10.29.93

t teanc 0 VOL. 37, NO. 42

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Friday, October 29, 1993

F ALL RIVER, MASS.

FALL RIVER DIOCESAN NEWSPAPER FOR SOUTHEAST MASSACHUSETTS CAPE COD & THE ISLANDS Southeastem Massachusetts' Largest Weekly

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$11 Per Year

Krysten Winter-Green named director

Bisltlop establishes HIV / AIDS Ministry Bishop - Sean O'Malley, OFM Cap., has establish'ed a diocesan office of HIV / AIDS Ministry headquartered in Fall River, with satellite offices in :"ol orth Attleboro, New Bedford, Hy,mnisand Provincetown.

Krysten Winte r-Green. formerly vice-chancellor of the diocese of the Virgin Islan js. will direct the apostolate. basec l at Clemence Hall in St. Anne's Hospital. Fall River. telephone 674-5IJOO. ext. 2295. A IS-member AIDS Advisory Committee will assist in disseminating information anc providing input on concerns rele'/ant to the office's. mission.

The HIV/ AI OS ministry will offer a compassionate response to persons with HI V or AI DS and to their families and loved ones by promoting and :iUpporting ministries in diocesan parishes and institutions. The headquarters office will coordinate diocesan AI DS ministry efforts; identify. plan and develop additi,)nal services as needed; and collaborate with city. countv. state a nd interreligious eff(}rt~ in the area of H IV / AI DS.

Services planned by the office will be pastoral-clinical and social. educational and consultative.

-PastorJlI-c1inical and social: Individual, family and group counseling and spiritual support, inc1uding days of prayer and reflection for persons affected by Al DS: information and referral for additional services.

-Educational: Providing priests. religious and .Iaity with accurate information on medical. psychosocial and pastoral issues related to HIV/AIDS by establishing a resource library and information system; compiling and disseminating a parish resource manual; initiating educational programs.

-Consultative: Promoting Catholic moral values. justice and compassion by providing consultation to diocesan and secular institutions and developing an H IV i AI DS policy for diocesan personnel.

Ms. Winter-Green. a native of New Zealand. hoids two master's degrees in social work and one in religious education. She has taught Turn to Page A-Four

------1---------------------1 -Youth convention is Nov _14 The fifth annud Diocesan Youth Convention will be held 10;30 a.m. to 9 路p.m. Nov. 14 at Bishop Connolly High School, Fall River, with the theme" Rhythm of Life," focusing on the World Youth Day message derived from John 10: 10: "I came that the\, might have life and have it more abundantly."

Keynote speaker Molly Kelly, a nationally-known author and lecturer, will addrl:ss the topic of chastity and ansvler questions in a dialogue session with youth.

Also scheduled ueSunday Mass, a reflection on the convention theme using aud: ovisu~ls and led by peer witnesses, and workshops for both youth and adult advisors.

Workshop top: cs are: Mothers & Dal.ghters' Relationship and Spirituality; Death and Dying; Social Justice; Keeping Your Youth Ministry Alive and Well; Church and Your Part in It; Personal Experiences-Birthright; Fathers & Sons' Relationships and Spirituality; All Stressed Out! Dealing with Stress; Understanding and Appreciat ing Our Catholic Liturgy;

Being Cool and Being Catholic-Discipleship; Self Awareness and Self Esteem; Dealing with Tough Times; Dealing with Terminal Illness; Working with the Homeless; Sacraments and You; Prayer; Vocations; The Athlete and God; Rock and Its Role; Sexual Harassment; Dealing with Suicide; Cults and the Occult; Issues of Law for Youth Ministry; Dysfunctional Families; Developing Self Esteem in Young People; Youth MinistryWhat Makes the Difference; Depression-How to Cope; and STAND (Somerset Teens Against Needless Deaths). Most workshops will offer group interaction and practical applications.

Assisting diocesan youth ministry staff members Father David Costa, Lisa Kelly, Chris Tanguay and Leona Braley in convention planning are Kate Lamoureux and Anthony Luis,St. Mary, Seekonk; Jim Durette, St. Patrick, Somerset; John Almeida and Sister Marianna Sylvester, RSM, Our Lady of the Assumption, New Bedford; Turn to Page A-Four

A COAST GUARD launch aids Haitian refugees on an overloaded boat, which sank shortly after the rescue, The U.S. bishops' Migration and Refugee Services has resettled 60 percent of Haitian boat people allowed in the United States and vehemently protested government decisions to deny entrance to thousands of others. (eNS / Reuters photo)

Welcoming fOl1eigners is sign of faith, pope tells bishops with CNS reports The way a community or state treats midst but is not only a foreigners measure ofinitsits civility, of the way its pe.ople practice their faith, Pope John Paul II said, "For Jesus, the stranger who asks for hospitality or the immigrant who asks for acceptance is a member of the same family," the pope told members of the Pontifical Council for Migrants and Travelers at their plenary meeting last month.

Church aid to migrants and refugees differs with circumstances, but addressing the conditions affecting them is a key common ingredient in church activity, said bishops attending the meeting.

Concern for the needs of immigrants and respect for cultural diversity is the impetus for a Migration Week observance, themed "Many Pilgrims, One Family of God," to be held in the Fall River diocese beginning Nov. 6.

Bishop Sean O'Malley will celebrate a 1:30 p.m. multicultural, multilingual Mass that day at Bishop Connoll)' High School, Fall River, with entertainment following.

The week's observance will be a gesture of welcome to new immigrants and refugees in the diocese, a celebration of the roots of all diocesan Catholics, and an educational experience for students in

diocesan schools, who will study various cultures during the week, said migration p1rogram coordinator Father John J, Oliveira.

The diocesan Migration Week programs will seek to share, with participants the goals set by the pope and the bishops attending the Pontifical O()uncil meeting.

They are summed up in the pope's address at the meeting. He told the bishops that "the other to be accepted is at the same time the neighbor to be loved and served with all one's heart.

"To accept the other means to make space for him or her in one's city, in one's laws, in one's time

and in one's circle of friends," he said.

Parishes have a key role to play in displaying Christian attitudes toward all, he added.

"A welcoming parish offers the occasional visitor the opportunity to experience the friendship of a community of faith open to all which does not consider anyone to be excluded or a stranger," he said.

"Even more for immigrants who settle within the parish territory," he said, a welcoming parish will help them find "a new spiritual home where they will feel like members of a solid and fraternal family right away."

Turn to Page A-Four

Strealnlining of canon law seenl in sex abuse cases VATICAN CITY (CNS) - Officials of the u.s. bishops' conference are preparing a plan that would make better use of canon law in dealing with sexually 路abusive priests. said Archbishop William H. Keeler of Baltimore, president of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Archbishop Keeler said the NCCB Committee on Canonical Affairs was devt:loping possibilities opened up ea:rlier this year by a

Vatican-U.S. commission. U.S. bishops ha\le sought more flexibility in churc:J law wt"!en it comes to defrocking known sex abusers among the clergy.

The archbishop commented during an interview Oct. 22 while he was in Rome to meet with Pope John Paul II and other Vatican officials.

