A Study Guide to Humanae Vitae

Written by the Priests and Pastoral Associates of Priests for Life

This study guide is based on the Vatican Translation of Humanae Vitae

Table of Contents:

Forward

Introduction to the Study Guide

Summary of the Introduction to the Encyclical and Section I: New Aspects of the Problem and Competency of the Magisterium

A Summary of Section II. Doctrinal Principles

Summary of Section III. Pastoral Directives 

Essay: Finding Their Way Back Home

Essay: Life, Purity and Humanae Vitae

Essay: The Transmission of Life -- On Whose Terms?

The Contraception of Grief: A Personal Testimony

Glossary of Terms

Foreword

A Study Guide to Humanae Vitae

Fr. Frank Pavone, National Director, Priests for Life

Forty years is not a long time in Church history. Indeed, they are still living in the moment of Humanae Vitae (issued on July 25, 1968), and of the challenge it presents to the world.

Humanae Vitae does not identify the key problem of their day in the realm of sex or birth or "the pill," but rather in the myth that they can be God. Pope Paul writes at the beginning of the document, "But the most remarkable development of all is to be seen in man's stupendous progress in the domination and rational organization of the forces of nature to the point that he is endeavoring to extend this control over every aspect of his own life -- over his body, over his mind and emotions, over his social life, and even over the laws that regulate the transmission of life” (n.2).

The Pope here is painting a wider vision of the problem. They think everything belongs to us, but the reality is that they belong to God. "Humanae Vitae" means "Of human life." Human life came from God, belongs to God, and goes back to God. "You are not your own," St. Paul declares. "You have been bought, and at a price" (1 Cor. 6:19-20). Sex and having children are aspects of a whole cluster of realities that make up their lives and activities. They suffer from the illusion that all of these activities belong to us. “This is my life, my body, my choice.

The problem they face is not that their society is obsessed with sex. Rather, it is afraid of it-- afraid of the total reality and power of what it represents, where it comes from, and where it leads. Sex properly understood requires that they acknowledge God who made it. More than that, sex can never be separated from its purpose: to insert us into this immense, powerful movement of life and love that started when God said "Let there be light" (Genesis 1:3) and culminates when the Spirit and the Bride say "Come, Lord Jesus!" (Revelation 22:17).

Sexual activity means so much that it is wrong to diminish its message or deny its full reality: it belongs in the context of committed love (sealed by marriage) and openness to life precisely because this is the only context great enough to hold its message and reflect the greater reality to which the gift of sexuality points us and to which it commits us.

This is a reality that is bigger than all of us. It is the self-giving which starts in the Trinity, and is revealed in a startling way on the Cross, and then challenges each of us in their daily interaction with others, with God, and with their own eternal destiny. It is so real and so big that it is scary. That's why so many today are afraid of the full reality and meaning of sex. That's why Pope Paul VI wrote Humanae Vitae.

That is also why their Priests for Life pastoral team wrote this Study Guide. They have also established a special website, www.HumanaeVitae40.com, to promote the teachings of this document. It is their daily prayer that this effort will lead many believers to understand, embrace, and proclaim the beautiful truth of human life. 

INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY GUIDE

James J. Pinto, Jr., M.E.V.Editor: A Study Guide to Humanae Vitae 

This Study Guide will be most effective if one first thoroughly familiarizes himself with its content and layout. Review the table of contents and the location of each section listed. The Study Guide is to be used by an individual or group as a side by side companion with the text  of Humanae Vitae included in this booklet. The three Essays offer unique insight with questions for further discussion. The Contraception of Grief: A Personal Testimony presents a riveting and practical witness to why Humanae Vitae is the wholesome truth.

The Glossary assists the reader in clarifying some key terms contained in the Encyclical. Glossary terms are listed by the number/paragraph in which they first appear. The terms will be marked with an *asterisk in the Humanae Vitae text as a note to the reader that the term is contained in the Glossary. 

After practicing Fr. Pavone’s Foreword one should read the Summary of the Introduction and Section I, followed by the practicing of the Introduction and Section I. of Humanae Vitae itself. After completing the Introduction and Section I. of Humanae Vitae; the reader answers the series of questions below the Summary of the Introduction and Section I.  The sequence followed for the Introduction and Section I is repeated for each following section: practicing the Study Guide Section Summary, practicing of the corresponding Encyclical section itself and returning to the Study Guide questions for that particular section. The questions are meant to refer the reader back to particular paragraphs/numbers (n.or n.n.) of that section where he/she will find the answers. One may work on the answers to these questions while practicing the paragraph/number, or, wait until he/she has read the entire section and then complete the answers. Continual returning to the text of the encyclical helps emphasize that the document itself is the primary source of instruction and the basis for individual and group applications. 

The three Essays have several questions at their conclusion to help foster reflection and discussion. A personal witness to the truth and wisdom of Humanae Vitae is presented in The Contraception of Grief: A Personal Testimony. 

This Study Guide is meant to be a “springboard” to delve more deeply into Humanae Vitae and its themes, in order to stimulate reflection, and a lifestyle of holiness. 

