Most Catholics, if questioned about eating fish on Fridays, will
authoritatively state that Vatican II did away with that. As with so
many other things people know to be fact, that is quite false. The
rules of the Church on fast and abstinence were modified, not
done away with by Pope Paul VI in his Apostolic Constitution on
Fast and Abstinence of 1966. This constitution allows under
certain circumstances for the substitution of abstinence from meat
on Fridays outside of Lent for some other form of penitence. What
the constitution does have in common with Vatican II is that from
the very start it was misinterpreted and misapplied with the sad
result that most Catholics neither abstain from eating meat on
Fridays, nor do any other specific penance to mark the day. The
worldwide impact of Pope Paul’s revision of the Laws of fast and
abstinence has been sadly other than what the Pope intended.
Pope Paul VI’s revision of the Roman Missal in 1969 has had
an even grater impact on the everyday life of Catholics that the
Constitution on Fast and Abstinence. The Novus Ordo, as the
Missal of Paul VI is often called, differs from the Missal of Pope
John XXIII in some significant ways. The vernacular is allowed,
and so is concelebration by other priests. There is a choice of
Eucharistic Prayers. The Roman Canon, or the First Eucharistic
Prayer is a streamlined version of the Eucharist Prayer in the
Missal of John XXIII and differs only slightly. The Second
Eucharistic Prayer, although the shortest, actually predates the
Roman Canon and is in substance the earliest Eucharist Prayer
we have. In addition there are two other Eucharistic Prayers,
which may be used. In the Novus Ordo the priest may celebrate
the Eucharist facing the people, although a close reading of the
rubrics contained in the Missal indicate that he should, as
previously, face the Altar rather than the people (that is, have his
back to the people). There are many other differences greater
and smaller. The inherent beauty of the Novus Ordo has been
tragically obscured both by bad translations of the normative Latin
text and by myriad liturgical abuses.
In light of these changes instituted by Pope Paul VI one might
be forgiven for thinking that he might have been something of a
liberal. However, the encyclical for which he is best remembered
shows Paul VI to be more of a traditionalist. Humanae Vitae
issued in 1968 was probably the most ridiculed document that
was never read. Denounced even before its release Humane
Vitae is a sensitive and beautifully crafted prophetic document,
which reiterates the age-old teaching of the Church that
contraception is intrinsically wrong. Issued at the height of the
so-called sexual revolution this encyclical was not well received,
but was sorely needed exactly because of the times.
According to the current “wisdom” of observers of the Catholic
Church only 20% of Catholics observe the Church’s teaching on
contraception as handed down in Humanae Vitae. However,
more and more young families are beginning to take this teaching
seriously and we are seeing not only a resurgence of large
Catholic families but even new drugstores are being opened that
refuse to carry contraceptives.
Pope Paul VI was saddened and hurt by vicious attacks that
followed the release of Humanae Vitae as well as the terrible
liturgical abuses that spread like wildfire throughout the Church.
While standing firm in teaching the truth he nevertheless began to
withdraw from the public eye. Humane Vitae was his last
encyclical. In the forty years since its release this document has
proven to be truly and eerily prescient and because of that I
believe that history will rank Pope Paul VI as a great prophet of
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