In June, the U.S.-Vatican commission appointed by the pope Turn to Page A-Four

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THE ANCHOR-Diocese of Fall River-Fri.,:Oct. 29, 1993

H'liman cloning co'ndemned by Vatican, top US pro-life official

Church reinforces UN efforts NEW YORK (CNS) - Boutros Boutros-G hali, secretary-general of the United Nations, said recently that the approach of the Catholic Church in working for peace harmonizes with that of the United' Nations and reinforces his own

efforts. "In seeking broader concepts of peace, and in linking peace with notions such as development and human justice, the Roman Catholic Church and the United Nations are working together," he said.

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New organ, tree planting to memorialize pastor The first anniversary of the death of Msgr. Robert L. Stanton, former pastor of St. Paul's parish, Taunton, will be observed with a memorial anniversary Mass at II a.m. Sunday. Oct. 31, at St. Paul's.

Msgr. Stanton was pastor at the Taunton parish from 1982 to 1992.

A new parish organ, a memorial gift from relatives, friends and St. Paul parisHioners will be blessed and dedicated at the Mass. A blue spruce tree, the gift of Marlene and Brian Friary, will also be blessed 'and.will be planted on the church grounds as a tribute to the beloved pastor.

Following the liturgy and tree planting, there will be a reception in the church hall to which all are welcome.

NOTICE Most regular Anchor features will not appear this week to permit publication of the entire text of "Veritatis Splendor," Pope John Paul II's new encyclical on the foundations of moral theology. ' Weare grateful to Catholic New York, newspaper of the archdiocese of New York, for permitting us to reproduce its attractive , presentation of the, encyclical. Please note that, Anchor pages are numbered AI, A2, etc., while encyclical pages are prefixed with

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WASHINGTON (CNS) - The in-vitro fertilization program at cloning of human embryos at a George Washington University, Washington hospital has drawn said the experiments would go no criticism from both the Vatican further. newspaper and the director of the But fertility researcher Dr. Jerry U.S. bishops' Secretariat for Pro- L. Hall, who actually conducted Life Activities. the experiments, said he did not The newspaper, L'Osservatore understand the furor. "We did not Romano, condemned the experi- implant these into any women; we ments as "intrinsically perverse" did not intend to implant them," and an offense to humanity. The he said. "No child has been born pro-life official, Gail Quinn, said from this procedure." human cloning "raises enormous The embryos used by Hall ethical problems." each made up of only two to eight The comments came following reports that ~cientists in the in- cells - were genetically flawed vitro fertilization program at because of having been fertilized George Washington University by more than one sperm and could Medical Center in Washington had not have developed for more than successfully split single human a few days.

But the first successful reports embryos into twins or triplets. All of human clol}ing raised a number the embryos died within six days.

"These technologies should offuturistic possibilities and serious prompt us once again' to appre- ethical questions. ciate a basic truth: the fact that it is For example, scientists suggested technically possible to do some- . that couples could use the techthing doesn't mean it ought to be nique to have one child and then, done," said Ms. Quinn. at a later date, use a cloned and The Vatican newspaper's moral frozen embryo to reproduce an theologian, Father Gino Concetti, identical twin. Others have pointed said that the procedure represents out that a twin could be cloned, if a start down "a tunnel of madness" necessary, to pr<jvide compatible which "humiliates and offends all organs for transplant - a possibilhumanity." ity the Vatican newspaper described At an Oct. 25 press conference as "abominable."

- his second in two days - Dr. The newspaper said these poRobert Stillman, who directs the tential uses were part of an approach which most people reject as "contrary to human dignity."

Genetic research and engineering have certainly provided advantages to humans, it said, but in order to remain at the service of human beings they must respect WAS H I NGTON (CNS) When U.S. Catholics of the Latin human rights.

In a 1987 document on procrearite celebrate All Saints Day this tion, the Vatican's doctrinal conNov. I. for many it will be the first time that they do so with no legal gregation s~id it was immoral to produce human embryos destined obligation to attend Mass.

The reason is a decision made to be exploited as "disposable" material for research. by the U.S. bishops in June 1992 and confirmed by the Vatican sevMs. Quinn also quoted the 1987 eral months lat~r: When Nov. I document, "Donum Vitae," which falls on a Saturday or Monday. said that "the one conceived must the feast of All Saints will be be the fruit of parents' love." observed liturgically as usual. but without an obligation to attend Mass. This year Nov. I is a Monday.

No obligation to attend'Mass this Monday

Mass at cathedral will close vigil

The obligation remains in years Bishop Sean O'Malley will be when the feast falls on other days celebrant of a Mass at 5 p.m. Sunof the week. , . day at St. Mary's Cathedral, Fall The bishops made similar deciRiver. It will mark the closing of sions for Jan. I, the feast of Mary. the Eucharistic Vigil for Life held Mother of God: and for Aug. IS, the feast of the Assumption of throughout October, Respect Life Month, at various churches of the Mary. diocese.

In 1994 there will be no Mass On display at the Mass will be a obligation on Jan. I. which falls replica of a Missionary Image of on a Saturday. or on Aug. 15, Our Lady of Guadalupe, a gift which falls on a Monday.

The bishops decided to remove from the Mex~can bishops to the the Mass obligation for observance United States. The image is a of those holy days on Mondavs replica of a 16th-century cloak on and Sat urdays for a variety of re~­ which the image of Mary appeared sons. among them the confusion . in connection with the Virgin's about Mass obligations that often request to Blessed Juan Diego, an Indian peasant, that a church be occurs when a holy day and a built on a hill outside Mexico City.

Sunday fall back to back.

When Juan Diego brought the A study paper issued last year in request to the bishop of the area, connection with the change encouraged Catholics to participate the prelate was at first unbelieving, but was convinced after the image at Mass on those days even when miraculously appeared on the peasthe obligation is removed and urged parishes to continue making those ant's cloak. days special by providing extra 11II1111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111I1I111111I1I1111 Mass.es at convenient times to THE ANCHOR (USPS-545-020). Second encourage participation.

Class Postage Paid at Fall River. Mass.

Before the bishops adopted a Published weekly except the week of July 4 single national rule for those three and the week after Christmas at 887 Highdays. practice \'aried from diocese land Avenue. Fall River. Mass. 02720 by Catholic Press of the Diocese of Fall to diocese and state to state. with the River. Subscription price by mail. postpaid bishops in some areas retaining $11.00 per year. Postmasters send address the obligation and bishops in other changes to The Anchor. P.O. Box 7. Fall River. MA 02722. areas granting an exception.

N CEA 'convention to hear Melendez

SISTER MARY NOEL BLUTE celebrates her 50th anniversary as a Sister of Mercy with Bishop O'Malley and her brother Edw<i,rd M. Blute after a Mass in Holy Trinity Church, West Harwich.'

THE A.NCHOR:-Di'ocese

of Fall River-Fri.:Oct. 29, 1993 A 3

out arms. He wore artifical arms until he was 10 years old, then disComposer, musician and author posed of them, observing, "I could Tony Melendez wiH address the' use my feet so much more."

91 st Annual Convention. ExposiMelendez 'began playing the tion and Religious Education Conguitar and harmonica and writing gress of the National Catholic his own songs during high school.

Educational Association. to be held He also became deeply involved in in Anaheim. Calif., next April4 to the Catholic Church, and "wound 7. 'up changing my life in the proOver 12,000 delegates are excess." He recorded his first album pected to attend the meeting, which in 1989, a collection of contemwill be themed "U nity in Diversity: porary Christian songs entitled, Embracing the Challenge."

"Never Be th{: Same." "Ways of the Wise" is his second album.

