THE POPE'S FALLACY

The Rev. Dana Prom Smith, S.T.D., Ph.D. (3/12/2012)



Pope Paul VI argued in Humanae Vitae that the sole purpose of human sexuality is conception and claims that his assumption is “according to nature.” In a neat logical sleight of hand, he uses the phrase “according to nature” to claim that his assumption is beyond dispute.



However, as nearly everyone knows, human sexuality is often used for purposes other than conception, such as in making love. The encyclical was, in fact, an anti-romantic analysis of marriage by someone who had never known a soul-mate. He decreed from the asylum of ignorance. The Bible and the marriage service use the phrase “they two shall be one flesh.” Sexual intercourse is the physical act of becoming “one flesh.”

The assumption in the encyclical isn’t universal, and claiming that it is “according to nature” is merely an argumentative fallacy, nature being simply what he made it to be, a fiction. As my philosophy professor used to say: “You’ve always got to check those assumptions.”



The intriguing history behind the encyclical is that a commission had been formed by Pope John XXIII, a predecessor of Paul VI, to advise the pope on the issue of contraception. In a paper issued by that commission, entitled “Fostering the Nobility of Marriage,” the majority of the commission argued for “some form of birth control.” Pope Paul VI rejected the recommendation. Subsequently, a number of bishops and priests argued that the encyclical could be disobeyed as a matter of conscience. And it was, resulting in ecclesiastical authorities without authority.