Bishops’ voting on contraception

15 March 2005

The Pontifical Commission on Population, Family and Birth 1964-1966

PRESIDENT: CARDINAL OTTAVIANI
VICE-PRESIDENTS: CARDINAL DOEPFNER AND CARDINAL HEENAN

Only Cardinals, Archbishops and Bishops voted.

THOSE VOTING FOR A CHANGE IN THE RULING ON CONTRACEPTION*
JULIUS DOEPFNER, CARDINAL ARCHBISHOP OF MUNICH
JOSEPH LEFEBVRE, CARDINAL ARCHBISHOP OF BOURGES
LAWRENCE SHEHAN, CARDINAL ARCHBISHOP OF BALTIMORE
LEO JOSEF SUENENS, CARDINAL ARCHBISHOP OF MALINES-BRUSSELS
JOHN DEARDEN, ARCHBISHOP (LATER CARDINAL ARCHBISHOP) OF DETROIT
CLAUDE DUPUY, ARCHBISHOP OF ALBI, FRANCE
JOSE RAFAEL PULIDO-MENDEZ, BISHOP OF MERIDA, VENEZUALA
JOSEPH REUSS, AUXILIARY BISHOP OF MAINZ, GERMANY
JEAN BAPTISTE ZOA, ARCHBISHOP OF YAOUNDE, CAMEROON

THOSE ABSTAINING
JOHN CARMEL HEENAN, CARDINAL ARCHBISHOP OF WESTMINSTER**
VALERIAN GRACIAS, CARDINAL ARCHBISHOP OF BOMBAY
LEO BINZ, ARCHBISHOP OF ST PAUL, MINNESOTA

THOSE VOTING AGAINST CHANGE
CARDINAL ALFREDO OTTAVIANI, SECRETARY OF THE SACRED CONGREGATION OF
THE HOLY OFFICE
THOMAS MORRIS, BISHOP OF CASHEL, IRELAND
CARLO COLOMBO, BISHOP, THEOLOGIAN TO POPE PAUL VI

ONE MEMBER WHO DID NOT ATTEND THE LAST MEETING AND MAY NOT HAVE ATTENDED ANY MEETING

KAROL WOJTYLA, ARCHBISHOP OF KRAKOW

*Lists from ‘The Encyclical That Never Was’ by Robert Blair Kaiser. Foreword by Dr John Marshall, who was on the Commission from the beginning.

**Cardinal Heenan, according to Gerard Noel in the Catholic Herald 12Jan96, privately disagreed with Humanae Vitae “but in public was, quite rightly, scrupulously circumspect.” (The ‘quite rightly’ is Gerard Noel’s view. He may be right. I’m not sure.)