Melendez, 31, gained national attention as a talented guitarist The musician's autobiography, when he performed for Pope John "A Gift of H ope," published in Paul II in Los Angeles six years 1989, describe, the life of a man ago. His selection, "Never Be the who has performed across the Same,': appropriately forecast his United States and in seven foreign own career and success from that countries and made several appearpoint on as a performer and inspi- ances on national television. A rational speaker. made-for-television special, "The Due to a drug prescribed for his Tony Melendez Story" is scheduled mother during pregnancy, the to air in the near future.

Nicaragua native was born with_Duringtheir meeting, Pope John

Paul. II encouraged Melendez to "keep giving hope to all the people." The musician said that is what he tries to do, "letting people know God has a plan for us. No matter how disappointed we may be, or w;,at mistakes we've made or opportunities we've missed, and no matter how handicapped we appear. in the Body of Christ we 'have hope."

The NCEA convention and exposition are open to anyone interested in or working in Catholic education. It features general sessions arid liturgies, complemented by technology sessions and workshops dealing with many special interests. , The exposition displays educational equipment and supplies, ranging from computer hardware to textbooks and school uniforms; and an aHied convocation for religious educators will run April 6 to 9.

Siste:r Blute marks jubilee Sister Mary ~oel Blute, RSM, episcopal repre.;entative for religious, marked h{ r golden jubilee in religious life O(:t. 16 with a Mass celebrated by Bishop Sean O'Malley at Holy Trinity parish, West Harwich, when: her brother, Edward M. Blute, is a parishioner.

A Fall River native, Sister Blute grew up .in St. Patrick's parish in that city and entered the Sisters of Mercy in 1941. She earned degrees from Salve Regina University, Newport, RI, a:1d the University of Notre Dame, and she also studied at EmmanuelCollege, Boston; Catholic Univenity, Washington, DC; t.he University of Illinois and Rhode Island College.

She taught at Rhode Island elementary schools, at Salve Regina, and at Bishop Fel:han High School, Attleboro.

From 1979 to 1985 she was provincial superior of the Mercy province of Providence and was then named episcopal representative for religious by then- Fall River Bishop Daniel A. Croni:1.

A third-generation member of her family to be II Sister of Mercy, Sister Blute follows in the foot-

steps of a great aunt and her aunt Sister Vincent Ferrer Cox, also a Feehan staff member for a time, who died in April 1992.

Also a relative was the late Dr. John C. Corrigan, for whom Corrigan Mental Health Center in Fall River was named.

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"T~ Little, Too Late" Natural Family Planning _ Hope Howe Semmar.J Held in the Education Classroom. The Nov. l7, 4:30-6:30 p.m. Held in'the Sympto-Thermal Method of Natural Education Classroom. This film deals with Family Planning is a four session course. how AIDS affects the lives of famijy The first session is free. Materials will cost members and friends. Free and open to the $40. Contact the Education Department at public. Contact Toby Shea at 674-5600, 674-5600, ext. 2480. ext. 2270.

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Smoking Cessation Program Held in the Education Classroom. Contact Beder Health Associates at (617) 3271500. Cost is $70.

Footsteps: Together We Walk.

Nov. 2, 16 & 30, 3:00-4:30 p.m. This is a spiritual support group for people experiencing cancer. Free and open to the public. Contact Sister Linda Lambert at 674-5600, ext. 2060.

STOP- Smoking Termination Program Tuesdays, Nov. 4 through Dec. 5, 7:00 to 9:00 p.m... at Saint Anne's Hospital. Preregistration is recommended. Call the Human Resources Department at 674-5600. ext. 401. Cost varies.

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Nutrition For Seniors - Adding Years to Your Life Nov. 18, 5:00-7:00 p.m. Held in the Education Classroom. This program is offered for health care professionals and others interested in the special nutritional needs of elderly people. Presented by Ann Marie Chalmers, R.D., nutrition education specialist, New England Dairy and Food Council. Pre-registration i.s requested.

CEUs are available. Contact the Education Department at 674-5600, ext. 2480.

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THE ANCHOR-Diocese of Fall River-Fri., Oct. 29, 1993

Youth convention Continued from Page One Magda Cardoso and Pauline Macedo, St. John the Baptist, New Bedford; Dan Poisson, St. George, Westport; Matt Poisson, St. Ann, Raynham; Deb Maurer, St. Elizabeth Seton, North Falmouth; Joan Cuttle, St. Thomas More, Somerset; Armand Brunelle, St. Mark, Attleboro Falls; Father Jim Medeiros, Holy Name, Fall Rive'r; Frank Lucca, St. Dominic, Swansea; and Father Tom Frechette, Holy Trinity, West Harwich.

Youth masters of ceremonies for the day are Erin Duarte, Our Lady of the Assumption, New Bedford; Mary Beth Rausch, St. Patrick, Somerset; and Andy Smith, St. Julie Billiart, North Dartmouth.

Closing the event will be a youth dance featuring "Rock-the-House" D.J. Service and D.J. Dan Coons of S1. John Neumann, East Freetown.

Each parish has received registration forms and information.

Registrants may opt for a plan including dinner, or may bring a brown bag meal. Registration deadline is November 5. For more information, contact the Office for Youth Ministry at 6766503.

Good Reading "I think of life as a good book.

The further you get into it, the more it begins to make sense."Harold S. Kushner

MANY PILGRIMS

ONE FAMILYOF GOD RATIORAL IIIG1lATlOII WEEK mOCESAII OBSERV'AlICE

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Welcoming foreigners is sign of faith Continued from Page One Archbishop Aloysius Ambrozic of Toronto and Bishop James Hickey of Perth, Australia, outlined the history of immigration to their nations since World War II and the part immigration has played in development of their .cultures.

The archbishop said that parishes, because they have a clearly defined yet flexible organization, seem the best structures for meeting the needs of immigrants.

While Australians are still dealing with their "tragic" impact on the aboriginal peoples, Bishop Hickey said, for the most part "ethnic groups have learned· to combine together and form, over a very brief period of time, as close to a truly multicultural society as one could find."

Bishop Hickey said that does not mean that racism does not exist in Australia or that migrants have an easy time settling in, "but it does mean that unity, not uniformity, is a constant aspiration."

Auxiliary Bishop Raymundo Damascerio Assis of Brasilia, chairman of the Latin American bishops' committee on migration, said bishops must address the con-

ditions forcing people to become refugees.

"Our primary action is not to combat poverty, but beginning with poverty and need, to combat the causes which bring about pov~ erty, injustice and the loss of the fundamental rights of man," he said.

Evangelization is the church's first task among migrants and refugees, but that includes protecting of human dignity and promoting human rights, the bishop emphasized.

Mobile Society The pope said mobility so marks modern life that for many people it has become almost a daily experience.

"War, hunger, underdevelopment, the lack of work and violations of human rights unfortunately force tens of millions of people to abandon their homes and face a painful and sometimes tragic exile."

The church's social teaching, the pope said, supports the dignity and rights of all people on the ,move and demands that adequate solutions be found for the suffering that forces people to flee their homes. It also demands that gov-

ernments protect and care for foreigners in their nations.

"Human dignity is humiliated by the presence of refugee camps, recurring episodes of xenophobia targeting refugees and a lack of solidarity [with] nomadic peoples," he said.

