| | One of the bolder claims the Catholic Church makes about itself is the gift of infallibility - not that the Pope and the Magisterium (the Church's teaching body), as individuals, never make an error, but that in matters of faith and morals, the Holy Spirit protects the Church from error. Consider just these 2 instances of God's clear protection of the teaching of the Church:
Sheldon Vanauken is the author of a very well-known book, "A Severe Mercy," and a lesser-known book, "Under the Mercy." The latter book is not so much a story as the evolution of his thoughts on various topics: the writing of "A Severe Mercy," feminism, the four loves (a la CS Lewis and done in a more understandable way, frankly), and his conversion to the Catholic Church. Among the reasons for his conversion is the logical evidence of the Church's protection from doctrinal error throughout the centuries.
One of the evidences he offers is the bad popes. Out of 266 popes over the last 2 millenia, there have been about a dozen bad ones. But as Vanauken points out, "not a one of them altered the doctrine of the Church." He writes, "In the very year that Henry VIII's obedient Parliament named him head of the English church, Pope Paul III went through the streets of Rome in sackcloth and ashes for the sins of his predecessors -- but not for their errors in doctrine. That is the significant fact: not what the good popes did, but what the bad ones didn't do."
And today I heard a second evidence presented that can only be the work of the Holy Spirit in the teaching of the Church. Prior to 1930, every Christian denomination taught that artificial contraception was a grave moral evil. Beginning with the Anglican church, one by one, Christian denominations have caved on this issue, allowing for couples to use contraception if they feel it is the right thing to do.
The Pill came along. Scientists believed that the Pill worked by blocking ovulation: no egg, no baby. In the turbulent 1960's, tremendous pressure was brought to bear on the Catholic Church to change its teaching on contraception, to "get with the times." The pressure came both from within and without the Church.
Imagine the shock and dismay among many Catholics, religious and lay, when, in 1968, Pope Paul VI produced the encyclical "Humanae Vitae." Everyone expected him to cave in, but he did not. He held that the Church's teaching has always been and would always be that sexuality must be open to life and to do otherwise is to thwart the intent of God.
What an uproar ensued! And to this day, many Catholics simply ignore the teaching of the Church to their own moral peril.
The very interesting fact is this: The Church has always taught that life begins at conception. Scientists taught that the Pill prevented conception, so what's the big deal?? The Holy Spirit, though, knew that not only does the Pill usually prevent ovulation, but that it sometimes fails to do so. That means that a woman on the Pill can still get pregnant! A new life can be created. BUT, the Pill also makes the lining of the uterus unable to sustain life and so the new life is spontaneously ABORTED. This bit of scientific fact has only recently been discovered.
Pope Paul VI, protected by the Holy Spirit, prevented the Church from teaching error. Once again, the gates of hell did not prevail. |
| | Posted 7/30/2008 11:02 AM - 30 Views - 2 eProps - 2 comments
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