18. It is to be anticipated that perhaps not everyone will easily accept this particular teaching. There is too much clamorous outcry against the voice of the Church, and this is intensified by modern means of communication. But it comes as no surprise to the Church that she, no less than her divine Founder, is destined to be a “sign of contradiction” (Lk 2:34). She does not, because of this, evade the duty imposed on her of proclaiming humbly but firmly the entire moral law, both natural and evangelical.
Since the Church did not make either of these laws, she cannot be their arbiter—only their guardian and interpreter. It could never be right for her to declare lawful what is in fact unlawful, since that, by its very nature, is always opposed to the true good of man.
In preserving intact the whole moral law of marriage, the Church is convinced that she is contributing to the creation of a truly human civilization. She urges man not to betray his personal responsibilities by putting all his faith in technical expedients. In this way she defends the dignity of husband and wife. This course of action shows that the Church, loyal to the example and teaching of the divine Savior, is sincere and unselfish in her regard for men whom she strives to help even now during this earthly pilgrimage “to share God’s life as sons of the living God, the Father of all men” (See Paul Vl, encyc. letter Populorum progressio).
“It is to be anticipated that perhaps not everyone will easily accept this particular teaching”. That’s putting it lightly!
Paul VI speaks of “outcry against the voice of the Church, and this is intensified by modern means of communication”. This was written in 1968 – decades before Twitter, Facebook, and even the Internet itself as we know it today. It is these means of communication that have made the voice against the Church much louder and (if you spend any time reading comboxes – which I would not suggest doing) more obnoxious.
I think that Paul VI’s reminder that the Church, like her Founder, is “destined to be a sign of contradiction” is quite comforting. If you are a voice for life, and you find that you are encountering opposition, take comfort. This is as the Lord warned us it would be.
The bottom line here is that the Church in upholding the sanctity of marriage, family, and life, is doing so for mankind’s own good. “She is contributing to the creation of a truly human civilization”. We can see in our day the destructive effects of an anti-life culture.
(Posted with permission from Fr. Lee Acervo at http://fatheracervo.wordpress.com)
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