Charismatics urged to foster vocations CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy (CNS) - PQpe John Paul II recently asked Catholic Charismatic Renewal leaders to foster vocations to the 'priesthood and religious life among members.

"The prayerful response of your members and associates to this grace will be a further, explicit sign of the renewal's sharing in the life and mission of the church, the visible body of Chust," the pope said.

About 1,000 participants in the first international retreat for charismatic leaders met the pope at Castel Gandolfo, the papal residence south of Rome.

Pope John Paul asked the retreatants to follow the examples of St. Francis and St. Clare in making their own the words of St. Paul: "It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me."

Bishop establishes AIDS Ministry P, Blottman, pastor of St. Peter Thomas J. Harrington, pastor of the Apostle parish, Provincetown; , S1. Joseph's parish; Taunton; Father Marcel H. Bouchard, pas- Father James Krupa, SJ, Bishop tor of Sacred Heart parish, North Connolly High School, Fall River.

Attleboro.

Father Michael K. McManus, Father Edward J. Burns, pas- diocesan vice-chancellor; Msgr. t'or, S1. Mark's parish, Attleboro John J. Oliveira, diocesan chanFalls; Father Robert A. Charlton, cellor; and Father Horace J. TraSS.Ce., in residence at Our Lady vassos, rector of S1. Mary's Caof the Assumption parish, New thedral, Fall River and director of Bedford; Father Joseph M. Costa, the Diocesan Office of Family director of S1. Vincent's Home, Ministry.

Fall River.

Sister Joanna Fernandes, OP, chairman of the board of directors of St. Anne's Hospital, Fall River; Continued from· Page One .

Father Edmund J. Fitzgerald, pasproduced canon law recommentor, St. John the Baptist parish, Westport, and director of Dioce- dations that w.ere viewed positively san Health Facilities; Father Daniel by the U.S. hierarchy. Archbishop 1991.

Keeler said those conclusions have L. Freitas, pastor, S1. John of God Committee Members parish, Somerset, and director of now been taken up by the bishops' Members of the Diocesan HIV I conference. the Catholic Charities Appeal.

AIDS Advisory Committee are: "Our Committee on Canonical Father Peter N. Graziano, newFather George e. Bellenoit, .Affairs has been working on details. ly-named pastor of S1. Mary's parpastor of S1. Patrick's parish, We're hopeful that very soon we'll ish, Mansfield, and former direc'Somerset, and director of ·the tor of the Diocesan Department of be able as a conference of bishops Diocesan Department of Pastoral to look at these details and also Catholic Social Services; Msgr.

Care for the Sick: Father William present them to the authorities here [at the Vatican]''' he said.

The work of the V .S. episcopate is a "direct-line continuation" of the work of the V .S.-Vatican commission, Archbishop Keeler said.

"They gave us some possibilities, and now, in terms of technical language and detailed procedures, our canonical affairs committee October· 25th, 1993 has been working with those possibilities," he said. He said that after V .S. bishops look at the plan, Dear Children: it would be brought back to the These years I have been calling you to pray, to live what I. Vatican for review. am telling you, but you are living my messages a little. You talk InJune, Archbishop Keeler said the V.S.-Vatican commission had but do not live, that is why, dear little Children, this war is offered help on two specific issues: lasting so long. I invite you to open yourselves to God and to - Differing statutes of limitalive with God in your hearts,living the good and giving witness tions between church law and civil to my messages. I love you and wish to protect you from every law on sex abuse crimes. evil, but you do not desire it. Dear Children, I cannot help you - Differing definitions of a if you do not live God's commandments, if you do not live the minor in cases of sexual molestaMass, if you do not abandon sin. I invite you to become tion. In such cases, a minor is Apostles of love and goodness. In this world without peace, defined by church law as someone give witness to God and God's love and God will bless you and under the age of 16, while in most give you what you seek of Him. Thank you for having U.S. states the age is 18. responded to my call!

The U.S.-Vatican commission's Continued from Page One in India and Australia and been a chaplain and retreat director in the V nited States.

In the Virgin Islands, shefounded and directed three Bethlehem House shelters for the homeless, oversaw diocesan Catholic Social Services and four schools, was episcopal liaison for women's religious orders and a consultant to various social service agencie's.

Among awards she has received are the Outstanding Social Work Alumnus Award from the V niversity of Kansas in 1992, the White House Distinguished Teacher Award in 1986, and the White House "Point of Light" recognition in

Canon law

Our Lady's Monthly Message From Medjugorje

OUR LADY QUEEN OF PEACE PRAYER GROUP ST. DOMINIC CHURCH. SWANSEA, MA EVERY WEDNESDAY. 7 P.M.

recommendations also considered creation of specialized church tribunals handle sex abuse cases.

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October 29, 1993

'The Splendor of Truth'

'In the light of revl91ation and of the Church's constant teaching, especial/y...the S~gcond Vatican Council, I have briefly recalled the essential characteristics of freedom as weI/ as the fundamental values connected with the dignity of the person and the truth of his acts...'

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Pope John 'Paul II places .morality in context of human freedorn, dignity Here is the Vatican text of Pope John Paul I/'s encyclicallett€'r, "Veritatis Splendor" ("The Splendor of Truth'J. It was released at the Vatican Oct. 5.

Venerable brothers in the episcopate, Health and the apostolic blessing!

The splendor of truth shines forth in all the works of the Creator and in a special way in man, created in the image and likeness of God (d. Gn 1: 26). Truth enlightens man's intelligence and shapes his fre:!dom, leading him to know and love the Lord. Hence the psalmist prays: "Let the light of your face shine on us, 0 Lord" (Ps 4: 6) .

Irltroduction Jesus Chdst, the True Light That Enlightens Everyone

1• Christ, Called to salvation through faith in Jesus "the true light that enlightens everyone" (In 1: 9), people become "light in the Lord" . and "children of light" (Eph 5: 8), and are made holy by "obedience to the truth" (1 Pt 1: 22) .

This obedience is not always easy. As a result of that mysterious original sin, committed at the prompting of Satan, the one who is "a liar and the father of lies" (In 8: 44), man is constantly tempted to turn his gaze away from the living and true God in orde'r to direct it toward idols (cf. 1 Thes 1: 9), exchanging "the truth about God for a lie" (Rom 1: 25). Man's capacity to know the truth is also darkened, and his will to submit to it is weakened. Thus, giving himself over to relativism and skepticism (cf. Jn 18: 38), he goes off in search of an illusory freedom apart from truth itself.

But no darkness of error or of sin can totally take away from man the light of God the Creator.

In the depths or his heart there always remains a yearning for absolute truth and a thirst to attain

full knowledge of it. This is eloquently proved by man's tireless search for knowledge in all fields.

