There are still tons of practicing Catholics, but the average one is less likely to do what the Pope tells them to in their personal lives than in decades and centuries past. Interestingly, the unpopular 40-year-old ban on the birth control pill may be one of the biggest reasons why Catholic rules are now often ignored:
Forty years ago this month, [the Pope] issued Humanae vitae -- "on human life" -- the encyclical that reiterated the ban, though in far gentler language than had been used in the past.I have to wonder why more people don't leave the Catholic church when they know their judgement is superior to the clergy's.
Looking back, it is difficult not to conclude the Pope's attempt to put a lid on birth control was a giant flop: The ban has been almost universally ignored by the Catholic faithful.
"When Humanae vitae was released in July, 1968, it went off like a bomb," wrote Janet Smith, an American Catholic philosopher. "Though there was much support for the encyclical, no document ever met with as much dissent."
Today, only 2% to 3% of North American Catholics use natural family planning -- the Church's approved method of birth control. Italy, which is 97% Catholic, has the lowest birth rate in Europe.
"Nothing was as devastating to the Church's credibility as Humanae vitae and the paralysis it generated," said Leslie Tentler, who teaches history at Catholic University in Washington. "It makes for dishonesty at the heart of the system. Do ordinary Catholics believe it's a mortal sin? No, they do not. Do they believe their leaders think it's a mortal sin? No, they do not. Yet we keep pretending."
1 comments:
good to know so many ignore the rules, but i wouldnt count on many leaving the church. lots of people like to make their own rules for there religion, and ignore what they don't like, so they cherrypick. at least that's what i believe.
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