Pope Saint Paul VI

A Pictorial Retrospective

Karl A. Schultz

• Publisher: TAN Books
• Year: 2019
• ISBN:
  9781505112726
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Religious Biographies

Alternatively praised and vilified, Pope, now Saint, Paul VI is perhaps one of the least understood pontiffs in modern history. Often caricatured by both liberals and conservatives, he will forever be known as the pope who "held the line" on Church teaching regarding contraception through his landmark encyclical Humane Vitae. Divided into four sections—his life, his papacy, his teachings, and his times and legacy—this pictorial retrospective of the Church's newest saint is sure to be a treasured part of every Catholic library and home, and a fitting commemoration of both his canonization and the fiftieth anniversary of the promulgation of his most famous document.

Paul’s Teachings

Pope St. Paul VI’s teachings have notably maintained, if not prophetically deepened, their personal, pastoral, and magisterial relevance since his death. In some ways, their applications are more apparent and well-received than when originally published. For a long time, Paul’s high-profile document Humanae Vitae has been considered prophetic, while Populorum Progressio and Evangelii Nuntiandi have retained their status, accorded unusually soon after publication, as being far-seeing standard works on their respective subjects. Subsequent papal teachings on social justice and evangelization inevitably make references to them. On June 22, 2013, Pope Francis referred to Evangelii Nuntiandi as “to my mind the greatest pastoral document that has ever been written to this day.” In Caritas in Veritate, Pope Benedict XVI drew more extensively from Populorum Progressio than any previous pope had drawn from a predecessor’s papal document.

The best way to assimilate Paul VI’s teachings is chronologically, because Paul’s publications naturally reflect developments in the Church and the world.

Paul’s first encyclical, Ecclesiam Suam, set the tone for not only Vatican II but Paul’s entire pontificate. It focused on three themes, conscience and awareness, reform and renewal, and dialogue, and it reflected Paul’s diplomatic acumen cultivated over decades in the Vatican’s Secretariat of State.

This document is a masterpiece on Christian communications and is as vibrant and pertinent today as on the day of its publication, August 6, 1964, which was also coincidentally the day on which he died in 1978.

Dutch Treat

Paul’s next major document was Mysterium Fidei (September 3, 1965) on the Holy Eucharist. It was issued toward the end of the council to combat the blurring of important doctrines and pastoral practices that were occurring in some circles, most notably in Holland.

The so-called Dutch (New) Catechism was widely disseminated and reflected the influence of two prominent Dutch theologians who had run afoul of the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. The latter office also investigated the catechism and insisted on clarifications, which were subsequently inserted. Mysterium Fidei retains its value as a lucid document on Eucharistic theology as well as a judicious attempt to rein in certain theologically and liturgically adventurous elements within the Church.

The encyclical was overshadowed by the council, and the technical and abstract nature of much of it made it primarily of interest to the theologically sophisticated and pastorally affected. In a manner that would mark his pontificate, Paul addressed aberrations directly and firmly, but also gently and discreetly when possible. Mysterium Fidei continues to serve as a fine foundation and complement to St. John Paul II’s Ecclesia de Eucharistia (April 17, 2003).

It is particularly enlightening and edifying to read papal documents such as these because they also reflect the influence of a variety of distinguished theologians, topical experts, and insightful peers. Thus, we are getting authoritative Catholic/universal teaching in a reasonably accessible package. We may not comprehend everything right away, but by reading them according to the model of lectio divina, we can derive a meaning and application appropriate to us. These can serve as a trusty reference for ensuring that we are not only understanding but also living doctrines in a proper manner.

Fast Work

In 1966, one of Paul’s most far-reaching initiatives was released, the Apostolic Constitution Paenitemini, his updating modification of the traditional abstinence laws. The media and cultural pattern of ignoring the substance of a document or initiative and focusing only on highlights, or perhaps distorted interpretations, once again emerged, causing one of the main themes of the document, penance, to be obscured, if not lost, in the publicity.