It is proved even more by his search for the meaning of life. The development of science and technology, this splendid testimony of the human capacity for understanding and for perseverance, does not free humanity from the obligation to ask the ultimate religious questions. Rather, it spurs us on to face the most painful and decisive of struggles, those of the heart and of the moral conscience.

offers to everyone the answer which comes from the truth about Jesus Christ and His Gospel. The Church remains deeply conscious of her "duty in every age of examining the' signs of the times and interpreting them in the light of the Gospel, so that she can offer in a manner appropriate to each generation replies to the continual human questionings on the meaning of this life and the life to come and on how they are related." (4)

No one can escape from the fundamental 2• questions: What must I do? How do I distin-

ful in this effort; they guide and accompany them by their authoritative teaching, finc:ing ever new ways of speaking with love and mercy not only to believers but to all people of good will. The Second Vatican Council remains an extraordinary witness of this attitude on the part of the Church, which as an "expert in humanity," (5) places herself at the service of every individual and of the whole world. (6) The Church knows that the issue of morality is one which deeply touches every person; it involves all people, even those who do not know Christ and His Gospel or God Himself. She knows that-4t is precisely on the path of the moral life that the way of salvation is open to all. The Second Vatican Council clearly recalled this when it stated that "those who without any fault do not know anything about Christ or His Church, yet who search for God with a sincere heart and under the influence of grace, try to put into effect the will of God as known to them through the dictate of eonscience...can obtain eternd salvation."

The council added: "Nor does divine providence deny the helps that are necessary for salvation to those who, through no fault of their own have not yet attained to the expresB recognition of God, yet who strive, not without divine grace, to lead an upright life. For whatev,er goodness and truth is found in them is considered by the Church as a preparation for the Gospel and bestowed by him who enlightens everyone that they may in the end have life." (7)

guish good from evil? The answer is onlypossible thanks to the splendor of the truth which shines forth deep within the human spirit, as the psalmist bears witness: "There are many who say: '0 that we might see some good! Let the light of your face shine on us, 0 Lord'" (Ps 4: 6) .

The light of God's face shines in all its beauty on the countenance of Jesus Christ, "the image of the invisible God" (ColI: 15), the "reflection of God's glory" (Heb 1: 3), "full of grace and truth" (In 1: 14). Christ is "the way and the truth and the life" (In 14: 6) . Consequently the decisive answer to everyone of man's questions, his religious and moral questions in particular, is given by Jesus Christ, or rather is Jesus Christ Himself, as the Second Vatican Council recalls: "In fact, it is only in the mystery of the Word incarnate that light is shed on the mystery of man. For Adam, the first man, was a figure of the future man, namely, of Christ the Lord. It is Christ, the last Adam, who fully discloses man to Himself and unfolds His noble calling by revealing the mystery of the Father and the Father's love." (1) Jesus Christ, the "light of the nations," shines upon the face of His Church, which He sends forth to the whole world to proclaim the Gospel to every creature (cf. Mk 16: 15). (2) Hence the Church, as the people of God among the nations, (3) while attentive to the new challenges of history and to mankind's efforts to discov~r the meaning of life,

Church's pastors, in communion with 3• The the successor of Peter, are close to the faith-

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The Anchor

October 29, 1993

. 'Veritatis Splendor'

Purpose of the Present Encyclical At all times, but particularly In the last two 4 . • centuries, the popes, whether individually or together with the college of bishops, have developed and proposed a moral teaching regarding the many different spheres of human life. In Christ's name and with His autnority they have exhorted, passed judgment and explained. In their efforts on behalf of humanity, in fidelity to their mission, they have confirmed, supported and consoled. With the guarantee of assistance from the Spirit of truth they have contributed to a better understanding of moral demands in the areas of human sexuality) the family, and social, economic and political life. In the tradition of the Church and in the history of humanity, their teaching represents a constant deepening of knowledge with regard to morality. (8) Today, however, it seems necessary to reflect on the whole of the Church's moral teaching, with the precise goal of recalling certain fundamental truths of Catholic doctrine which, in the present circumstances, risk being distorted or denied. In fact, a new situation has come about within the Christian community itself, which has experienced the spread of numerous doubts and objections of a human and psychological, social and cultural, religious and even properly theological nature, with regard to the Church's moral teachings. It is no longer a matter of limited and occasional dissent, but of an overall and systematic calling into question of traditional moral doctrine on the basis of certain anthropological and ethical presuppositions. At the root of these presuppositions is the more or less obvious influence of currents of thought which end by detaching human freedom from its essential and constitutive relationship to truth. Thus the traditional doctrine regarding the natural law, and the-universality and the permanent validity of its precepts, is rejected; ce~tain of the ChurCh'S moral teachings are found simply unacceptable; and the magisterium itself is considered capable of interveIling in matters of morality only in order to "exhort consciences" ~nd to "propose values," in· the light of which each indivigual will independently make his or her decisions and life choices. .

In particular, note should be taken of the lack of harmony between the traditional response of the Church and certain theological positions encountered even in seminaries and in faculties of theology with regard to questions of the greatest importance for the Church and for the. life of faith of Christians as well as for the life of society itself.

In particular, the question is asked: Do the commandments of God: which are written on the human heart and are part of the covenant, really have the capacity to clarify the daily decisions of individuals and entire societies? Is it possible to obey God and thus love God and neighbor without respecting these commandments in all circumstances? Also, an opinion is frequently heard which questions the intrinsic and unbreakable bond between faith and morality, as if membership in the Church and her internal unity were to be decided on the basis of faith alone, while in. the sphere of morality a pluralism of opinions and of kinds of behavior could be tolerated, these being left to the judgment of the individual subjective conscience or to the diversity of social and cultural contexts.

Given these circumstances, which still exist, 5 • I came to the decision-as I announced- in my apostolic letter "Spiritus Domini," issued on Aug. 1, 1987, on the second centenary of the death of St. Alphonsus Maria de' Liguori-to write an encyclical with the aim of treating "more fully and more deeply the issues regarding the very foundations of moral theology," (9) foundations which are. being undermined by certain presentday tendencies.

I address myself to you, venerable brothers in

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the episcopate, who share with me the responsibility of safeguarding "sound teaching" (2 Tm 4: 3), with the intention of clearly setting forth certain aspects of doctrine which are of crucial importance in facing what is certainly a genuine crisis, since the difficulties which it engenders have most serious implications for the inorallife of the faithful and for communion in the Church as well as for a just and fraternal social life.

If this encyclical, so long awaited, is being published only now, one of the reasons is that it seemed fitting for it to be preceded by the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which contains a complete and systematic exposition of Christian moral teaching. The catechism presents the moral life of believers in its fundamental elements and in its many aspects as the life of the "children of God": "Recognizing in the faith their new dignity, Christians are called to lead henceforth a life 'worthy of the Gospel of Christ' (Phil 1: 27). Through the sacraments and prayer they receive the grace of Christ and the gifts of His Spirit which make them capable of such a life." (10) Consequently, while referring back to the catechism "as a sure and authentic reference text for teaching Catholic doctrine," (11) the encyclical will limit to dealing with certain funda.mental questions regarding the Church's moral teaching, taking the form of a necessary discernment about issues being debated by ethicists and moral theologians. The specific purpose of the present encyclical is this: to set forth, with regard to the problems being discussed, the principles of a moral teaching based upon sacred Scripture and the living apostolic tradition, (12) and at the same time to shed light on the presuppositions and consequences of the dissent which that teachinghas met.

~~apterl 'Teacher, What· Good Must·/ Do?' (Mt.l9:16)

Christ and the Answer To the Questio~ About Morality 'Someone came to him" (Mt 19:16) The dialogue of Jesus with the rich young .

