Sir: I have some difficulty in understanding the fuss that
has been caused by the Pope's recent pronouncement. All he has said is that the doc- trine and practice of the Church in contracep- tion remain as they always have been. Non- Catholics are obviously unaffected, and if some Catholics are disappointed, that is because they were foolish enough to be deceived by a hand- ful of irresponsible pseudo-intellectuals who have been spreading abroad the possibility of a change during the last four years. These people have much to answer for, but nobody is com- pelled to remain a Catholic, and those who dis- agree with the Pope can always join some other, more accommodating, denomination.
According to the Constitution on Divine Revelation of Vatican II Catholic doctrine is to be found in the combined effect of scripture, tradition and the official teaching of the Church. All three support the Pope's pronouncement—. Scripture in the story of Onan in Gen. 38, Tradition (interpreting Onan) in the person of (among others) St Augustine or St Francis de Sales, and the official teaching of the Church in Pius XI's Cash Connubii.
Judging by his article (9 August). Mr St John- Stevas seems to disagree with the Council, and to think that the function of the Church is to provide a picturesque top-dressing to the liberal- leftish views of himself and his friends. This is what perturbs me. I fear that the 'new' St John-Stevas and his 'significant' friend Rose- mary Haughton may become `old' Ottaviani `writ large.'
R. L. Travers Army and Navy Club, Pall Mall, London SW1
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