV (1953), pp. 798-799.
18. Cf. Rom. 3: 8.
19. Cf. Pius XII, alloc. to Congress of the Italian Association of Urology, Oct. 8, 1953,
in AAS
XLV (1953), pp. 674-675; AAS L (1958) pp. 734-735.
20. Cf. Pius XII, AAS XLIII (1951), p. 846.
21. Cf. AAS XLV (1953), pp. 674-675; AAS XLVIII (1956), pp. 461-462.
22. Cf. Luke 2: 34.
23. Cf. Paul VI, encyc. Populorum Progressio, March 26, 1967, No. 21.
24. Cf. Rom. 8.
25. Cf. II Vatican Council, decree Inter Mirifica, On the Media of Social Communication,
nos.
6-7.
26. Cf. encyc. Mater et Magistra in AAS LIII (1961), p. 447.
27. Cf. encyc. Populorum Progressio, nos. 48-55.
28. Cf. Pastoral Const. Gaudium et Spes, no. 52. 29. Cf. AAS XLIII (1951) , p. 859.
30. Cf. Pastoral Const. Gaudium et Spes, no. 51.
31. Cf. Matt. 11: 30.
32. Cf. Pastoral Const. Gaudium et Spes, no. 48; 11 Vatican Council, Dogmatic Const. Lumen
Gentium, no. 35.
33. Matt. 7: 14- cf. Heb. 11: 12.
34. Cf. Tit. 2 : 1 2. 35. Cf. I Cor. 7: 31.
36. Cf. Rom. 5: 5.
37. Eph. 5: 25, 28-29, 32-33.
38. Cf. Dogmatic Const. Lumen Gentium, nos. 35 and 41; Pastoral Const. Gaudium et Spes,
nos. 48-49; II Vatican Council, Decree Apostolicam Actuositatem, no. I[1].
39. Cf. Dogmatic Const. Lumen Gentium, no. 25.
40 Cf. I Cor. 1: 10.
41 Cf. John 3: 17.
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