Vatican Says Criticism of Humane Vitae is Unfounded

(July 26, 2008) It's been 40 years, and the critics of "Humane Vitae" still don't get that it's about love, says a Vatican spokesman. Jesuit Father Lombardi, Director of the Vatican Press Office and Vatican Radio and Television, said this in response to a half-page ad appearing in the Italian daily Corriere della Sera, on July 25^th, which voices disagreement with the Church's stance on artificial contraception. The ad is in the form of an open letter, signed by more than 50 groups, that asks Pope Benedict XVI to lift the Church's ban on artificial contraception, which they say has had "catastrophic effects," particularly in the fight against AIDS. Catholics for Choice, a Washington-based pro-choice group, spearheaded the initiative, published on the 40th anniversary of the 1968 encyclical "Humanae Vitae." Father Lombardi denounced the ad explaining that it was "nothing new," and that the 50 signatories are groups that have for years "found themselves at odds with the magisterium of the Church." He added that critics fail to see "the link between the human and spiritual relationship between spouses. In the entire letter, the word 'love' doesn't appear," he said. "It seems as if this doesn't interest the signatories at all. For them, it seems that the hope of couples and the world is only in contraceptives.” It is only a paid propaganda in favour of contraception he expressed. Father Lombardi also said the accusation that the Church is helping the spread of AIDS was "clearly unfounded" and insisted the Church is active in combating AIDS. "The answer to AIDS requires deeper and more complex interventions, in which the Church is active on many fronts," said Father Lombardi.