Few papal documents have been mocked as thoroughly as Humanae Vitae. When Pope Paul VI reaffirmed the Catholic Church’s opposition to artificial contraception in 1968, many assumed he had profoundly misread the modern world. The sexual revolution was under way, the contraceptive pill promised unprecedented freedom and history seemed to be moving in only one direction.
This month being the 58th anniversary of Humanae Vitae, it is a fitting moment to ask whether Pope Paul VI really misread the modern world – or whether the modern world misunderstood him.
