Clarification on the Legend of Paul VI’s ‘Permission’
*Pursuant to my recent post on Pope Francis’ ambiguous and confusing remarks on contraception, it turns out that my initial discomfiture of hearing of Paul VI’s supposed permission to nuns in the Congo to use the Pill in case they were raped was a healthy sign: According to Father Z (his blog posting on this is well worth the read, and leads one to wonder how much else out there is ‘urban legend’) Paul VI, it seems, gave no such permission. The story can be traced back to one magazine article by three theologians speculating in 1961, two years before Paul VI became Pope. There was a similar ‘Magisterial’ legend about John Paul II giving Bosnian nuns permission to use the Pill. False again. It does pay to check one’s sources; thank you, Father Z.
*So Pope Francis was citing an urban legend (which, like most people, he thought true) to implicitly give permission to use contraception, which, legend notwithstanding, he has no right to do, and every duty to refrain from doing. Alas, and alas again. The confusion is still sown, and this piece of wind will indeed reap the whirlwind of confusion and bad practice.
*Hence, allow me to retract my initial defense of Paul VI’s non-existent ‘permission’. I will have to think more on this matter, but contraception is still very much an intrinsic, and grave, evil.
*Today is the feast of the Chair of Saint Peter, dedicated to the papacy as the supreme pastor of all the faithful. On that note, whatever concessions are given to the Orthodox in the coming years to move towards reunion, there can be no budging on the principle that the Supreme Pontiff has, as Lumen Gentium, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, declares (par. 22) “full, supreme universal power over the Church. And he is always free to exercise this power”. Or, in the original Latin: Vicarii scilicet Christi et totius Ecclesiae Pastoris, plenam, supremam et universalem potestatem, quam semper libere exercere valet”.
How he chooses to exercise that power is, within certain limits, up to each individual Pope.
*So let us pray for the Holy Father, for the chair he occupies is indeed too big for any mortal man, and only the grace of Christ can allow one to fulfill such an office.
Sancte Petre, ora pro nobis!
Carney’s Amoral Majority
After five defections – euphemistically described as ‘crossing the floor’ – and three by-elections, Mark Carney and his Liberals how have their coveted majority. One wonders what bowls of pottage were offered in back-room deals. In the archaic monarchical system that is the Dominion of Canada, this majority allows the newly-minted Prime Minister to rule[…]Continue reading→
Saint Kateri , Canada’s Protectress
This was the title given to Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, by Pope Benedict XVI, when he canonized her on October 28th, 2012, along with six others, in Saint Peter’ Square (she had been beatified by Pope John Paul II back in 1980). With Saint Joseph as our protector, along with the Canadian martyrs, we seem to[…]Continue reading→
A Closed, Unsustainable, Descending Loop
As a follow-up to my thoughts on Payette’s payout, here be a stark image of where are here in Canada. As the graph shows in, well, graphic terms, since 2025, the public sector has contributed to 95.5% of economic growth. The private sector – which funds the public sector, or is supposed to – has[…]Continue reading→
A Tale of Two Benedicts
A grace-filled Holy Week to all our readers! As we await and prepare for the Resurrection about to dawn upon us, we might keep in mind two Benedicts: Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, requiescat in pace, elected on this day in 2005; and today’s commemoration of the mystic pilgrim, Benedict Joseph Labre, who died on this[…]Continue reading→
My Name is Bernadette
April 16th is a propitious day, for besides the anniversary of Father de Valk’s death, who founded Catholic Insight in its print form decades ago, and the commemoration of the ‘two Benedicts’, mentioned in accompanying posts, today we also recall Saint Bernadette Soubirous, the young visionary to whom the Virgin Mary appeared numerous times at[…]Continue reading→
Presidential Pardon of Weronika Krawczyk
As a good news, follow-up to our story from Poland, of the persecution of Weronika Krawczyk for her pro-life views, we heard that she has been granted a presidential pardon. One might still wonder why one needs a presidential pardon for simply holding the long-held belief that the child within the womb is a child,[…]Continue reading→
Saint Lydwina of Schiedam and Suffering Joyfully
Saint Lydwina of Schiedam (1380 – 1433) was one of the countless and glorious ‘victim souls’ in the history of the Church, those whose lives are filled with suffering, often of an unimaginable intensity, but who suffer joyfully. She was a fifteen-year old Dutch girl, out skating one day, when she fell and broke one[…]Continue reading→
The Glorious Martyrdoms of Martin and Maximus
As we enter into Eastertide, we recall on this 13th of April Pope Saint Martin I (+655), one of the noblest, if most tragic, of the successors of Saint Peter. Born in Umbria, Italy, he was of noble lineage, with great intelligence combined with charity and love of the poor and the Church. While still[…]Continue reading→
Pope Leo and a Rosary for Peace
Pope Leo XIV has asked Catholics across the world to join him in a Rosary for peace today, at 18:00 Rome time (6 pm), which would be noon from where I write (EST). If you are able, whether at that time or another, and in whatever way you pray, to join in intercession with the[…]Continue reading→
Payette’s Payout
I was glancing through some headlines, and noticed a mention of Julie Payette – engineer and astronaut and sometime the Queen’s representative in Canada – which brought back vague memories. She was appointed Governor-General by Justin Trudeau in 2017. Ms. Payette resigned in 2021, amidst claims that she created a ‘toxic work environment’, with allegations[…]Continue reading→