I blogged recently about the republication this year of the late theologian Dietrich von Hildebrand’s 1968 book, The Encyclical Humanae Vitae: a Sign of Contradiction; thus I am keen to ask Professor Tracey Rowland, who wrote its Foreword, some questions about it. From 2001-2017 she was the Dean of the John Paul II Institute for Marriage and Family (Melbourne session). She currently holds the St John Paul II Chair of Theology at the University of Notre Dame (Australia).
In her Foreword she quotes Cardinal Stafford’s comment that “In 1968 something terrible happened in the Church”. What did he mean? Rowland explains that he was referring to the fact that “after 1968 there was a breakdown in the unity of the Church. It could no longer be assumed that every priest and every bishop shared the same moral vision. He was also referring to the fact that this division was not just some academic difference of opinion; it destroyed friendships, divided siblings, created discord within parish communities.”
