Humanae Vitae Reflection Essay

Humanae Vitae – Encyclical Letter on the regulation of birth As a Roman Catholic, I have been raised to believe what the Church has taught for centuries. As we are living in Humanae Vitae, surely challenges will arise for some people in today’s society when they read this text. Although I had difficulty seeing one statement noted in the text the way in which the Church had, I found myself agreeing with the Pope in the problems presented in terms of today’s society. Beginning with the â€Å"problem and competency of the magisterium,† Pope Paul writes at the start of the document, â€Å"†But the most remarkable development of all is to be seen in man’s stupendous progress in the domination and rational organization of the forces of nature to the point that he is endeavoring to extend this control over every aspect of his own life — over his body, over his mind and emotions, over his social life, and even over the laws that regulate the transmission of life† (n. 2). Although Human life did come from God, belongs to God, and goes back to God, I believe that we are our â€Å"own† spirits, and that we were created with choices, including the fact that we in a sense control our realities that make up the way we live our lives and the things we do on a daily basis. I do not believe it is an illusion as Pope is suggesting and further more do not believe we are bought at a price from God – although in a sense, the choices in which God gives us are the prices â€Å"we pay† to live the life in which we were granted, it is up to us as individuals. Forward looking, as the new question of â€Å"principle of totality† comes into play, I believe that the problem of sex in society today, or perhaps the way in which the younger generations view sex, is flawed. I agree that sexual activity in which Pope Paul was writing that it is wrong to diminish its message and that it does belong to the context of committed love, sealed by marriage and openness to life because it is the greatest reflection and reasoning to which the gift of sexuality was given to us. Furthermore, I wholeheartedly believe in the doctrinal principles in section II that present â€Å"a wholistic vision of man† (n. 7). The underlying joints to a faithful life are chastity and marriage, demanding â€Å"conjugal love, responsible parenthood, and conformity to the creative intention and design of God† are clear. In the section of Consequences of Artificial Methods, I gree that in limens terms, how easily using birth control and other artificial methods could open the door to marital infidelity and a lowering of moral standards, especially our generation. Today, sex has become a part of the American society that has led the young to be easily swayed in believing and succumbing to various forms of temptations, including pre-marital sex. I think a large part in this is the way in which you are raised, the kids in which you surrounded yourself with, and how much influence parental figures had in their children’s sex lives. It is consistent in the opinion of the encyclical letter that not much experience is needed to be aware of and understanding human beings and that the young need to be taught early on to not sway from the â€Å"moral law. † Instead, they need â€Å"incentives† to keep the moral law because temptation is everywhere, and without supervision and someone to be there as a guardian, I believe the child is more apt to fall victim to such evils, which could potentially have dire consequences as they move into their adult life. Another powerful statement in which I fully agree with has to do with a man who gets accustomed to the use of contraceptive methods may forget â€Å"the reverence due to a woman† and disregard her physical and emotional equilibrium, reducing her to an instrument for the satisfaction of his own desires, no longer considering her as his partner whom he should surround with care and affection. In my opinion, these are very warranted and strong, loaded statements. My reasoning is that, again, I feel like younger generations of men were not raised with the same level of respect for the way in which to treat their female peers. This I contribute to a number of factors, including the media of today’s society and the parenting of the child’s adolescence. However, I believe simply because a woman uses contraceptives does not entitle the man to view the woman any differently. Rather, I believe that the man is aware of the way in which he treats women, or in other words, that he either respect women physically and emotionally entirely, or he does not. And from that point, if he does not, that man could then use contraceptives as a â€Å"tool† in a sense to further his selfishness. I think a good reasoning behind this may come also from the way in which the boy was raised and the way in which he was brought up to view women. For example, if a young boy was raised with a father who abused his mother, he may take either extremes depending on the way it effected him: A, the boy could despise his father for what he did to his mother and swear that he will always respect women and never be like his father, or B, he could revert to his father’s ways and treat future women with the disrespect that was taught by his dad. Either way, I believe it is not where you come from, it is what you do with your situation and I believe faith can have a lot of encouragement in that. In summary, a good concluding statement found in the Encylical Letter about the authority and responsibility of the Church to always declare the truth is powerfully presented in n. 18: She does not, because of this, evade the duty imposed on her of proclaiming humbly but firmly the entire moral law, both natural and evangelical. Since the Church did not make either of these laws, she cannot be their arbiter—only their guardian and interpreter. It could never be right for her to declare lawful what is in fact unlawful, since that, by its very nature, is always opposed to the true good of man. With that said, I believe having faith in today’s society can yield a better life for everyone who opens their mind to a new way of thinking. Yet, although with today’s influences and high paced life, living a faithful life may not be easy, it is rewarding and purifying. The views of the Church keep you grounded as it reminds you to fulfill your blessings given to you by God.