A visionary defence of married love

charlie hegarty hails a brave minority voice from 1968 the encyclical humanae vitae by dietrich von hildebrand, hildebrand press, 136pp, £8....

Charlie Hegarty

Charlie Hegarty

Catholic Church

Melanie McDonagh

Can we believe our ancestors’ tales of the supernatural?

Fr Gavan Jennings

What Raphael understood about the Archangel

Daniel Beurthe

Depicting God’s messengers

2 min read

Charlie Hegarty hails a brave minority voice from 1968

The Encyclical Humanae Vitae
By Dietrich von Hildebrand, Hildebrand Press, 136pp, £8.99

This year marks the 50th anniversary of Pope Paul VI’s encyclical Humanae Vitae, explaining why the Church cannot change her teaching on the wrongness of artificial birth control. It is fair to say that public protest against the encyclical, made by progressive Catholics who had assumed that taking the Pill was licit, proved intense, wide-reaching and long-lasting. It is also true that Pope Paul’s predictions on what would happen to marriage and relationships should society adopt a contraceptive mentality have been proved correct.

5freearticles every month

Continue reading with a free account. No card needed.

Five free articles every thirty days, on any device you sign in on
The Catholic Herald newsletter, every morning
Subscribe whenever you like for everything: every article and the magazine

Create free account See our subscription offers

subscribe to the catholic herald today

Our best content is exclusively available to our subscribers. Subscribe today and gain instant access to expert analysis, in-depth articles, and thought-provoking insights—anytime, anywhere. Don’t miss out on the conversations that matter most.