This is in response to the article, “Catholics, contraception and the heretic faithful,” an article by Dan Rodricks of the Baltimore Sun which appeared in the Sun Journal Feb. 11.

The upshot of the article was that Catholics believe that they can be faithful Catholics while not believing in the church’s moral teaching on contraception, marriage and abortion.

Contrary to Rodricks’ assertion, those views are not supported by documents of the Second Vatican Council. There is no basis for them in those documents.

The views stem primarily from the influence of our culture and also from the spirit of rationalized rebellion to Pope Paul VI’s encyclical “Humanae Vitae.”

Rodricks does state correctly that the encyclical ” . . .  reaffirmed the church’s opposition to artificial birth control . . . ” He did not mention that Pope Paul VI prophesied that the practice of artificial birth control would lead us down a slippery slope of greater moral laxity.

The Catholic Church’s role is not to adapt its moral beliefs to current cultural mores, but to speak the truth in Christ’s name, as commissioned by him, for the sake of our salvation. Unfortunately, terms and concepts such as sin, truth, heaven and salvation are not popular in today’s culture. That may partially explain why we are more easily seduced today by a government lacking respect for religious liberty and beliefs while promising us Heaven on Earth, all in the name of fairness.

Maurice Theriault, Lewiston