Today on Register Radio, Father Greg Markey, pastor of St. Mary's Catholic Church in Norwalk, Conn., spoke about his recent National Catholic Register article, "Humanae Vitae, the Priest, and the HHS Mandate."

In his remarks, Father Markey said that the culture of the 1960s, and an expectation that Pope Paul VI would allow contraception, led to widespread dissent within the Church when the prophetic encyclical letter Humanae Vitae was issued, confirming the Church's teaching against the use of contraception, and prophesying that the widespread use of contraception would lead to: 1) infidelity and moral decline, 2) a loss of respect for women, 3) the abuse of power, and 4) unlimited dominion.

Father Markey said that humility in accepting the Church's teachings is key, and pointed to Pope Benedict XVI's Holy Thursday message, saying that "obedience, as the lives of the Saints show, is always the path to authentic renewal in the Church. We are now reaping the fruits of the disobedience of 1968,"  with the divided response to the Health and Human Services mandate."

Father Markey said he's hopeful that the tide is changing.

"There's an entire generation of new priests who have received solid information and are teaching that contraception is contrary to the good of the human person," said Father Markey. "We tell our couples, if you want to be happy in marriage, do not use contraception. It's one of the most destructive forces in marriage today."

Father Markey also offered three helpful tips for parishioners as to what to do when they are confronted with incorrect teaching by a priest or other Church leaders. To learn what those are, listen to the show.

In the second half of the show, Dan Burke interviewed National Catholic Register writer and blogger Joseph Pronechen for a primer on St. Faustina Kowalska's Divine Mercy Devotion. Dan provided an acronym - FINCH - that might be helpful in undertanding and remembering the elements of the Devotion. Joseph spoke about the history of the devotion, its requirements, and the Feast of Divine Mercy, which takes place the Sunday following Easter.

According to Joseph, quoting from Sister Faustina's diary, Jesus said, “I want to grant a complete pardon to the souls that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion on the Feast of My mercy” (Diary, 1109). “The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion will obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment” (Diary, 699).

To learn more, listen to Register Radio on any of EWTN Radio's affiliates at 2 p.m. EASTERN, download the podcast, or listen here.