Unlike other papal initiatives, this one received favorable coverage from the secular media, who weren’t typically interested in the reasons for fasting and abstinence, but were gratified that, in one respect anyway, the Church was seemingly moving away from tradition toward modern sensibilities. Perhaps that was a foreshadowing of future changes, and expectations were heightened. Of course, this characterization was a naïve over-simplification, but it worked for mass consumption. It failed to recognize that with respect to Paul’s magisterium, the meat and essence was not only in his poignant gestures and idioms but in their underlying depth, indications, nuances, and syntheses. With Paul, as with any profound thinker, the whole is typically greater than the sum of the parts.

Pope Paul VI celebrating the Christmas Mass at Basilica of Santa Croce, Florence, December 24th, 1967 (b/w photo) / Mario De Biasi per Mondadori Portfolio / Bridgeman Images

Personalizing Asceticism

Paul freed Catholics from obligatory meatless Fridays with the proviso that they would substitute some other, ideally more personally meaningful, penance in remembrance of the love expressed on Good Friday. The fact that we are no longer obliged to go “meatless” on Fridays is universally known by Catholics and non-Catholics alike; that we are, however, urged to make some penitential sacrifice is, sadly, less so today. That said, many faithful Catholics do still practice an abstention or fast every Friday. What’s past is passed, but there is nothing stopping us from taking Paul VI up on his ascetical invitation and trying to remember in a special way on Fridays the paschal mystery and what Christ’s self-offering says to us today in our concrete circumstances. This is even more crucial when we are struggling or teetering spiritually or morally. We need built-in preventive safeguards to keep us on the straight and narrow—like Sunday Mass attendance and regular confession, for example.

Here, again, we encounter Paul’s tendency to invite the faithful to assume adult responsibility for their praxis (faith in action). While many people ignored this to their and the Church’s ultimate detriment, many others did not. Many respected and capitalized on the entrustment, viewing it as an inspired, good faith opportunity, took the initiative, and developed a more mature faith and participation in the Church’s ascetic and devotional practices.

Subsidiarity in the Church

This attitude of empowering people and making them responsible highlights another aspect of Paul’s papacy, the principle of subsidiarity that he fostered. Paul VI was every bit as strict about doctrine as St. John Paul II and Benedict XVI, but his administration was not as rigorous in its monitoring procedures and disciplinary actions. It was a different time. Of course, someone can be orthodox in theory while deviating in practice, thereby setting a bad example and perhaps even scandalizing others. This is why the Bible is rigorous in its demands on those in authority or with catechetical responsibilities. To whom more is given, more is expected.

In the spirit of divine mercy and patience underlying the parable of the wheat and the tares (cf. Mt 13:24–30), Paul VI was willing to run the risks of bad eggs getting mixed in with the good ones. He seemed to recall that Jesus put his Church in human hands, giving the apostles, and particularly Peter, authority on heaven and earth, knowing full well it would be exercised imperfectly. There will always be a healthy, and sometimes unhealthy, tension between respect for authority and that authority’s respect for liberty of action on the part of the faithful. The history of the Church over the past fifty years, with both its crises and its flowering of new, creative initiatives, illustrates this point all too well.

Ultimately, people have freedom, and, it seems that Paul’s view was that it is better overall to empower them and assume the risks rather than discourage or repress them. We are called to trust people, including ourselves, as well as God. Ideologically-driven, a-contextual evaluations of Vatican II have a tendency to either exaggerate or minimize the fruitful applications and implementations, and the accompanying empowerment that occurred. Paul’s next major document, on human development, would address the issue head on.

The Annunciation by Boulogne, Restored Traditions

Marian Devotional Encyclicals

However, interspersed between Mysterium Fidei and Paul’s most influential encyclical, Populorum Progressio, were two Marian encyclicals: Mense Maio (“Month of May,” April 29, 1965) and Christi Matri (“Mother of Christ,” September 15, 1965). These focused on particular aspects of Marian devotion, and reflected both Paul’s Marian spirituality as well as his sensitivity to ecumenical concerns and Tradition. He possessed the capacity to articulate Marian doctrines and practices in a precise manner that clarified potentially confusing or ambiguous theological issues and pastoral practices. In 1974, Paul VI would issue a comprehensive apostolic exhortation on devotion to Mary that serves as an interesting complement to St. John Paul II’s various Marian documents.

