Humanae Vitae (“Of Human Life”) is the papal encyclical written by Blessed Pope Paul VI in 1968. It provides beautiful and clear teaching about God's plan for married love and the transmission of life. July 25, 2018, marks the 50th anniversary of the issuance of Humanae Vitae. In this anniversary year, Catholics are urged to read the document and to grasp its meaning, purpose, and impact. Here you can read the document (in English or Spanish), and find new reflections, articles, and resources.
"Humanae Vitae and Natural Family Planning"
Meet a married couple (educated professonals,
parents of three) who practice and teach
Natural Family Planning in the San Francisco
Bay Area. How has the acceptance of Catholic teaching and the practice of NFP supported their love, their marriage, and their spiritual life? Watch their televised discussion here.
The Catholic social networking site Xt3.com (meaning Christ in the 3rd Millenium) presents this video on Humanae Vitae: "What was true yesterday is true today." Xt3 was founded in conjunction with World Youth Day in Australia in 2008, to help young people interested in knowing more about the Catholic faith.
What is the Catholic view of sexuality? Dr. Smith, professor of moral theology, has written extenslively on Catholic teaching on sexuality and marrage, and is editor of the essay collection Why Humanae Vitae Was Right: A Reader.
Read the interview with her in America Magazine Online.
This nationwide survey, "What Catholic Women Think About Faith, Conscience, and Contraception,"
released in 2013, offers surprising data about the views of church-going Catholic women
on the topics of faith, conscience, and contraception.
Robert Barron, Auxiliary Bishop of Los Angeles, made this 10-minute video in January 2018: "This coming July," he says, "we will mark the 50th anniversary of Pope Paul VI’s deeply controversial encyclical letter, Humanae Vitae. But I would like to draw particular attention to a remarkable passage in this encyclical, namely Section 17, in which Paul VI plays the prophet and lays out, clearly and succinctly, what he foresees as the consequences of turning away from the Church’s classic teaching on sex...." Click here or on the PLAY button above.
For an abundance of resources, visit the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Humanae Vitae web page
Celebrating 50 Years of Humanae Vitae:
"Faithful to God's Design" conference in California July 27-28
“Taking the Hard Way Out: Evangelization in a Post-Christian World” TEXT / VIDEO
Talk by Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone at March 24, 2018 symposium on Evangelization
"What Catholic Women Think About Faith, Conscience, and Contraception": a survey by EPPC
"Humanae Vitae: A Summary of Pope Paul VI’s Prophetic Encyclical" (ThoughtCo.com)
"Why the Drafting of Humanae Vitae Still Matters, Fifty Years Later" (Catholic News Agency)
"The Splendor of Love" (Episcopal letter on the 50th Anniversary of Humanae Vitae)
"El Esplendor del Amor"" (Carta Episcopal para el aniversario 50 de Humanae Vitae)
"The Prophetic Power of Humanae Vitae" (Mary Eberstadt, First Things, April 2018)
California Association of Natural Family Planning
"Humanae Vitae draws connections necessary to oppose abortion" (April 26, 2018)