QUESTION : In one of the recent news, I read that the Catholic Church is changing its view on contraception and Pope Francis also made some comments on this line in his press conference while returning from Canada. Can the teaching of the Church on contraception change? – Fr. Paul K.

ANSWER: Saji Mathew Kanayankal CST

The question on the possibility of a change in the Church’s teaching on contraception was asked during the press conference of Pope Francis on his return flight from Canada. The question becomes relevant in the context of one of the recent publications of Vatican, “Theological Ethics of Life: Scripture, Tradition, Practical Challenges”. This book is the result of a three-day seminar conducted by the Pontifical Academy for Life (PAL) in 2021. After its publication, there were many discussions on the issue of contraception, and a group of people argued that the new book challenged the Church’s condemnation of contraception, which was reaffirmed in the 1968 encyclical Humanae Vitae. However, in his answer, Pope Francis clearly says that the Church has not changed it so far, but it has opened the doors for discussion on contraception. He says: “this is very timely. But know that dogma, morality, is always in a path of development, but development in the same direction”. The Pope is eager to respond; he does not use the term ‘change,’ but rather refers to ‘a development’ in the Church’s teachings. Quoting the 5th-century theologian St. Vincent of Lérins he asserts; “true doctrine in order to go forward, to develop, must not be quiet, it develops ut annis consolidetur, dilatetur tempore, sublimetur aetate. That is, it consolidates with time, it expands and consolidates, and becomes more steady, but is always progressing.” It does not mean that the Catholic Church has changed its position on contraception. However, Pope Francis does not categorically deny the possibility of changing it in the future. He applauds theology’s progressive move toward consolidation, dialogue, and discernment.

The Dynamism of Theology
For Pope Francis, theology should not be something static, but rather dynamic. Theological discussions become meaningful only when they enter into the problems of the people of every time period. Rather than mere interpretation of the teachings of the Church, theology has to encounter the current world critically, with its problems, struggles, and traumas. Regarding the question on contraception, Pope tells; “these are the proceedings of a congress and in a congress, there are hypotheses, then they discuss among themselves and make proposals. We have to be clear: those who made this congress did their duty because they tried to move forward in doctrine, but in an ecclesial sense, not out, as I said with that rule of St. Vincent of Lerins.”
Regarding birth control, the Church teaches; “legitimate intentions on the part of the spouses do not justify recourse to morally unacceptable means like direct sterilisation or contraception” (CCC 2399). In his encyclical Humanae Vitae, Pope Paul VI warned about the many serious social consequences of the widespread use of contraceptives. He predicted that it would lead to infidelity, the lowering of morality, a loss of respect for women, and the belief that humans have “unlimited dominion” over the body (HV, 17). On 12 November 1988, on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of Humanae Vitae, while addressing the final session of Catholic moral theologians at the Pontifical Lateran University, Pope John Paul II summarised the teachings of the Church against birth control in a single sentence; “no personal or social circumstances have ever or can ever justify such an [contraceptive] act.” Moreover, during this talk he also firmly affirmed that the ban on contraception “cannot be questioned by the Catholic theologians.”
In the interview of Pope Francis, we can observe a clear shift from this view. His remark resonates with the spirit of the Second Vatican Council. The Council urged us to evaluate the problems of our time in the light of the Gospel and human experiences (GS, 46). Accordingly, it is the task of the entire people of God to hear, distinguish, and interpret the many voices of our age and to judge them in the light of the divine word for a deeper understanding and greater advantage. The Church has to be open to the progress of science, the different kinds of treasures hidden in the various forms of human culture, and to the new kinds of human experiences (GS 44). If theology shuts its door to new phenomena, we fail to understand the signs of time. It is the task of theologians to enter into dialogue with the changing scenario of the contemporary world. After the publication of the book, Theological Ethics of Life. Scripture, Tradition, Practical Challenges, Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, the President of the PAL and editor of the book, remarked about the position of Pope Francis on it. “If we consider Evangelii Gaudium, Laudato Si’, Amoris Laetitia, and Veritatis Gaudium in this perspective, we realise that the proposals contained there in open up a new horizon for theology and for the task of theologians, with a strong emphasis on dialogue and the mutual enrichment between different types of knowledge.”
In the same interview, Archbishop Paglia clarifies that the initiative for such a discussion has come from the PAL and that the intention of the seminar and its later publication is to create a dialogue and interaction. In this dialogue, the PAL welcomed different opinions, even controversial ones. Welcoming the opinion does not mean that the Church accepts it, but it clearly manifests that the Church respects a different view which is contrary to her teaching, and she also wants that the theologians should have the freedom to enter into discussion with them, confront various positions, to clarify them, and modify and renew them whenever it is necessary. It is a ‘trans-disciplinary approach.’ Opening up a space for dialogue makes research possible and encourages it. In this process, the theologians should not be afraid to open up to new milieus so that their horizons can be enlarged. The theologians have the duty to develop the process of ecclesial dynamism “which does not limit itself to the mere repetition of old formulas and commonplaces.” In the interview Pope Francis underlines; “the duty of theologians is research, theological reflection. You cannot do theology with a ‘no’ in front of it. Then the magisterium will be the one to say no if it has gone too far, come back … but theological development must be open because that’s what theologians are for, and the magisterium must help to understand the limits.”
When theologians open to these different controversial areas, there raised many criticisms on the possibility of relativism. The Pontifical Academy answers; “Be careful: what is dissent today, can change. It is not relativism; it is the dynamics of the understanding of phenomena and science: the Sun does not rotate around the Earth. Otherwise, there would be no progress and everything would stand still. Even in theology.” In the same interview, Pope Francis makes a distinction between tradition and indietrism. For him, tradition like the roots of the tree, always grows. “It is the root of inspiration to go forward in the Church, but indietrism, is looking backward, is always closed. Indietrists, are going backwards without roots. Tradition in this sense is the guarantee of the future, it is not a museum piece.”

