Contraception, Infallibility, and the Ordinary Magisterium (1978)

Contraception, Infallibility, and the Ordinary Magisterium by Russell Shaw in International Review of Natural Family Planning, Volume II, Number 4, Winter 1978

Has the Church's teaching on contraception been proposed infallibly? In the ten years since Humanae Vitae was published, it has generally been assumed that the answer is no. A major article in the June 1978 issue of Theo­logical Studies argues that the answer is yes. Entitled "Contraception and the Infallibility of the Ordinary Magisterium," the article seeks to show that the teaching on contraception meets the conditions for an infallible exercise of the ordinary magisterium set forth by Vatican II. The authors are the Rev. John C. Ford, S.J., professor emeritus of moral theology, Weston College, Weston, Massachusetts, and Dr. Germain Grisez, professor of philosophy, Campion College, University of Regina, Canada. 

What follows is a summary of some major elements of the argument made by Ford and Grisez. Although they have reviewed this summary, the author takes sole responsibility for it. Readers interested in pursuing the article in detail should consult the article in Theological Studies, which also discusses a number of matters impossible to touch on here.

Russell Shaw is the secretary for public affairs for the National Conference of Catholic Bishops and the U.S. Catholic Conference, and the author of many books and articles. We reprint this summary, with permission, from the July 1978 issue of Homiletic & Pastoral Review.

intl-review-nfp-1978-shaw-contraception-infallibility-ordinary-magisterium.pdf