• man, related in the 19th chapter of St. Matthew's Gospel, can serve as a useful guide for listening once more in a lively and direct way to His moral teaching: "Then someone came to him an<;l said; 'Teacher, what. good must I do to have eternal life?' And he said to him, 'Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If yo~ wish to enter into life, keep the C9mmandments.' He said to him, 'Which ones?' And Jesus said, 'You shall not murder; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; honor your father and mother; also you shall love your neighbor as yourself.' The young man said to him, 'I have kept all these; what do I still lack?' Jesus said to him, 'If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me' " (Mt 19: 16- 21) . (13)

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"Then someone came to him." In the young • man, whom Matthew's Gospel does not 7 name, we can recognize every person who, consciously or not, approaches Christ the Redeemer of man and questions Him about morality. For the young man, the.question is not so much about rules to be followed, but about the full meaning of life. This is in fact the aspiration at the heart of every human decision and action, the quiet searching and interior prompting which sets

freedom in motion. This question is ultimately an appeal to the absolute good which attracts us and beckons us; it is the echo of a call from God, who is the origin and goal of man's life. Precisely in this perspective the Second Vatican Council called for a renewal of moral theology so that its teaching would display the lofty vocation which the faithful have received in Christ, (14) the only response fully capable of satisfying the desire of the human heart.

In order to make this "encounter" with Christ possible, God willed His Church. Indeed, the Church "wishes to serve this single end: that each person may be able to find Christ, in order that Christ may walk with each person the path of life." (15)

'Teacher, what good must I do to have eternal life?'

(Mt 19:16).

The question which the rich young man puts • to Jesus of Nazareth is one which rises from the depths of his heart. It is an essential and unavoidable question for the life of every man, for it is about the moral good which must be done and about eternal life. The young man senses that there is a connection between moral good and the fulfillment of his own destiny. He is a devout Israelite, raised as it were in the shadow of the law of the Lord. If he asks Jesus this question, we can presume that it is not because he is ignorant of the answer contained in the law. It is more likely that the attractiveness of the person of Jesus had prompted within him new questions about moral good. He feels the need to draw near to the one who had begun His preaching with this new and decisive proclamation: "The time is fulfilled, and -the kingdom of God is at hand; repent,' and be. , lieve iIi the Gospel" (Mk 1: 15): :" _ . People today need to turn to Christ once agairi . in order to receive from Him the answer to their questions about what is good and what is evil.

Christ is the teacher, the risen one who has life in Himself and who is always present in His Church and in the world. It is He who opens up to the faithful the book of the Scriptures and, by fully revealing the .Father's will, teaches the truth about moral action. At the source and summit of the economy· of salvation as the Alpha and the Omega of human history (cf. Rv 1: 8; -21: 6: 22: 13), Christ sheds light on man's condition and his integral vocation;' Consequently, "the man who wishes to understand himself thoroughly-not justin accordance with immediate, partial, often superficial and even illusory standards and measures of ,his being~must with his unrest, uncertainty and even his weakness and sinfulness, with his life and death, draw near to Christ. He must; so to speak, enter him with all his own self; he . must 'appropriate' and assimilate the whole of the reality of the incarnation and redemption in order to find himself. If this profound process takes place within him, he then bears fruit not only of adoration of God but also of deeper wonder at himself." (16) , If we therefore wish to go to the heart of the Gospel's moral teaching and grasp its profound and unchanging content, we must carefully inquire into the meaning of the question asked by the rich young man in the Gospel and, even more, the meaning of Jesus' reply, allowing ourselves to be guided by Him. Jesus, as a patient and sensitive teacher, answers the young man by taking him, as it were, by the hand and leading him step by step to the full truth.

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October 29, 1993

'The Splendor of Truth' 'TJ:tere is only one who is good' , (Mt 19:17) says: "Why do you ask me about what 9• isJesus good? There is only one who is good. If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments" (Mt 19: 1'7). In the versions of the evangelists Mark and Luke the question is phrased in this way: "W':ly do you call me good? No one is good but God alone" (Mk 10: 18; cf. Lk 18: 19) .

Before answering the question, Jesus wishes the young man to have a clear idea of why he asked his question. The good teacher points out to him-"anc, to all of us-that the answer to the question, "Wtat good must I do to have eternal life?" can only he found by turning one's mind and heart to the .onll who is good: "No one is good but God alone" (l\lk 10: 18; cf. Lk 18: 19) . Only God can answer the ,~uestion about what is good, because He is the good itself.

To ask about the good, in fact, ultimately means to turn toward God, the fullness of goodness.

Jesus shc,ws that the young man's question is really a religious question and that the goodness that attracts and at the same time obliges man has its source in God, and indeed is God Himself.

God alonll is worthy of being loved "with all one's heart and with all one's soul and with all one's mind" (l\U 22: 37). He is the source of man's happiness. J,~sus brings the question about morally good action back to its religious foundations, to the acknowledgment of God, who alone is goodness, fullness of life, the final end of human activity and p€,rfect happiness.

Tt.e Church, instructed by the Teacher's 10 . • w(lrds, believes that man, made in the image of the Creator, redeemed by the blood of Christ and made holy by the presence of the Holy Spirit, ha s as the ultimate purpose of his life to live "for the praise of God's glory" (cf. Eph 1: 12) , striving to make each of his actions reflect the splendor of that glory. "Know, then, 0 beautiful soul, that you are the image of God," writes St. Ambrose. "Know that you are the glory of God (1 Cor 11: 71 • Hear how you are his glory. The prophet I:ays:' Your knowledge has become too wonderful for me (cf. Ps 138: 6, Vulgate). That is to say, i:.1 my work your majesty has become more wonderful; in counsels of men your wisdom is exalted. When I consider myself, such as I am known to you in my secret thoughts and deepest emotions the mysteries of your knowledge are disclosed to me. Know then, 0 man, your greatness, and be vigilant." (17) What nan is and what he must do becomes clear as Boon as God reveals Himself. The Decalogue is based on these words: "I am the Lord your Goel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, Ollt of the house of bondage" (Ex 20: 2-3) .

In the" 10 words" of the covenant with Israel and in the whole law, God makes Himself known and acknowledged as the one who "alone is good"; the one who despite man's sin remains the "model" for moral action, in accordance with His command "Yoil shall be holy; for I the Lord your God am,holy" (Lv 19: 2); as the one who, faithful to His love for man, gives him His law (cf. Ex 19: 9-24 and 20: 18-21) in order to restore man's original C1nd peaceful ha.rmony with the Creator and with all creation, and, what is more, 'to draw him into ::fis divine love: "I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people" (Lv 26: 121. .

The mClral life presents itself as the response due to the many gratuitous initiatives taken by God out clf love for man. It is a response of love, according to the statement made in Deuteronomy about the fundamental commandment: "Hear, 0 Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord; and you shalllov€ the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.

And these words which I command you this day shall be upon your heart; and you shall teach them dili!~ently to your children" (Dt 6: 4-7). Thus the moral life, caught up in the gratuito).lsness of God's love, is called to reflect His glory: "For the

THE TEACHER-"The Church, instructed by the Teacher's words," writes Pope John Paul II, "believes that man...has the ultimate purpose of his life to Iiv~ for the praise of God's glory." Leonardo da Vinci's painting, "Christ Among the Doctors," portrays Jesus teaching in the temple.

one who loves God. it is enough to be pleasing to the one whom he loves: for no greater reward should be sought than that love itself; charity in fact is of God in such a way that God himself is charity." (18) statement "there is only 'Yho • is good" thus brmgs us back to the fIrst 11 tablet" of the commandments, which calls us to Th~

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acknowledge God as the one Lord of all and to worship Him alone for His infinite holiness (cf.

