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After having extolled the great dignity of matrimony and examining its fruits, Pope Pius XI turns his attention to the attacks on matrimony. Matrimony comes from God therefore the enemies of God will inevitably attack matrimony.
“When we consider the great excellence of chaste wedlock, Venerable Brethren, it appears all the more regrettable that particularly in our day we should witness this divine institution often scorned and on every side degraded.” (Casti Connubii 44)
“For now, alas, not secretly nor under cover, but openly, with all sense of shame put aside, now by word again by writings, by theatrical productions of every kind, by romantic fiction, by amorous and frivolous novels, by cinematographs portraying in vivid scene, in addresses broadcast by radio telephony, in short by all the inventions of modern science, the sanctity of marriage is trampled upon and derided; divorce, adultery, all the basest vices either are extolled or at least are depicted in such colours as to appear to be free of all reproach and infamy. Books are not lacking which dare to pronounce themselves as scientific but which in truth are merely coated with a veneer of science in order that they may the more easily insinuate their ideas. The doctrines defended in these are offered for sale as the productions of modern genius, of that genius namely, which, anxious only for truth, is considered to have emancipated itself from all those old-fashioned and immature opinions of the ancients; and to the number of these antiquated opinions they relegate the traditional doctrine of Christian marriage.” (Casti Connubii 45)
Pope Pius XI is writing in 1930 in response to the decision of the Lambeth Conference to allow the use of contraception by married couples in certain circumstances. Prior to this all Christian denominations considered contraception to be intrinsically evil. The Pope looks at the broader picture of his day. It is hard for us to imagine his horror at the attacks on sacred wedlock which were being publicly disseminated through the different forms of media. What the Pope was writing about seems very tame, in comparison to the pornography of today and the widespread use of contraception and abortion to spread a hedonistic use of human sexuality. We must realise that the widespread promotion of sexual perversion, even in Catholic primary schools, began with the slow and deliberate undermining of Catholic morality in the public domain. These attacks reached a pinnacle at the Lambeth conference of 1930. Pope Pius XI also noted that the worst snares were laid for the young people.
“These thoughts are instilled into men of every class, rich and poor, masters and workers, lettered and unlettered, married and single, the godly and godless, old and young, but for these last, as easiest prey, the worst snares are laid.” (Casti Connubii 46)
This laying of sexual snares for the young has increased dramatically in our day through the promotion of government sponsored classroom based sex education programmes. Young children are taught the mechanics of human sexuality without being properly instructed regarding the moral aspects of human sexuality. The immoral nature of sexual activity outside of the bond of marriage is completely ignored. The Pope is aware that some of those promoting the new views on human sexuality do so with a good intent, but they are misguided. Therefore the Pope has a duty to speak out to defend the sacred institution of marriage and family life.
“Not all the sponsors of these new doctrines are carried to the extremes of unbridled lust; there are those who, striving as it were to ride a middle course, believe nevertheless that something should be conceded in our times as regards certain precepts of the divine and natural law. But these likewise, more or less wittingly, are emissaries of the great enemy who is ever seeking to sow cockle among the wheat. (Matthew 13:25) We, therefore, whom the Father has appointed over His field, We who are bound by Our most holy office to take care lest the good seed be choked by the weeds, believe it fitting to apply to Ourselves the most grave words of the Holy Ghost with which the Apostle Paul exhorted his beloved Timothy: “Be thou vigilant . . . Fulfill thy ministry . . . Preach the word, be instant in season, out of season, reprove, entreat, rebuke in all patience and doctrine.” (2 Timothy 4:2-5) (Casti Connubii 47)
Pope Pius XI speaks of his distaste for having to go into the details of some of the attacks on marriage but says that he is compelled to do so for the welfare of souls because the attacks have become so widespread.
“And since, in order that the deceits of the enemy may be avoided, it is necessary first of all that they be laid bare; since much is to be gained by denouncing these fallacies for the sake of the unwary, even though We prefer not to name these iniquities “as becometh saints,” (Ephesians 5:3) yet for the welfare of souls We cannot remain altogether silent. (Casti Connubii 48)
All attacks on the Catholic moral order must necessarily begin with a denial of God’s sovereign jurisdiction over the created world. Here is how Pope Pius XI explains this.
“To begin at the very source of these evils, their basic principle lies in this, that matrimony is repeatedly declared to be not instituted by the Author of nature nor raised by Christ the Lord to the dignity of a true sacrament, but invented by man. Some confidently assert that they have found no evidence of the existence of matrimony in nature or in her laws, but regard it merely as the means of producing life and of gratifying in one way or another a vehement impulse; on the other hand, others recognize that certain beginnings or, as it were, seeds of true wedlock are found in the nature of man since, unless men were bound together by some form of permanent tie, the dignity of husband and wife or the natural end of propagating and rearing the offspring would not receive satisfactory provision. At the same time they maintain that in all beyond this germinal idea matrimony, through various concurrent causes, is invented solely by the mind of man, established solely by his will.” (Casti Connubii 49)
The Catechism of the Catholic Church speaks about what happens when civil leaders reject God. Having rejected God these societies necessarily become totalitarian states.
“Only the divinely revealed religion has clearly recognized man’s origin and destiny in God, the Creator and Redeemer. The Church invites political authorities to measure their judgments and decisions against this inspired truth about God and man:
Societies not recognizing this vision or rejecting it in the name of their independence from God are brought to seek their criteria and goal in themselves or to borrow them from some ideology. Since they do not admit that one can defend an objective criterion of good and evil, they arrogate to themselves an explicit or implicit totalitarian power over man and his destiny, as history shows.” (CCC 2244)
Pope Pius XI exposes the dangers and the consequences of such godless views and what he pointed out has come to pass in most of the Western world.
