We’ve finally arrived at the concluding paragraph of this great encyclical:
A Great Work
31. Venerable brothers, beloved sons, all men of good will, great indeed is the work of education, of progress and of charity to which We now summon all of you. And this We do relying on the unshakable teaching of the Church, which teaching Peter’s successor together with his brothers in the Catholic episcopate faithfully guards and interprets. And We are convinced that this truly great work will bring blessings both on the world and on the Church. For man cannot attain that true happiness for which he yearns with all the strength of his spirit, unless he keeps the laws which the Most High God has engraved in his very nature. These laws must be wisely and lovingly observed. On this great work, on all of you and especially on married couples, We implore from the God of all holiness and pity an abundance of heavenly grace as a pledge of which We gladly bestow Our apostolic blessing.
Given at St. Peter’s, Rome, on the 25th day of July, the feast of St. James the Apostle, in the year 1968, the sixth of Our pontificate.
PAUL VI
“Man cannot attain that true happiness for which he yearns with all the strength of his spirit, unless he keeps the laws which the Most High God has engraved in his very nature”. Amen. That is why this is the work of the whole Church and why Pope Paul VI called on all groups of individuals to witness to and defend God’s plan for marriage and the family. God knew what He was doing when He created man and woman, marriage, sex, and the family. Abortion, contraception, same-sex “marriages” – all of these things are contrary to God’s design and great troubles come when we ignore God’s will. Therefore, the Church has an obligation to teach God’s plan for marriage to the world and to defend marriage and the family against all attacks. The Church must be guaranteed the freedom to do this. The well-being of the human race depends on it.
Signature of Pope Paul VI
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