Word: edict
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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Twenty five years ago, in an encyclical entitled Humanae Vitae, Pope Paul VI denounced absolutely all forms of "artificial" birth control. The edict was issued in the wake of the liberal spirit that infused the Roman Catholic Church after the Second Vatican Council, and was directly contrary to what most had predicted would be a softening of restrictions. Many prominent Catholics were caught by surprise--so much so that the main result of the decree in theological circles was to begin a debate on the nature of papal authority versus individual conscience...
...grenade. Veritatis Splendor (The Splendor of Truth), the encyclical which will be formally issued tomorrow, is a reaction to what the Pope writes is "an overall and systematic calling into question of traditional moral doctrine." According to The New York Times, which obtained an official English translation of the edict, the document details "fundamental moral principles" which "transcend all eras and cultures...
...other words, the pope is charging his bishops (to whom the edict is addressed) to tear down the uneasy balance between religious allegiance and personal belief that many Catholics hold on issues such as birth control. Pope John Paul II's views are not a surprise--he has always been far more conservative on this issue than the majority of American Catholics. But by directing the Catholic clergy--many of whom strongly disagree with him--to censure all who fail to strictly abide by church teaching, he is throwing a divisive stake right down the center of American Catholicism...
White House officials realized there was too much Wilshire Boulevard and too little Main Street, and for two weeks there were no sightings of anyone whose birthday is announced by Mary Hart on Entertainment Tonight. But it was Clinton who broke his own edict first by giving Quincy Jones a guided tour of the flying White House on the infamous tarmac in L.A. just before the presidential haircut. The next day, when Clinton was going to the Hill to push a tax bill that asks the middle class to pay more, the driveway in front of the mansion was clogged...
There are powerful factors that may make California's edict work -- and perhaps become a model for the rest of the U.S. Whenever California speaks, the marketplace is compelled to listen; the state is the single biggest car market in the world, accounting for as much as 15% of U.S. sales. There is also the undeniable fact that Americans, particularly in the more polluted and congested urban areas, are driving themselves to death. As much as 80% of all urban smog and a quarter of the nation's total carbon dioxide are caused by engines burning fossil fuels...