What happened in 1960?

Why was 1960 so pivotal?

When Archbishop Bertone asked Sr. Lucy about the third part of the secret of Fatima, he asked: “Why only after 1960? Was it Our Lady who fixed that date?” Sister Lucia replied: “It was not Our Lady. I fixed the date because I had the intuition that before 1960 it would not be understood, but that only later would it be understood."

I thought about this conversation yesterday, after receiving some grave prophecies from a friend which echo those made at Fatima in 1917 - just five years short of one hundred years ago now.  The prophecies caught my attention since, and I'm not kidding,  Fr. Z seems to be rather concerned about preparedness for disaster these days.  Of course there is talk of war in the Mideast, as always - although it appears to be more determined lately.  And then there is the Cardinal against Cardinal scandal in the Vatican - even the Pope commented on it - the Vatican leaks situation that is.  Reminds one of the Akita message, huh?  Which may explain my apocalyptic preoccupation, as it were, and no, I'm not scared.

That said, it really shouldn't surprise anyone that my mind sometimes drifts back to 1960 and Fatima, as such scandals and rumblings and rumors of war grab the headlines.  One must remember that to a pious little Catholic school boy, the year loomed before me because there had been an expectation of something mysterious about to happen in 1960 as a result of the long anticipated secret of Fatima, which was to be read that year and revealed to the world.  It never happened of course, but such an apprehension left a deep impression, which may explain why 1960 came to be something of a reference point in history for me - even after all of these years.  BTW - I want to repeat that I believe the secret was revealed in its entirety later, and that the consecration was made and accepted by Heaven, etc..

Anyway.  What did happen in 1960?

What was it that changed the world, and perhaps even the Church - at least those in the Church? 

May 9, 1960 – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announces that it will approve birth control as an additional indication for Searle's Enovid, making it the world's first approved oral contraceptive pill.

Of course a whole bunch of other stuff happened in 1960 as well.  France lost its colonies in Africa, the Soviets launched Sputnik and captured, tried and convicted one of our spies.  American Catholics thrilled because Kennedy became President, Wiki has a timeline here.

Nevertheless, I still maintain that a tiny little pill was the instrument that changed morality, and therefore, the world.  As Sr. Lucy told the Cardinal: "I had the intuition that before 1960 it would not be understood, but that only later would it be understood."  Call me naive and pious, but I'm convinced, if we are honest with ourselves, we can understand what is going on today.