Catholic News Service: In their discussions of sexual and medical ethics, participants at the Synod of Bishops on the family are giving emphasis to the concept of “graduality,” as a way of thinking about morality that allows for human imperfection without compromising ideals.
In an address to the assembly on its first working day, Oct. 6, Cardinal Peter Erdo of Esztergom-Budapest, Hungary, said that “Humanae Vitae,” the 1968 encyclical by Pope Paul VI that reaffirmed the church’s prohibition of artificial birth control, “needs to be considered in light of the law of graduality.” He suggested that it was unrealistic to expect immediate acceptance of the widely flouted teaching. More here.
