Looking back over the past twenty years in our own country, we see a gradual decline in family size and an increase in divorce, both notably pronounced among Catholics, and an overwhelming assault on the sacredness of human life in judicial decisions and social policies regarding abortion. We find in our society a growing ambivalence in attitudes regarding children, and an increasing tendency to equate the bond of marriage with more cohabitation. The twentieth anniversary of Humanae Vitae offers Catholics a special opportunity to reflect on the encyclical's teaching and on its defense of the dignity of Christian marriage and family life. Pope Paul VI reminded us that decisions about the transmission of human life are not merely decisions about the most efficient way to pursue a particular goal. Such decisions must be considered in light of an integral understanding of the nature and dignity of the human person, and the eternal destiny to which each of us has been called by God.
Marriage is much more than a universally accepted social institution.
Each child is a unique person who, from the first moment of existence, shares in God's own life and is called to an eternal destiny with him in heaven. To parent a child is to share in a special way in God's plan of creation and redemption. Respect for the procreative dimension of human sexuality demands that one does not directly act to render procreation impossible, but allows married couples for serious reasons to reserve sexual union to the infertile periods of a woman's reproductive cycle. Pope Paul recognized that some would find this teaching difficult indeed, that it is only realizable with God's help, coupled with the good will of each person. But he also recognized his responsibility to set before Catholics a clear statement of moral principle that could serve as a guide to the pursuit of Christian virtue and holiness.