Humanae Vitae and Catholic Sexual Morality: A Response to the Pontifical Academy for Life's Etica teologica della Vita

In December 2022, a group of Catholic scholars gathered in Rome to take part in a conference titled "A Response to the Pontifical Academy for Life's Publication, Etica teologica della Vita. Scrittura, tradizione, sfide pratiche." The conference attempted to pursue in more depth the certain questions touched on in Etica teologica. Among these questions were: (1) the meaning of the "radical paradigm change" (radicale cambio di paradigm) in moral theology, mentioned by some members of the Pontifical Academy for Life; (2) the doctrinal status of the Church's teaching on contraception and whether this teaching is infallible; (3) how Catholic sexual morality is related to the question of intrinsically evil acts; (4) how we are to understand conscience and discernment in reference to actions that are intrinsically disordered; and (5) the relation of Catholic moral theology to gender ideology, homosexual unions, and transgenderism. The chapters in the present volume, which grew out of the conference, examine these issues with a special focus on the teaching of St. Paul VI's 1968 encyclical, Humane Vitae, and its definitive and infallible status. The chapters are divided into four parts, reflecting different approaches to responding to these questions. Part I covers foundational issues, part II discusses the doctrinal dimension, part III takes a look at the anthropological dimension, and part IV examines the beauty and wisdom of Catholic sexual morality. All of the chapters seek to defend authentic Catholic sexual morality grounded in the natural law, Sacred Scripture, tradition, and the Magisterium. The authors seek to uphold the teachings of Humanae vitae and Veritatis splendor with an authentic Catholic understanding of the theology of the body, the meaning of conscience, and the sacredness of marriage and human sexuality.