I. Humanae Vitae’s conclusionA. “openness to procreation”

1. natural law 2. To whom is Humanae Vitae

addressed?B. Can artificial birth control ever be used?

II. NFP vs. artificial contraception

GOD

vtvtBased upon the other readings for today, do you think Ann LeBlanc is a bad Catholic? Why or why not?

explore a very different view of what’s natural where artificial birth control is concerned (one more empirically oriented than Paul VI’s),

use that explanation as an example for what the Church is saying about the primacy of individual conscience, and

let Ann LeBlanc know whether she’s a bad Catholic.

I. Different perspectives on birth control: Ruether & Heaney vs. the Pope (& Everett or the Campbells)

A. On what’s natural (breadcrumbs, etc.)B. On their understanding of sex in marriage

II. Conscience & Church TeachingA. Ann LeBlancB. Truth and Authority

Is Ann LeBlanc a ‘bad Catholic’?Why might Catholics disagree with/dissent from what

the Church officially teaches?Can dissent from Church teaching ever be beneficial?

Authority and TruthFr. Curran on whether the pope always speaks

directly for GodCan one’s informed conscience ever be wrong?

●Are we back to relativism and the Auschwitz principle?!

“It is through … conscience that [people] see and recognize the demands of the divine law. [All are] bound to follow this conscience faithfully in all [their] activity so that [they] may come to God, who is [their] last end. Therefore, [they] must not be forced to act contrary to conscience.” (Vatican II, Declaration on Religious Liberty, §3)

“[C]onscience is the voice of God resounding in the human heart, revealing the truth to us and calling us to do what is good while shunning what is evil.” (U.S. Bishops, Forming Citizens for Faithful Citizenship)

Does Authority = Truth?Does Authority = Truth?

Is Authority > Truth?Is Authority > Truth?

Is Authority < Truth?Is Authority < Truth?

Pope(“the Supreme Teacher of all the faithful”)

Pope(“the Supreme Teacher of all the faithful”)

BishopsBishopsMag

iste

rium

Mag

iste

rium

(teaching is “one of the principal duties of bishops”)(teaching is “one of the principal duties of bishops”)

The Holy SpiritThe Holy Spirit(the Source of Truth)(the Source of Truth)

“Over the pope as expression of the binding claim of ecclesiastical authority, there stands one's own conscience which must be obeyed before all else, even if necessary against the requirement of ecclesiastical authority. This emphasis on the individual, whose conscience confronts him with a supreme and ultimate tribunal, and one which in the last resort is beyond the claim of external social groups, even the official church, also establishes a principle in opposition to increasing totalitarianism.”

How will I know?How will I know?

I’m askin’ you ‘cause you know about these things...

I’m askin’ you ‘cause you know about these things...