Anglican Bishops Respond to Papal Encyclical on Birth Control
Diocesan Press Service. August 6, 1968 [68-4]
LONDON, England -- The 10th Lambeth Conference today gave an official answer to the recent Papal Encyclical "Humanae Vitae," expressing its appreciation to Pope Paul VI for his "deep concern for the institution of marriage" but disagreeing with his conclusions about birth control and family planning.
A resolution passed this afternoon by the Bishops of the Anglican Communion had a conciliatory tone and as a spokesman remarked was intended to be "in charity and not in criticism. "
It was the third version of a resolution originally introduced by the Bishop of Central Brazil, the Rt. Rev. E. K. Sherrill, and debated for two days by the Bishops before passage.
"The Conference," the resolution said, "finds itself unable to agree with the Pope's conclusions that all methods of conception control other than abstinence from sexual intercourse or its confinement to the periods of infecundity are contrary to the 'order established by God.'"
The resolution reaffirmed the findings of the 1958 Lambeth Conference in its report on "The Family in Contemporary Society" and commended it for study by "all men of good will. "
One section of the report states that family planning and birth control are questions of Christian conscience. It says:
"The Conference believes that the responsibility for deciding upon the number and frequency of children has been laid by God upon the consciences of parents everywhere: that this planning, in such ways as are mutually acceptable to husband and wife in Christian conscience, is a right and important factor in Christian family life and should be the result of positive choice before God. Such responsible parenthood, built on obedience to all the duties of marriage, requires a wise stewardship of the resources and abilities of the family as well as a thoughtful consideration of the varying population needs and problems of society and the claims of future generations."
A spokesman for the Lambeth Conference said that the Bishops had chosen to reply to the Pope's encyclical because it had been directed "to the whole world" and not just to members of the Roman Catholic Church.
Other sections of the 1958 report on "The Family in Contemporary Society" cited in the resolution emphasize that "the idea of the human family is rooted in the Godhead" and that "sexual love is not an end in itself nor a means of self-gratification, and that self-discipline and restraint are essential conditions of the responsible freedom of marriage and family planning."