A Sign of Synodality
The expression of the way of synodality is another important dynamism of this approach. As Archbishop Paglia says, regarding some fundamental issues related to multiple dimensions of human life, the Church has to be open to the realities with a sincere and transparent heart. Proper discernment is possible only through the path of research, study, and reflection. Such an approach helps to see the issues of bioethics in a new light. It should be done in an atmosphere of parrhesia that stimulates and empowers theologians, academicians, and scholars. True theological discourse happens not through mere despotic dictum, but through genuine dialogue and debate. “Once a thesis was presented, the debate could begin. And debate can lead to open up new ways forward.” According to him, the latest dialogue and debate on the various issues of bioethics did not presume to “supplant the authentic Magisterium but wanted to open new horizons of reflection and research, as a service to its specific and authoritative discernment. It is certainly a process that reflects the synodal breath and climate in which Pope Francis wishes the Church to operate.” Pierangelo Sequeri, dean of the John Paul II Pontifical Theological Institute for Marriage and Family Sciences writes; the decision of the institution to host “a wide-ranging theological and moral debate is a symbol of noticeable intellectual honesty that does honour to the Church itself.” Whenever new issues arise, it is the duty of the Church to address them genuinely, they should not be swept under the rug.
It is true that the Church or the Magisterium has not changed its moral criteria regarding contraception. But on this thorny issue, Pope Francis stressed the role of the individual conscience of the couple more than the rules imposed upon them. The rules must guide their decisions and the pastoral practise of the Church. To understand the mind of Pope Francis, we should go back to his Apostolic Exhortation, Amoris Laetitia. In this 256- page document, he makes no change in the doctrine of the Church on marriage, but he strongly upholds its teaching on its life-long commitment. On the other hand, the Pope wishes to make a radical change in the way priests accompany families and couples. For him, the Church must no longer sit in judgement and throw stones at those who fail to live up to the Gospel ideals of marriage and family life. Rather, as a merciful mother, it is her duty to welcome and embrace all its members with their sins and vulnerabilities. The Church should be attentive to the goodness which the Holy Spirit sows in the midst of human weakness and the fragility of human beings. While responding to the question of mercy, he replied; “By thinking that everything is black and white, we sometimes close off the way of grace and of growth and discourage paths of sanctification which give glory to God. Let us remember that a small step in the midst of great human limitations can be more pleasing to God than a life which appears outwardly in order but moves through the day without confronting great difficulties.”