Humanae Vitae and Catholic Sexual Morality

In December 2022, a group of Catholic scholars gathered in Rome to take part in a conference which attempted to pursue in more depth the certain questions touched on in Etica teologica. This volume examines five key issues raised at the conference with a special focus on Humane Vitae and its definitive and infallible status. 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.…