Download (.pdf) “Ma siamo in America” Il Vaticano sul controllo delle nascite e l’evoluzione della famiglia negli Stati Uniti degli anni Trenta
by Lucia Pozzi
Storia e Futuro. Rivista di storia e storiografia on line, n. 27 2011
Since the beginning of the Twenties, Birth control has represented a huge concern for the Catholic hierarchy. In 1930,... more
Since the beginning of the Twenties, Birth control has represented a huge concern for the Catholic hierarchy. In 1930, Pope Pius XI solemnly condemned contraception. Yet by the time Humanae vitae was published, it was common to think of the so-called Rhythm Method – or the Knaus-Ogino Method – as the Catholic form of contraception. However, some documents in the Archive of the Holy Office show that in the Thirties, the diffusion of the Rhythm Method in the United States provoked much uneasiness both amongst the American clergy and the Vatican. American sexual mores worried the Vatican in general. As these papers reveal, cardinals of the Holy Office did not finally approve the publicity of a natural method for regulating births. They took a stand against it, though this Method did not violate the letter of the doctrine against contraception. From the perspective of the Vatican, giving official approval to the Rhythm Method would have meant that the Catholic Church had accepted the idea of birth control.
This paper aims to show how the Holy Office faced the key-issue of the birth control in the United States and especially the diffusion of the Rhythm Method among Catholics.
Bioethics and religions: Religious traditions and understandings of morality, health, and illness
by Leigh Turner
For many individuals, religious traditions provide important resources for moral deliberation. While contemporary... more For many individuals, religious traditions provide important resources for moral deliberation. While contemporary philosophical approaches in bioethics draw upon secular presumptions, religion continues to play an important role in both personal moral reasoning and public debate. In this analysis, I consider the connections between religious traditions and understandings of morality, medicine, illness, suffering, and the body. The discussion is not intended to provide a theological analysis within the intellectual constraints of a particular religious tradition. Rather, I offer an interpretive analysis of how religious norms often play a role in shaping understandings of morality. While many late 19th and early 20th century social scientists predicted the demise of religion, religious traditions continue to play important roles in the lives of many individuals. Whether bioethicists are sympathetic or skeptical toward the normative claims of particular religious traditions, it is important that bioethicists have an understanding of how religious models of morality, illness, and healing influence deliberations within the health care arena.