Populorum Progressio

On March 26, 1967, Paul VI published his most widely praised encyclical, Populorum Progressio, “On the Development of Peoples,” which also drew attention in secular circles for its teachings on economic justice, which were rather novel at that time. The distinguished French economist Francois Perroux commented: “It is one of the greatest texts of human history. It radiates a kind of rational, moral, and religious testimony … a profound and original synthesis of the Ten Commandments, the Gospel teaching and the Declaration on Human Rights.” Not everyone agreed, because it took aim at established policies and structures sustained by powerful interests.

As outlined in Hebblethwaite’s biography Pope Paul VI: The First Modern Pope (p. 483) and in the blog cardijnresearch.blogspot.com, the French Dominican Louis-Joseph Lebret, whose writings Paul VI admired and who had contributed as a peritus (expert observer) to the council document Gaudium et Spes, was consulted by Paul VI during his initial research and draft of the document, and his work is reflected in the document even though he died the year before. Paul stated that the document would be a tribute to his memory.

Section 14 of Populorum Progressio asserts: “The development We speak of here cannot be restricted to economic growth alone. To be authentic, it must be well rounded; it must foster the development of each man and of the whole man. As an eminent specialist on this question has rightly said: ‘We cannot allow economics to be separated from human realities, nor development from the civilization in which it takes place. What counts for us is man—each individual man, each human group, and humanity as a whole.’” The referenced citation was from Lebret’s 1961 book Dynamique concrète du développement (Paris: Economie et Humanisme, Les editions ouvrierès, 1961, 28).

This document linked individual and communal development and became a cornerstone of modern Catholic social teaching. Subsequent episcopal and papal documents on social justice have drawn extensively from it, especially Caritas in Veritate (June 29, 2009), as mentioned previously.

Third world (especially Latin American) Catholics were particularly appreciative of Populorum Progressio because it recognized structural injustices and insisted on their correction according to Christian principles. Reaction was less favorable in other outlets—often those associated with strong financial interests—in fact were highly critical because it excoriated what St. John Paul II would later identify as savage capitalism. Some labeled the document as pseudo-socialist, but Paul VI was too orthodox, theologically acute, balanced, and literarily precise to justify such concerns and labels.

On a more personal and practical level, Populorum Progressio offered a Christian alternative to the secular humanism of the self-help movement and the prosperity Gospel that has evolved in Christian circles.

The Discipline of Celibacy

Several months later, on June 24, 1967, the pope addressed the subject of priestly celibacy in Sacerdotalis Caelibatus. His affirmation of mandatory clerical celibacy came as a disappointment to many whose expectations had been raised in the aftermath of the council and in light of massive resignations from the priesthood and religious life. As with the issue of birth control, the media buzz was also out of step with papal indications, thereby imparting a false hope to those inclined toward a radical change.

Many people blame Paul VI and the council for this mass exodus, but many others recognize that numerous factors were involved, including historical conditions and subsequent sociological developments. First, many priests were not properly prepared for their ministry. Furthermore, fewer and fewer parents, especially mothers, were willing to encourage their children toward the priesthood or religious life because of socio-economic and cultural developments that had shaken the roots of family life. After the Great Depression and World War II, families were inclined to reserve talented children for the support of the household. Work and educational opportunities were gradually opening up, and in the wake of the cultural revolutions of the sixties, there was declining prestige associated with the priesthood. In the 1950s, when priests in their clerical garb went to attractions such as the movies, they were often waved in: “Go right ahead, Father.” Obviously, that is not the case today.

Thus, perhaps some less qualified persons sought the priesthood, and, given the tumult of the times in general and within the Church in particular, consequently in their individual vocations their foundation and identity was shaken. These reasons certainly do not explain all the departures, let alone justify them, but they are factors nonetheless. Initiatives and decisions by Paul VI and the aftereffects of the council certainly affected clergy...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Timeline
• Foreword
• Introduction
• Paul’s Life
• Paul’s Pontificate
• Paul’s Teachings
• Paul’s Times and Legacy
• Bibliography
• About the Author