Exploring Lintner’s Claims on the Catholic Church’s Teaching on Artificial Contraceptives and Laya-Kapwa as a Contextualized Filipino Sexual Ethic

This research deeply explores the prominent theologian Martin Lintner's published article regarding the controversial encyclical Humanae Vitae (HV). His discussions are basically focused on the socio-historical details of the encyclical's publication and some personal views. His claims include the question of synodality in the Church, the reception/reaction of the previous popes, and an accusation of error committed by Pope Paul VI in evaluating the morality of artificial contraception methods. Through objective analysis, these claims are clarified through a discussion of related concepts in moral theology, such as the principle of totality, Sacred Tradition, and the various manifestations of moral decline. The accusation of error by Pope Paul VI will be weighed carefully by providing justifications to support the “prophecies of fears” using the social/moral realities in the Philippine context. Lastly, this article explores the intellectualization of the coined Filipino virtue of laya-kapwa as a central component for a contextualized sexual ethic for Filipinos. It is an exercise of conscientious freedom in making sexual decisions that always considers the good of the other.