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Salient: Victoria University Students' Paper. Vol. 29, No. 9. 1966.

Right to know

Right to know

Yet if in fact concessions are being made in individual cases, surely Catholics and Christians in general have a right to know it.

While not condoning the universal application of birth control as a general principle, this statement can be regarded as a plea for flexibility in the application of moral teaching. It was not printed in New Zealand because it is at variance with the outmoded pronouncements of Pius XII, and was originally issued as a directive to the priests under Cardinal Doepfner's immediate jurisdiction.

Pope Paul has requested that Catholics adhere to the teachings of Pius XII and postpone discussion of this topic until an updated Papal pronouncement is made. Pius XII's directives on the Pill, however, are hardly applicable: They refer to a form of sterilisation that is no longer under consideration.

It is all very well for the academic theologian and the unmarried to suspend their decision and wait. But for those who are faced with the day-to-day problem of whether or not to use contraceptives, it is painful and impracticable.

It is now three years since the first commission was set up to investigate the question. This group did not reach a consensus, and reports say that the second, smaller commission, which handed a report to the Pope on June 28, reached a similar deadlock. Clear evidence surely that former teachings are not adequate. The final decision on what will be reinstated as current Catholic doctrine on birth control rests with the Pope. But there is no suggestion that this decision will be forthcoming soon.

Meanwhile the married laity have a right to make their own decisions and a duty to inform their consciences of the various points of view under discussion. It is unfair to ask that their married life hang in suspension, or that their happiness be jeopardised by directives acknowledged to be unsatisfactory. But there is no chance of informed decision-making if the religious press refuses to co-operate and disseminate statements from responsible parties.—M.K.