Catholic Theology of The Body - History - Pope Benedict XVI - 40th Anniversary of Humanae Vitae

40th Anniversary of Humanae Vitae

The principles of Catholic faith are old as the scriptures, Benedict states. The Pope intends to focus on these eternal principles of Catholic faith. On May 12, 2008, he accepted an invitation to talk participants in the International Congress organized by the Pontifical Lateran University on the 40th anniversary of Humanae Vitae. He put the encyclical, which in his view, was very poorly understood, in the broader view of love in a global context, a topic, which he called – "so controversial, yet so crucial for humanity's future." Humanae Vitae became "a sign of contradiction but also of continuity of the Church's doctrine and tradition... What was true yesterday is true also today". The Church continues to reflect "in an ever new and deeper way on the fundamental principles that concern marriage and procreation”. The key message of Humanae Vitae is love. Benedict states, that the fullness of a person is achieved by a unity of soul and body, but neither spirit nor body alone can love, only the two together. If this unity is broken, if only the body is satisfied, love becomes a commodity. Ultimately, Benedict says, Christian love grows out the love of Christ.