Casti connubii
| Casti connubii Latin : Of chaste wedlock Encyclical letter of Pope Pius XI |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Date | 31 December 1930 |
| Argument | On Christian marriage |
| Encyclical number | 18 of 31 of the pontificate |
| Text | |
Casti connubii (Latin: "of chaste wedlock") was a papal encyclical promulgated by Pope Pius XI on 31 December 1930 in response to the Lambeth Conference of the Anglican church. It stressed the sanctity of marriage, prohibited Catholics from using any form of artificial birth control, and reaffirmed the prohibition on abortion. It also explained the authority of Church doctrine on moral matters, and advocated that civil governments follow the lead of the Church in this area.
Casti connubii was a response to the Lambeth Conference of 1930 in which the Anglican Community approved the use of birth control in limited circumstances. It covered four major topics: the sanctity of marriage, opposition to eugenics, positions on birth control and the purpose of sexuality, and reaffirmation of the prohibition on abortion.
Pius XI's encyclical references and confirms that of Pope Leo XIII, on Christian marriage, Arcanum divinae sapientiae, of 10 February 1880. Catholic doctrine has always considered Matrimony to be a most holy state of life for those called to the married life (Thomas Aquinas Summa Theologica; Saint Augustine On the Goods of Marriage). This encyclical reaffirms that marriage is a sacrament, and a means to sanctifying grace.
The encyclical also affirms the Church's opposition to adultery and divorce, and its support of wives as home-makers. It calls for wives to be obedient to their husbands, while commanding husbands to love their wives as "Christ loved His Church".
This ... does not deny or take away the liberty which fully belongs to the woman both in view of her dignity as a human person, and in view of her most noble office as wife and mother and companion; nor does it bid her obey her husband's every request if not in harmony with right reason or with the dignity due to wife; ... For if the man is the head, the woman is the heart, and as he occupies the chief place in ruling, so she may and ought to claim for herself the chief place in love.
...
Wikipedia