For those considering the possibility of facilitating a study group, this study guide lends itself to a discussion study group method of learning. While a leader/facilitator encourages the group and keeps it “on track”, it is the individual sharing and group dynamic that contribute most to the learning process. The facilitator is not a lecturer, neither is he there to deliver all the answers. The facilitator seeks to shepherd the group learning process and does everything possible to solicit their contributions. Members interact and learn from everyone, including the facilitator. A Facilitator’s Guide is available through Priests for Life at www.HumanaeVitae40.com. The Facilitator’s Guide seeks to assist you in leading a group and lays out suggested study sessions.

It is their hope, that on the fortieth anniversary of Humanae Vitae, this study guide will assist in promoting the Church’s clear and authoritative word on transmitting human life. May all who hear this true, prophetic and lovely word be assured that: the Church has always issued appropriate documents on the nature of marriage, the correct use of conjugal rights, and the duties of spouses. These documents have been more copious in exact times. (n.4)

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CRN is live in San Diego for Cisco Live 2019. Bookmark this page for the latest news, videos and exclusive videos from the show floor.

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Cisco Transforms Crisis to Control with New Automated Ransomware Recovery

News Summary:

SAN JOSE, Calif., Aug. 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Cisco, the leader in enterprise networking and security, is dramatically enhancing its Extended Detection and Response (XDR) solution. By adding recovery to the response process, Cisco XDR is redefining what customers should expect from security products. Today's announcement brings near real-time recovery for business operations after a ransomware attack.

Cisco Logo (PRNewsfoto/Cisco)

Cisco continues to drive momentum towards its vision of the Cisco Security Cloud—a unified, AI-driven, cross-domain security platform. With the launch of Cisco XDR at the RSA Conference this year, Cisco delivered deep telemetry and unmatched visibility across the network and endpoints. Now, by reducing the crucial time between the beginnings of a ransomware outbreak and capturing a snapshot of business-critical information to near-zero, Cisco XDR will further support that vision, while enabling new levels of business continuity.

"The exponential growth of ransomware and cyber extortion has made a platform approach crucial to effectively counter adversaries. Their objective is to build a resilient and open cybersecurity platform that can withstand ransomware assaults and recover with minimal impact, ensuring uninterrupted business operations," said Jeetu Patel, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Security and Collaboration at Cisco. "As a global infrastructure provider that built the network, Cisco is redefining what a security product should deliver. Their innovations with automated ransomware recovery are a significant step towards achieving truly unified detection and response data, turning security insights into action."

Story continues

During the second quarter of 2023, the Cisco Talos Incident Response (IR) team responded to the highest number of ransomware engagements in more than a year. With the new capabilities in Cisco XDR, Security Operations Center (SOC) teams will be able to automatically detect, snapshot, and restore the business-critical data at the very first signs of a ransomware attack, often before it moves laterally through the network to reach high-value assets.

"Cisco is quickly disrupting the security landscape across their entire portfolio and their XDR solution could become the de facto reference architecture organizations turn to," said Chris Konrad, Area Vice President, Global Cyber, World Wide Technology. "Not only does it provide broad visibility by integrating data across endpoints, network, cloud, and other sources - this extensive attack surface insight allows for superior threat detection using advanced analytics. Organizations should strongly consider the implementation of Cisco XDR to bolster their security posture and safeguard assets effectively. Cisco undoubtedly is contributing to the overall resilience of any organization."

Cisco is expanding its initially released, extensive set of third-party XDR integrations to include leading infrastructure and enterprise data backup and recovery vendors. Today, Cisco is excited to announce the first integration of this kind with Cohesity's DataProtect and DataHawk solutions.

"Cybersecurity is a board-level concern, and every CIO and CISO is under pressure to reduce risks posed by threat actors. To this end, Cisco and Cohesity have partnered to help enterprises around the world strengthen their cyber resilience," said Sanjay Poonen, CEO and President, Cohesity. "Our first-of-its-kind proactive response is a key piece of their data security and management vision, and we're excited to bring these capabilities to market first with Cisco."

Cohesity has a proven track record of innovation in data backup and recovery capabilities. Cohesity's products provide configurable recovery points and mass recovery for systems assigned to a protection plan. The new features take this core functionality to the next level by preserving potentially infected virtual machines for future forensic investigation, while simultaneously protecting data and workloads in the rest of the environment. Cohesity's engineers worked alongside Cisco technical teams to dynamically adapt data protection policies to offer organizations a stronger security posture. This complements Cisco XDR's robust detection, correlation, and integrated response capabilities and will enable customers to benefit from accelerated response for data protection and automated recovery.

Cisco XDR is now available globally to simplify security operations in today's hybrid, multi-vendor, multi-threat landscape. To learn more, visit cisco.com/go/xdr

Additional Resources:

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Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide technology leader that securely connects everything to make anything possible. Their purpose is to power an inclusive future for all by helping their customers reimagine their applications, power hybrid work, secure their enterprise, transform their infrastructure, and meet their sustainability goals. Discover more on The Newsroom and follow us on Twitter at @Cisco. Cisco and the Cisco logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Cisco and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. A listing of Cisco's trademarks can be found at www.cisco.com/go/trademarks. Third-party trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners. The use of the word partner does not imply a partnership relationship between Cisco and any other company.

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SOURCE Cisco Systems, Inc.