Professor Revelle Attacks Papacy On Birth Control

Pope Paul VI announced yesterday that the Catholic Church will continue its traditional ban on birth control for the members of the faith. In the encylical letter stating the position of the Pope, the contraceptive pill and all other mechanical and chemical means of birth control were ruled out and the rhythm method, the only previously accepted method for birth control in the church, was given limited endorsement.

At Harvard the reaction was quick. Dr. Roger Revelle, Richard Saltonstall Professor of Population Policy and Director of the Harvard Center for Population Studies, called the decision "appalling." He said that the position of the Pope "serves neither the Catholic Church or Humanity," and concluded that man must rethink the moral and ethical arguements concerning birth control in the future.

Dr. Revelle, who was vacationing in California when he was contacted for comment, found the encylical letter an immediate stumbling block to the efforts of those men who are attempting to disseminate birth control information in predominately poor Catholic countries, the countries of South America, the nations of Central America, and the Phillipines. It will make the efforts of these men "very much harder," said Revelle and therefore in these non-industrialized countries where the poor would be less burdened by a smaller family, the Pope's pronouncement does not serve the needs of humanity. This encylical will especially hurt the areas of northern Italy and the United States where many Catholics practice birth control already. Revelle thought that in these areas the position would simply, "tear people apart," although he did not feel it would affect their birth control practices. In these areas then the ban would be disruptive to Catholic faith and beliefs.