Ex 20: 2-11 ). The good is belonging to God, obeying him, walking humbly with Him in doing justice and in loving kindness (d. Mi 6: 8). Acknowledging the Lord as God is the very core, the heart of the law, from which the particular precepts flow and toward which they are ordered. In the morality of the commandments the fact that the people of Israel belongs to the Lord is made evident, because God alone is the one who is good.

Such is the witness of sacred Scripture, imbued in every one of its pages with a lively perception of God's absolute holiness: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts" (Is 6: 3) .

But if God alone is the good, no human effort, not even the most rigorous observance of the commandments, succeeds in "fulfilling" the law, that is, acknowledging the Lord as God and rendering Him the worship due to Him alone (cf. Mt 4: 10). This "fulfillment" can come only from a gift of God: the offer of a share in the divine goodness revealed and communicated in Jesus, the one whom the rich young man addresses with the words "good teacher" (Mk 10: 17; Lk 18: 18). What the young man now perhaps only'dimly perceives will in the end be fully revealed by Jesus Himself in the invitation: "Come, follow me" (Mt 19: 21) .

'If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments' (Mt 19:17).

Only God can answer the question about 12 • the good, because He is the good. But God has already given an answer to this question: He did so by creating man and ordering him with wisdom and love to his final end, through the law which is inscribed in his heart (cf. Rom 2: 15), the "natural law." The latter "is nothing other than the light of understanding infused in us by God, whereby we understand what must be done and

what must be avoided, God gave this light and this law to man at creation." (19) He also did ~o in the history of Israel, particularly in the "10, . words," the commandments of Sinai, whereby He bJiOught into existence the people of the covenant (d. Ex 24) and called them to be His "own possession among all peoples," "a holy. nation" (Ex 19: 56) , which would radiate His holiness to all peoples (d. Wis 18: 4; Ez 20: 41). The gift of the Decalogue was a promise and sign of the new covenant, in which the law would be -written in a new and definitive way upon the human heart (cf. Jer 31: 3134), replacing the law of sin which had disfigured that heart (d.•Ier 17: 1). In those days "a new heart" would be given, for in it would dwell "a new spirit," the Spirit of God (cf. Ez 36: 242H). (20)

Consequently, after making the important clarification '~there is only one who is good," Jesus ·tells the young man, "If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments" (Mt 19: 17). In this way, a close connection is made between eternal liIe and obedience to God's commandments: 'God's commandments show man the path of life, and they lead to it. From the very lips of Jesus, the new Moses, man is once again given the commandments of the Decalogue. Jesus Himself de·finitively confirms them an~ proposes them to us as the way and condition of 'salvation. The commandments are linked to a promise. In the old covenant the object of the promise was the possession of a land where the people would be able to live in freedom and in accordance with righteousness (cf. Dt 6: 20-25) . In the new covenant the object of the promise is the "kingdom of heaven," as Jesus declares at the beginning of the' 'Sermon on the Mount" ...a sermon which contains the fullest and most complete formulation of the new law (cf. Mt 5-7), clearly linked to the Decalogue entrusted by God to Moses on :.vIount Sinai. This' same reality of the kingdom is referred to i!1 the expression "eternal life," which is a participation in the very· life of God. It is attained in its perfection only after death, but in faith it is even now a light of truth, a source of meaning for life, an i!1choate share in the full following of Christ. Indeed, Jesus says to His disciples after speaking to the rich young man: "Everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold and inherit eternal life" (Mt HI:29).

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October 29. 1993

'Veritatis Splendor'

13 • Jesus' answer is not enough for the young man, who continues by asking the teacher

understanding the commandment of love of neighbor (cf. Lk 10: 30-37).

These two commandments, on which "depend all the law and the prophets" (Mt 22: 40) , are profoundly connected and mutually related. Their inseparable unity is attested to by Christ in His words and by His very life: His mission culminates in the cross of our redemption (cf. Jn 3: 1415), the sign of His indivisible love for the Father and for humanity (cf. Jn 13: 1).

Both the Old and the New Testaments explicitly affirm that without love of neighbor, made concrete in keeping the commandments, genuine love for God is not possible. St. John makes the point with extraordinary forcefulness: "If anyone says, 'I love God' and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen" .

(1 Jn 4: 20). The evangelist echoes the moral preaching of Christ, expressed in a wonderful and unambiguous way in the parable of the gooct Samaritan (cf. Lk 10: 30-37) and in his words about the final judgment (cf. Mt 2,5: 31-46).

about the commandments which must be kept: "He said to him, 'Which ones?'" (Mt 19: 18). He asks what he must do in life in order to show that he acknowledges God's holiness. After directing the young man's gaze toward God, Jesus reminds him Of the commandments of the Decalogue regarding one's neighbor: "Jesus said: 'You shall not murder; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not bear false witness; honor your father and mother; also, you shall love your neighbor as yourself'" (Mt 19: 18-19).

From the context of the conversation, and especially from a comparison of Matthew's text with the parallel passages in Mark and Luke, it is clear that Jesus does not intend to list each and every one of the commandments required in order to "enter into life," but rather wishes to draw the young man's attention to the "centrality" of the Decalogue with regard to every other precept, inasmuch as it is the interpretation of what the words "I am the Lord your God~' mean for man.

Nevertheless we cannot fail to notice which commandments of the law the Lord recalls to the In the Sermon on the Mount, the Magna young man. They are some Of the command• Carta of Gospel morality, (24) Jesus says: ments belonging to the so-called "second tablet" "Do not think that I have come to abolish the law of the Decalogue, the summary (cf. Rom 13: 8-10) and the prophets; I have come not to abolish them and foundation of which .is the commandment of but to fulfill them" (Mt 5: 17). Christ is the key to love of neighbor: "You shall love your neighbor the Scriptures: "You _s~arch the Scriptures...; as yourself" (Mt 19: 19; cf. Mk 12: 31) . In this comand it is they that bear witness to me" (In 5: 39) . mandment we find a precise expression of the sinChrist is the center of the. economy of salvation, gular dignity of the hu~an person, "the only the recapitulation of the Old and New Testacreature that God has wanted' for' its own ments, of the promises of the law and of their fulsake." (21) The different commandments of 'the fillment in the Gospel; He is the living and eternal Decalogue are really only so many reflections of link between the old and the new covenants. Comthe one commandment about the good of the permenting on Paul's statement that "Christ is the son, at the level of the many different goodswhich end of the law" (Rom 10: 4), St. Ambrose writes: characterize his identity as a spiritual and bodily "end not in the sense of a deficiency, but in the being in relationship with God, with his neighbor sense of the fullness of the law: a fullness which is and with the material world-. As we read in the achieved in Christ ("plenitudo legis .in Christo Catechism of the Catholic Church, "the Ten Comest"), since He came hot to abolish the law but to mandments are part of God's revelation. At the bring it to fulfillment. In the same way that there same time, they teach us man's true humanity.

