Presiding Bishop Takes Issue with Papal Encyclical on Birth Control
Diocesan Press Service. July 30, 1968 [67-11]
LONDON, England -- Statements by the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Rt. Rev. John E. Hines, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church of the United States, today took issue with the recently-issued encyclical of Pope Paul VT forbidding the use of all birth control measures by Roman Catholics.
Both cited the action of Lambeth Conference of 1958 in its report on "The Family in Contemporary Society, "which places the responsibility for the spacing of children and the practice of birth control on the conscience of husband and wife.
"The changes in human society and world population, as well as the development in the means available for contraception which have occurred since 1958, seem to me to reinforce rather than to challenge the argument employed and the conclusions reached at the Lambeth Conference of 1958, " the Archbishop said.
The announcement followed a special meeting of the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Steering Committee of the Lambeth Conference of 1968 which is now in session at Church House, Westminster. The committee is composed of twelve leading Anglican prelates and has one American, the Rt. Rev. Stephen F. Bayne, Jr., as a member.
The statement of the Primate was made public at a press briefing by the Rt. Rev. Ralph Dean, Bishop of Cariboo and episcopal secretary of the Conference.
In response to questions from reporters, Bishop Dean expressed disappointment at the papal decision and said:
"We hoped and expected it would be more liberal than it is, and we are disappointed. The encyclical imposes a new set of difficulties on Roman Catholics."
He said, however, that he did not feel that the encyclical would be a hindrance in consultations now going on between the Roman Catholic and Anglican Churches. He said it did highlight the fact that there are serious differences between the two communions, and that birth control is not the only point of difference.
"We can't pretend that we have no differences," he commented.
Bishop Hines in his statement issued a few hours before the Archbishop's pointed out that the American Episcopal Church is supporting family planning programs as part of Its world relief efforts, and said that the Episcopal Church has consistently supported "appropriate measures for birth control exercised by husband and wife in Christian conscience."
"Our concern, sympathy and support," he said, "are also with the many in any Christian Church who share our convictions and work for the same purpose. "
Bishop Hines' statement follows in full:
"I affirm again the support of the Episcopal Church, expressed repeatedly in official statements, for family planning and birth control by appropriate medical means. The position of the Episcopal Church has consistently supported appropriate measures for birth control exercised by husband and wife in Christian conscience. This position is undergirded by the statement on Family Life approved by the last Lambeth Conference in 1958.
"We believe such action to be an aid to sound and healthy marriage, as well as a necessity in the grim struggle against poverty, hunger, even famine, in many parts of the world, as well as essential for abundant living in all of it.
"To this end we are actively supporting programs encouraging family planning as part of the Episcopal Church's efforts in the field of world relief. Our concern, sympathy and support are also with the many in any Christian Church who share our convictions and work for the same purpose. "