the basis

The Catholic Church is almost in a Reformation-type situation where conscience and authority are being weighed. This reflects the theological debate and uncertainly evident throughout the whole of the Christian Church. There is a search for a more acceptable authority and discipline. Perhaps this is because the old answers are outmoded—in toto—or in their expression, yet surely as the representative and head of the Church. Pope Paul could do no other than affirm the sacredness of human life and the wisdom of natural and moral law. The decision reflects a distrust in the belief that man can, by reason, be the sole arbiter of the sources of human life rather than a minister of the creative design established by God.

(Trevor James is a third year English student and calls himself an Anglo-Catholic.)