Newspaper Page Text
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BIRTH CONTROL
THURSDAY, MARCH 5, 1964 GEORGIA BULLETIN PAGE 3
Pill Moral Says Belgian:
Not So, Reply Americans
CaMDEN, N. J. (NC)—A Bel
gian theologian has expressed
belief that the so-called ''birth
control pill" is a moral means
of birth regulation purposes—
but his views Immediately came
under fire from several promi
nent U. S. theologians.
Father Louis Janssens, a
professor of moral theology at
the Catholic University of Lou
vain, Belgium, said that in cases
where the rhythm method of
birth regulation is not possible,
"it seems to us that it can be
replaced by a recourse to pro
gesterone (the 'pill*) so long as
used within the framework and
within the limits of generous
fruitfulness, that is, in the ser
vice of justified regulation of
births."
BUT FATHER Janssens’
American critics said the Bel
gian priest's position is incom
patible with the teachings of the
Church. One said his views
typify a school of thought on
marriage questions that is
"getting out of hand, theologi
cally speaking."
Father Janssens expressed
his views in an article publish
ed in the theological journal of
the University of Louvain, A re
port on the article as iwell. as thi
reactions of U, S. theologians
appeared in the Catholic Star
Herald, newspaper oT the Cam
den diocese.
SUBJECT OF the exchange
are the new oral contraceptives
— progesterone steroids —
which are synthetic female hor
mones that, taken regularly,
suppress ovulation and thereby
make conception impossible.
Catholic theologians have
agreed that the progesterone
steroids have a legitimate use
in correcting certain physical
malfunctions and regulating the
ovulatory cycle. But they have
held that use of the "pill"
for birth regulation is not per
mitted,
BY CONTRAST, the theolo
gians agree that, when there are
good reasons for it, practice
of periodic continence—the so-
called rhythm method—is a
permitted form of birth regu
lation.
Father Janssens contends in
his article that in several sig-
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nificant ways rhythm and the
"pill” are comparable,
THUS, HE said, from the as
pect of the "Intrinsic meaning
of the conjugal act, the use of
progesterone could be likened
to the practice of periodic con
tinence, it affords a respect for
the nature and structure of the
conjugal act, fully maintaining
the act in its significance in the
service of mutual love of the
spouses,”
He argued that if direct steri
lization, which is immoral, is
defined as "any human inter
vention which has for its pri
mary end the halting of the gene
rative power," then even prac
tice of rhythm would be ruled
out.
"IN EFFECT," he said, "by
positively excluding fruitful-
ness...it is human intervention
which has for its primary end
...stopping of the generative
power of particular sex acts.
I
"Yet it is generally admitted
that periodic continence is not
an intrinsically evil practice
and that, consequently, it has a
positive moral value provided
that the intention which governs
it be good." In this respect, too,
he finds rhythm and the "pill”
to be comparable,
THE BELGIaN priest draws
heavily for his data on physio
logical effects of progresterone
on the work of Belgian genecolo-
gist Dr. J. Ferin and the con
troversial Boston genecologist
Dr. John Rock, a Catholic whose
arguments in support of the
"pill" as a moral means of
birth regulation have frequently
been attacked by theologians
and others.
Father Janssens said it ap
pears "that human interven
tion is more involved in the
practice of periodic continence
than in the use of progesterone,
and yet no one holds that perio
dic continence is a direct ster
ilization or a mutilation."’
"IT IS recognized, on the con
trary," he said, "that despite
the abuse that can be made of it,
it is not evil in itself and that
its practice is justified when
ever an objectively valid reason
is manifested.”
He suggested that similarly
the use of progesterone for
birth regulation can be justi
fied when there is an objec
tively valid reason for avoiding
conception.
HE CAUTIONED however,
that "one should not have re
course to progesterone when
the practice of periodic conti
nence is possible and sufficient
ly efficacious to assure a volun
tary and generous procrea
tion."
Among those criticizing
Father Janssens’ views in
statements to the Star Herald
was Father Francis J. Connell,
C. SS.R., dean of religious com
munities at the Catholic Univer
sity of America, Washington,
D. C„ and former dean of the
university's school of sacred
•■neology,
Father CONNELL said that
in 1958 Pope Pius XII strong
ly condemned the use of con
traceptive pills as "gravely
sinful, and Catholics who intend
to use them thus must be re
fused absolution and are in
eligible to receive the Holy
Eucharist."
"Any method used to frus
trate the generative powers of
the conjugal act is absolutely
wrong and a violation of the
principles Involved in the
Church's teaching on mar
riage,” he said. He called use
of progesterone a "directfrus-
tration.”
ASKED WHETHER Father
Janssens’ position might some
day be reconciled to the
Church’s present position, he
replied: "Impossible, We would
have to throw out the last 400
years of theological develop
ment.”
*
Father John J. Lynch, S. J.,
professor of moral theology at
Weston (Mass.) College and
author of several works on
marriage problems, said the
idea of substituting the "pill”
for rhythm is "totally invalid
and impossible to reconcile with
present accepted theological
principles.”