“How grievously all these err and how shamelessly they leave the ways of honesty is already evident from what we have set forth here regarding the origin and nature of wedlock, its purposes and the good inherent in it. The evil of this teaching is plainly seen from the consequences which its advocates deduce from it, namely, that the laws, institutions and customs by which wedlock is governed, since they take their origin solely from the will of man, are subject entirely to him, hence can and must be founded, changed and abrogated according to human caprice and the shifting circumstances of human affairs; that the generative power which is grounded in nature itself is more sacred and has wider range than matrimony – hence it may be exercised both outside as well as within the confines of wedlock, and though the purpose of matrimony be set aside, as though to suggest that the license of a base fornicating woman should enjoy the same rights as the chaste motherhood of a lawfully wedded wife.” (Casti Connubii 50)
“Armed with these principles, some men go so far as to concoct new species of unions, suited, as they say, to the present temper of men and the times, which various new forms of matrimony they presume to label “temporary,” “experimental,” and “companionate.” These offer all the indulgence of matrimony and its rights without, however, the indissoluble bond, and without offspring, unless later the parties alter their cohabitation into a matrimony in the full sense of the law.” (Casti Connubii 51)
“Indeed there are some who desire and insist that these practices be legitimatized by the law or, at least, excused by their general acceptance among the people. They do not seem even to suspect that these proposals partake of nothing of the modern “culture” in which they glory so much, but are simply hateful abominations which beyond all question reduce our truly cultured nations to the barbarous standards of savage peoples.” (Casti Connubii 52)
Pope Pius XI was writing before the general introduction of laws permitting widespread abortion, “same-sex marriage”, and divorce in most western democracies. He was able to deduce the trajectory the modern world would take because the consequences of abandoning God will always be the same. Society will disintegrate and men who follow these false ideologies will become degenerate in their behaviour even whilst they talk in grandiose terms about human freedom and progress. A more detailed analysis of these problems is needed.
“And now, Venerable Brethren, we shall explain in detail the evils opposed to each of the benefits of matrimony. First consideration is due to the offspring, which many have the boldness to call the disagreeable burden of matrimony and which they say is to be carefully avoided by married people not through virtuous continence (which Christian law permits in matrimony when both parties consent) but by frustrating the marriage act. Some justify this criminal abuse on the ground that they are weary of children and wish to gratify their desires without their consequent burden. Others say that they cannot on the one hand remain continent nor on the other can they have children because of the difficulties whether on the part of the mother or on the part of family circumstances.” (Casti Connubii 53)
“But no reason, however grave, may be put forward by which anything intrinsically against nature may become conformable to nature and morally good. Since, therefore, the conjugal act is destined primarily by nature for the begetting of children, those who in exercising it deliberately frustrate its natural power and purpose sin against nature and commit a deed which is shameful and intrinsically vicious.” (Casti Connubii 54)
“Small wonder, therefore, if Holy Writ bears witness that the Divine Majesty regards with greatest detestation this horrible crime and at times has punished it with death. As St. Augustine notes, “Intercourse even with one’s legitimate wife is unlawful and wicked where the conception of the offspring is prevented. Onan, the son of Juda, did this and the Lord killed him for it.”” (St Augustine – De Conjugiis Adulterinis) (Casti Connubii 55)
Some so-called progressive thinkers pretend to have a difficulty with the language used in these Church documents. Words such as “shameful” and “intrinsically vicious” are said to be insensitive or offensive. The outrage expressed over the use of such language is a false outrage. This can be clearly seen by the fact that those who oppose Catholic Church teaching on the evil nature of contraception rarely have a problem with the killing of unborn children. Their fake outrage seeks to camouflage the evils they are actively promoting under a veneer of an equally fake virtue signalling and pretended moral piety. The only question that really matters in this regard is this: “Is what Pope Pius XI says regarding indulging in the marital act whilst seeking to frustrate the natural order by unnatural means, true?”
When one looks at the consequences of widespread sexual immorality in the societies that promote sexual infidelity through their laws, it becomes obvious that Pope Pius XI was speaking the truth. The leading cause of death in the world today is abortion with estimates ranging from 50 – 73 million innocent human beings aborted per annum. To give an idea of the scale of this problem, the global death rate for 2024, excluding abortion, was estimated at 62 million. (Source – https://ourworldindata.org/births-and-deaths)
More importantly, abortion is gravely sinful and endangers the eternal salvation of all those involved, either directly or indirectly, in performing, providing and promoting abortion. But this is not true just of abortion, it is also true that contraception is a grave moral matter which endangers the salvation of those who engage in contraceptive use.
“Since, therefore, openly departing from the uninterrupted Christian tradition some recently have judged it possible solemnly to declare another doctrine regarding this question, the Catholic Church, to whom God has entrusted the defense of the integrity and purity of morals, standing erect in the midst of the moral ruin which surrounds her, in order that she may preserve the chastity of the nuptial union from being defiled by this foul stain, raises her voice in token of her divine ambassadorship and through Our mouth proclaims anew: any use whatsoever of matrimony exercised in such a way that the act is deliberately frustrated in its natural power to generate life is an offense against the law of God and of nature, and those who indulge in such are branded with the guilt of a grave sin. (Casti Connubii 56)
To be cont’d…
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