Saint Pio (d. 1968)

Less than a fortnight before his death, Padre Pio wrote to Pope Paul VI:

“I know that Your heart suffers much these days on account of the happenings in the Church: for peace in the world, for the great needs of its peoples; but above all, for the lack of obedience of some, even Catholics, to the lofty teachings which You, assisted by the Holy Spirit and in the name of God, have given us. I offer Your Holiness my daily prayers and sufferings…

“I thank Your Holiness for the clear and decisive words You have spoken in the recent encyclical, Humanae Vitae, and I reaffirm my own faith and my unconditional obedience…”

The reaction of James Patrick Shannon, auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Saint Paul, to the encyclical on contraception was very different.

(After receiving his doctorate from Yale, he became one of the bright lights of Catholic higher education -- being named, at age 34, the president of the College of St. Thomas).

Two months after Padre Pio died, James Shannon resigned his bishop's seat in protest on November 22, 1968.