MEMBERS of the Archdiocesan Advisory Council to the Secretary for Education are shown with the
Secretary, Monstgnor P.j. O’Connor, seated, center. also bottom of page)
MOSLEM ATTACK
Christians Flee Pakistan
TURA, India (NC) — Some
35,000 Christian refugees from
Pakistan have arrived in India
claiming they had to flee their
country because of religious in
tolerance and economic pres
sure by its Moslem majority.
About 20,000 of the refugees
are Catholics. The rest are
mainly Baptists. Some esti
mates put the total number of
refugees as high as 65,000.
THE CHRISTIAN exodus is
taking place along the heavily-
populated border area between
the Myemsingh District of East
Pakistan and the Garo Hills of
northeastern India’s Assam
state.
Most refugees are landown
ers who reported that they were
driven from their homes by
armed Moslems who took their
cattle and their crops. Their
flight follows religious riots in
East Pakistan between Mos
lems and Hindus in January dur
ing which a U.S. priest—Father
OGDENSBURG ■ PITTSBURGH
Richard Novak, C. S. CL, of
Johnstown, Pa.—was killed,
IN PAKISTAN, Communica
tions Minister Abdus Sabur
Khan denied (Feb, 25) that there
had been a mass departure of
Christians from his nation. In
an interview in Karachi, West
Pakistan, he said reports on
the number of refugees were
exaggerated and false. He ac
cused India of using unfair met
hods of stimulate the emigra
tion of minority groups from
East Pakistan.
But reports from Catholic
missioners in the East Pakis
tan border area stated that de
partures have been heavy from
their seven major mission sta
tions there. All Catholics, they
said, have left one mission.
Another mission has lost four-
fifths of its people. Still ano
ther has lost one-half. In one
mission, there have been no de
partures, but missionaries re
ported that the people there are
getting ready to flee.
Pope Paul Appoints
Two New Bishops
WASHINGTON (NC) — Pope
Paul VI has named to new U.S.
bishops. They are Msgr. Thom
as A. Donnellan, rector of St.
Joseph’s Seminary, Yonkers,
N.Y., appointed Bishop of Og-
densburg, N.Y., and Msgr. Vin
cent M. Leonard, Vicar General
and chancellor of the Pittsburgh
diocese, named Titular Bishop
of Arsacal and Auxiliary to
Bishop John J. Wright of Pitts
burgh.
The appointments were an
nounced here (March 4) by
Archbishop Egidio Vagnozzi,
Apostolic Delegate in the United
States.
BISHOP-ELECT Donnellan,
50, is a former chancellor of
the New York archdiocese and
secretary to Francis Carklnal
Spellman of New York. He has
been rector of St. Joseph’s to
rn inary, the archdiocese major
seminary, since 1962.
Bishop-elect Leonard, 55,
has been Vicar General of the
Pittsburgh diocese since 1959.
For 13 years, from 1937 to 1950,
he was resident Catholic chap
lain at the Allegheny County
Home and the Woodville State
Mental Hospital. He is secre
tary of the Pennsylvania State
Advisory Committee on Men
tal Health.
Bishop-elect Donnellan will
become the ninth Oreinary of the
Ogdensburg diocese. He suc
ceeds the late Bishop Leo R,
Smith who died last Oct. 9 of a
heart attack in Rome, where he
was attending the ecumenical
council. Bishop Smith had head
ed the docese for less than a
year, having been named Bishop
of Ogdensburg on Feb. 12, 1963.
MEANWHILE, Pakistan’s
Foreign Minister Z. A. Bhutto
said in Dacca, capital of East
Pakistan, that about 10.000
Christians had fled to the Garo
Hills. He declared that Pakis
tan wants them to return. He
denied what he called a "mali
cious story" from India that
50,000 Christian tribesmen had
crossed the frontier because of
Moslem persecution.
In the Indian capital of New
Delhi, Prime Minister Jawa-
harlal Nehru charged (Feb. 26)
that two children had been kill
ed and 11 persons injured by
Pakistani troops "in a bar
barous act of indiscriminate
firing" on refugees. Earlier
(Feb. 13) the Indian Foreign
Affairs Ministry said in a note
that the shootings were "cold
blooded murder" and urged
Pakistan "to put an immediate
halt to these acts." It called
on Pakistan to punish those re
sponsible for the shootings.
Some refugees reported that
as many as 300 people were
killed in the incidents.
India’s Minister for Works,
Housing and Rehabilitation,
Mehr Chand Khanna, announced
(Feb. 29) that he is coming to
the border area to arrange for
relief measures on behalf of
the refugees. Khanna said in
Parliament that the refugees
had been subjected to looting,
burning of homes and molesta
tion of women by the Moslem
majority in East Pakistan. Much
of the trouble was caused, he
stated, by Moslems evicted
from India who were taking re
venge on non-Moslems in Pak
istan. He said the Moslems were
ousted from India because they
were "infiltrators."
A BAPTIST missionary who
crossed the border along with
all the people of one village
told newsmen:
"Large-scale looting, arson,
forceful occupation of land by
frenzied mobs with the conni
vance of the police, active help
from the "ansars'—village de
fense forces— and the kid
naping of women, which had been
going on for some time, com
pelled the people to leave their
homes and seek protection on
the Indian side of the border,”
Ed Curtin
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