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JOHN PAUL II
Theology/Philosophy/Church
Man and Woman He Created Them is the title John Paul II gave to his seminal work on the bodily dimension of human personhood, sexuality, marriage, and celibacy. First written while he was archbishop of Kraków, then later revised and delivered as a series of catecheses after he became pope, this work was called “theology of the body” by John Paul II himself. In his momentous teaching, John Paul has left us the core of his great vision, focused on the mystery of love extending from the Trinity, through Christ’s spousal relation with the Church, to the concrete bodies of men and women. With keen insight into the modern “split” between the person and the body, he presents an integral image of the human person, one rooted in Sacred Scripture and the Church’s living tradition. This translation of the pope’s work, prepared by biblical scholar Michael Waldstein, allows us to enter into John Paul II’s profound vision. With the inclusion of material previously unpublished in English, and the rediscovery of John Paul’s own headings for the work, the reader is able to follow the pope’s thought with clarity and confidence. Complete with a comprehensive introduction, translator’s footnotes, and detailed index, this edition has been crafted with the kind of insight that builds on more than twenty years of scholarship on John Paul II’s great gift to the Church.
— George Weigel Senior Fellow, Ethics and Public Policy Center
Michael Waldstein is founding President (1996–2006) and now Francis of Assisi Professor of New Testament at the International Theological Institute, Austria (www.iti.ac.at). He and his wife, Susan, are members of the Pontifical Council for the Family and have eight children. After his academic training (B.A., Thomas Aquinas College, California; Ph.D. in Philosophy, University of Dallas; Licentiate in Scripture, Pontifical Biblical Institute, Rome; Th.D. in New Testament, Harvard Divinity School) he taught for eight years at the University of Notre Dame, where he earned tenure. $29.95
JOHN PAUL II
“Michael Waldstein is going to put many people in his debt with this superb piece of work, a labor of love shaped by an acute intelligence. The illuminating translation, the brilliant introduction, and the carefully crafted index will make this the standard English-language edition throughout the twenty-first century for scholars, for pastors, for students, and indeed for anyone interested in exploring John Paul II’s most creative contribution to human self-understanding.”