Today in History-July 29
The train of Diana's dress was 25 ft long1981: Charles and Diana marry
England have
Crowds of 600,000 people filled the streets of London to catch a glimpse of
Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer on their wedding day.
The couple were married at St Paul's Cathedral before an invited
congregation of 3,500 and an estimated global TV audience of 750 million -
making it the most popular programme ever broadcast.
Britons enjoyed a national holiday to mark the occasion.
Lady Diana, 20, arrived almost on time for the 1120 BST ceremony after
making the journey from Clarence House in the Glass Coach with her father, Earl
Spencer.
She made the three-and-a-half minute walk up the red-carpeted aisle with
thesumptuous25 ft (7.62 m) train of her Emmanuel designed, ivory taffeta and
antique lace gown flowing behind her.
Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Robert Runcie led the traditional Church of
England service, but he was assisted by clergymen from many denominations.
The bride's nerves showed briefly when she mixed up the Prince's names -
calling him Philip Charles Arthur George, rather than Charles Philip.
Charles, 32, in the full dress uniform of a naval commander, slightly
muddled his vows too, referring to "thy goods" rather than "my worldly
goods".
After a brief private signing ceremony the Prince and Princess of Wales
walked back down the aisle to the refrain of Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance.
Balcony embrace
The newlyweds took the open-topped state landau to Buckingham Palace where
they emerged on the balcony at 1310 BST to give the crowds the kiss they had
been longing to see.
Afterwards Charles and Diana retired from the public gaze to enjoy toasts
and a wedding breakfast with 120 family guests.
A "just married" sign attached to the landau by Princes Andrew and Edward
raised smiles as the married couple were driven over Westminster Bridge to get
the train to Romsey in Hampshire to begin their honeymoon.
Pope says contraceptives could lead to infidelity
1968: Pope renews birth control ban
Artificially 1969:
The Pope Paul VI has confirmed a ban on the use of contraceptives by Roman
Catholics in spite of a Church commission's recommendation for change.
Most members of the Pontifical Commission, set up by Pope Paul's
predecessor Pope John XXIII, argued it was time for the Church to face the
realities of the modern world.
They said that with the increasing emancipation of women and the
introduction of safe contraceptives the time had come for the Church to change
its position.
However, a minority disagreed and published their own report advocating
Church policy remain unaltered.
The papal encyclical letter, entitled Humanae Vitae: On the Regulation of
Birth - comes after two years of deliberation by Pope Paul.
He withdrew an earlier version after being warned by liberals within the
Church it was too uncompromising and likely toalienatemany Catholics.
However, the new version is said to differ little from the original.
'Rhythm method'
Pope Paul admitted the ruling on birth control might seem impossible to
carry out: "Like all great beneficent realities, it demands serious engagement
and much effort," he stated in the encyclical.
If the Roman Catholic Church were to permit the use of birth control "a
wide and easy road" to conjugal infidelity would be opened up, Pope Paul
concluded.
However, the Pontiff reaffirmed Pope Pius XII's edict that the "rhythm
method" - total abstention of sexual intercourse during a wife's fertile period
- was permissible.
A possible loophole in Pope Paul's directive is the use of contraceptives
for medicinal reasons, such as regulating a woman's periods - one of the major
applications of the Pill.
Pope Paul conceded a woman using a contraceptive for health purposes would
not be in breach of Church policy, even if such use brought about temporary
infertility.
However, the encyclical is still bound to cause dismay among the world's
600 million Roman Catholics - many had been pressing for a relaxation of the
church's stance.
Vocabulary:
sumptuous :of a size or splendor suggesting great expense;
lavish(奢侈的;华丽的)
alienate :to cause to become withdrawn or unresponsive; isolate or
dissociate emotionally(疏远)
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