Chapter Three: Moral Good for the Life of the Church and of the World
Themes:This chapter emphasizes that Catholics must turn to Jesus and be faithful to him in order to accept, live by, and hand on the moral truth taught by the Church;
Stresses the significance of the witness to moral truth given by martyrs and the importance for the contemporary world of the Church's fulfilling her role as moral teacher; and Points out the responsibility of teachers and priests and, in particular, bishops, for sound moral teaching. |
Exposition:John Paul II explicitly identifies the principal truth at the heart of the Encyclical. He writes as follows: "Each of us knows how important is the teaching which represents the central theme of this Encyclical and which is today being restated with the authority of the Successor of Peter. Each of us can see the seriousness of what is involved, not only for individuials but also for the whole of society, with the reaffirmation of the universality and immutability of the moral commandments, particularly those which prohibit always and without exception intrinsically evil acts (n. 115)."
1. The Relationship Between Human Freedom and the Truth The pope proclaims: "The Crucified Christ reveals the authentic meaning of freedom; he lives it fully in the total gift of himself and calls his disciples to share in his freedom" (n. 85). He then writes most perceptively about the meaning of human freedom, saying: Human freedom belongs to us as creatures; it is a freedom which is given as a gift, one to be received like a seed and to be cultivated responsibly. It is an essential part of that creaturely image which is the basis of the dignity of the person. Within that freedom there is an echo of the primordial vocation whereby the Creator calls man to the true Good, and even more, through Christ's Revelation, to become his friend and to share his own divine life. It is at once inalienable self-possession and openness to all that exists, in passing beyond self to knowledge and love of the other. Freedom then is rooted in the truth about man, and it is ultimately directed towards communion (n. 86). 2. The Intimate and Inseparable Unity of Faith and Morality Because of contemporary secularism and the separation of faith from morality (even on the part of some Catholic theologians), it is urgent, John Paul II emphasizes, "to rediscover the newness of faith and its power to judge a prevalent and all-intrusive culture....It is urgent to rediscover and to set forth once more the authentic reality of the Christian faith, which is not simply a set of propositions to be accepted with intellectual assent...[but] is a lived knowledge of Christ, a living remembrance of his commandments, and a truth to be lived out" |
|