Pope Paul PVI's
Humanae vitae, published in 1968, echoes many of the thoughts that
Gandhi expounded about the evils of contraception. Gandhi stated: "As
it is, man had sufficiently degraded woman for his lust, and artificial
methods, no matter how wellmeaning the advocates may be, will still
further degrade her."

In Humanae vitae, the Pope wrote: "It is also to
be feared that the man, growing used to the employment of
anti-conception practices, may finally lose respect for the woman, and
no longer caring for her physical and psychological equilibrium, may
come to the point of considering her as a mere instrument of selfish
enjoyment, and no longer as his respecte...

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Pope Paul PVI's
Humanae vitae, published in 1968, echoes many of the thoughts that
Gandhi expounded about the evils of contraception. Gandhi stated: "As
it is, man had sufficiently degraded woman for his lust, and artificial
methods, no matter how wellmeaning the advocates may be, will still
further degrade her."

In Humanae vitae, the Pope wrote: "It is also to
be feared that the man, growing used to the employment of
anti-conception practices, may finally lose respect for the woman, and
no longer caring for her physical and psychological equilibrium, may
come to the point of considering her as a mere instrument of selfish
enjoyment, and no longer as his respected and beloved companion" (sec.
8).

Gandhi insisted on self-restraint for the purpose of self-transformation.

Pope Paul VI underscored
the importance of "self-mastery" in matters of sexuality. They both
spoke of the importance of education and the cooperation of external
agencies. Neither was hesitant in identifying the use of contraception
as an evil and a disorder. Both saw contraception as an enemy to
marriage.

The British journalist Malcolm Muggeridge, long
before he became a Catholic, offered an observation in praise of
Humanae vitae that may be taken as an apt observation on the 1936
discussion between Gandhi and Sanger: "One of the things I admired the
Church for so much was Humanae vitae. I think it's absolutely right
that when a society doesn't want children, when it's prepared to accept
eroticism Eroticism

unrelated
in any way to its purpose, then it's on the downward path." The paths
of brahmacharya and eroticism most assuredly do not move in the same
direction.