Forty years ago, in what Pope Benedict has correctly termed “a gesture of courage,” Pope Paul VI issued the prophetic encyclical Humanae Vitae.

At the time, it was widely criticized and ridiculed — not only by a secular culture then at the height of the sexual revolution, but also by many in the Catholic Church — including far too many who had accepted the responsibility to teach the Catholic faith.

Thus were the faithful — and the wider culture — deprived of the kind of catechesis that should have presented Humanae Vitae as the profoundly positive document it was — and is.

While the encyclical was dismissed as nothing more than an arbitrary ban on artificial birth control, Pope Paul had made clear that the birth control question could only be addressed through “a new and deeper reflection upon the principles on the moral teaching on marriage.” And that is what he provided in Humanae Vitae.

To be sure, the encyclical was prophetic in its vision of what the sexual revolution would bring about: a “lowering of morality,” increased marital infidelity, breakdowns in family life, and increased sexual objectification of women. While some will debate the degree to which the contraceptive mentality — an integral part of the sexual revolution — contributed to this moral and family breakdown, it has certainly not proven to be a solution.

And that is where Humanae Vitae is truly prophetic: in offering a positive vision of marriage as a “sacramental sign of grace” that strengthens the bond between husband and wife, uniting them in self-giving love, fidelity to God’s design, and mutual sacrifice in service to God, each other, and family.

And so today — as reported on page 6 — Humanae Vitae seems to be finding new currency among Catholics concerned about the continuing fallout from the hedonism of the sexual revolution. These Catholics — including numbers of younger priests, according to the Catholic News Service article — are coming to understand and articulate how Pope Paul’s instruction on sacramental marriage, joined to Pope John Paul II’s teachings on the theology of the body, give beautiful expression to the Church’s life-affirming and love-affirming teachings about human love and human sexuality.

This Friday, beginning at 7 p.m., St. Kilian’s parish in Farmingdale will host a mini-conference and holy hour celebrating “Humanae Vitae — 40 Years,” with talks on both Humanae Vitae and the theology of the body.

This is doubtless the kind of catechesis Pope Paul VI had in mind when, at the conclusion of Humanae Vitae, he wrote, “great indeed is the work of education, of progress and of love to which we call you, upon the foundation of the Church’s teaching.”

Even now, 40 years later — perhaps especially now — this program is a welcome opportunity for all Catholics in our diocese to look anew at this powerful and prophetic document, and to deepen our understanding of the Church’s positive teachings on marriage, family, and God’s gift of human sexuality.

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