They shed light on the essential duties, and so in- , is an Old Testament, but all truth is in the New Testament, so it is for the law: What was given directly on the fundamental rights inherent in the through Moses is a figure of the true law. Therenature of the human person." (22) fore, the Mosaic law is an image of the truth." (25) The commandments of which Jesus reminds Jesus brings God's commandments to fulfillthe young man are meant to safeguard the good ment, particularly the commandment of love of of the person, the image of God, by protecting his . neighbor, by interiorizing their demands and by goods. "You shall not murder; you shall not combringing out their fullest meaning. Love of neighmit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bor springs from a loving heart which, precisely bear false witness" are moral rules formulated in because it loves, is ready to live out the loftiest terms of prohibitions. These negative precepts challenges. Jesus shows that the commandments express with particular force the ever urgent must not be understood as a minimum limit not to need to protect human life, the communion of perbe gone beyond, but rather as a path involving a sons in marriage, private property, truthfulness moral and spiritual journey toward pedection, at and people's good name. the heart of which is love (cf. Col 3: 14). Thus the The commandments thus represent the basic . commandment "you shall not murder" becomes condition for love of neighbor; at the same time a call to an attentive love which protects and prothey are the proof of that love. They are the first motes the life of one's neighbor. The precept pro~ necessary step on the journe~ toward freedom, its hibiting adultery becomes an invitation to a pure starting point. "The beginning of freedom," St. way of looking at others, capable of respecting Augustine writes, "is to be free from the spousal meaning of the body: "You have crimes...such as murder, adultery, fornication, heard that it was said to the men of old 'You shall theft, fraud, sacrilege and so forth. When once not kill; and whoever kills shall be liable to judgone is without these crimes (and every Christian ment.'

But I say to you that everyone who is anshould be without them), one begins to lift up gry with his brother shall be liable to one's head toward freedom. But this is only the judgment...You have heard that it was said 'You beginning of freedom, not perfect freedom." shall not commit adultery.' But I say to YO~ that everyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart" This certainly does not mean that Christ (Mt 5: 21-22, 27-28). Jesus Himself is the living • wishes to put the love of neighbor higher "fulfillment" of the law inasmuch asHe fulfills its than or even to set it apart from the love of God. authentic meaning by the total gift of Himself: He This is evident from His conversation with the Himself becomes a living and personal law, who teacher of the law, who asked Him a question invites people to follow Him; through the Spirit, very much like the one asked by the young man.

He gives the grace to share His own life and love Jesus refers him to the two commandments of and provides the strength to bear witness to that love 'of God and love of neighbor (cf. Lk 10: 25-27), love in personal choices and actions (cf. Jn 13: 34and reminds him that only by observing them will 35) . he have eternal life: "Do this, and you will live" .

(Lk 10: 28). Nonetheless, it is significant that it is precisely the second of these commandments which arouses the curiosity of the teacher of the law, who asks Him: "And who is my neighbor?"

(Lk 10: 29). The teacher replies with the parable of the good Samaritan, which is critical for fully

'15

14

'If you wish to be perfect' ,

(Mt 19:21)

The answer he receives .about the com-

• mandments does not satisfy the young 16 man, who asks Jesus a further question. "I have

kept all these; what do I still lack?" (Mt 19: 20). It is not easy to say with a clear conscience, "I have kept all these," if one has any understanding of the real meaning of the demands contained in God's law. And yet, even though he is able to make this reply, even though he has followed the moral ideal seriously and generously from childhood, the rich young man knows that he is still far from the goal: Before the person of Jesus he realizes that he is still lacking something. It is his awareness of this insufficiency that Jesus addresses in His final answer. Conscious of the young man's yearning for something greater, which would transcend a legalistic interpretation of the commandments, the good teacher invites him to enter upon the path of perfection: "If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me" (Mt 19:21) .

Like the earlier part of Jesus' answer, this part too must be, read and interpreted in the context of the whole moral message of the Gospel and in particular in the context' of the Sermon on the Mount, the Beatitudes (cf. Mt 5: 3-12), the first of which is precisely the beatitude of the poor, the "poor in spirit" as St. Matthew.makes clear (Mt 5: 3), the humble: In this sense it can be said that the Beatitudes are also relevant to the answer given by Jesus to the young man's question: "What good must I do to have eternal life?" Indeed, each of the Beatitudes promises from a particularviewpoint that very "good" which opens man up to eternal life and indeed is eternal life.

The Beatitudes are not specifically concerned with certain particular rules of behavior. Rather, they speak of basic attitudes and dispositions in life, and therefore they do not coincide exactly with the commandments. On the other hand, there is no separation or opposition between the Beatitudes and the commandments: Both refer to the good, to eternal life. The Sermon on the Mount begins with the proclamation of the Beatitudes, but also refers to the commandments (cf. Mt 5: 2048). At'the same time, the Sermon on the Mount "demonstrates the openness of the commandments and their orientation toward the horizon of the perfection proper to the Beatitudes. These latter are above all promises, from which there also indirectly flow'· normative indications for the moral life. In their originality and profundity they , are a sort of self-portrait of Christ and for this very reason are invitations to discipleship and to communion of life with Christ. (26)

17 • inWethedo Gospel not know'how clearly the young man understood the profound and challenging import of Jesus' first reply: "If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments."

But it is certain that the young man's commitment to respect all the moral demands' of the commandments represents the absolutely essential ground in which the desire for perfection can take root and mature, the' desire, that is, for the meaning of the commandments to be completely . fulfilled in following Christ. Jesus' conversation with the young man helps us to grasp the conditions for the moral growth of man, who has been called to perfection: The young man, having observed all the commandments, shows that he is incapable of taking the next step by himself alone. To do so requires mature human freedom ("if you wish to be perfect") and God's gift of grace ("come, follow me") .

Perfection demands that maturity in self-giving

'Love of neighbor springs from a loving heart, which, because it loves, is ready to live out the loftiest challenges. '

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'The Splendor of Truth' to which human freedom is called. Jesus points out to the young man that the commandments are the first and indispensable condition for ,having eternallHe; on the other hand, for the young man , to give up all he possesses and to follow the Lord is presented as an invitation: "if you wish."

These words of Jesus reveal the particular dynamic of freedom's growth toward maturity, and' at the sa:ne time they bear witness to the fundamental rl~lationship between freedom and divine law.

Human freedom and God's law are not in opposition; or the contrary, they appeal one to the other. The follower of Christ knows that his vocation is to freedom. "You were called to freedom, brethren" (GalS: 13), proclaims the apostle Paul with joy and pride. But he immediately adds, "Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the fl ~sh, but through love be servants of one another" (ibid.). The firmness with which the apostle opposes those who believe that they are justified by the law has nothing to. do with man's "liberatilm" from precepts. On the contrary, the latter am at the service of the practice of love: "For he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. The commandments, 'You shall not commit adultery; you shall not murder; you shall not steal; yeu shall not covet' and any other commandment are summed up in this sentence, 'You shalllovl~ your neighbor as yourself'" (Rom 13: 89). St. Augustine, after speaking of the observance of the commandments as being a~d of , incipient. imperfect freedom, goes on to say: "Why, se meone will ask, is it not yet perfect? Because 'I see in my members another law at war with the. law of my reason.' ...In part freedom, in part slavery: not yet complete freedom, not yet pure, no'; yet whole, because we are not yet in eternity. In part we retain our weakness and in part we have attained freedom. All our sins were destroyed in baptism, but does it follow that no weaknes,; remained after iniquity was destroyed?

Had none remained, we would live without sin in this life. But who would dare to say this except someone who is proud, someone unworthy pf the mercy of our deliverer? ...Therefore, since some weaknes,; has remained in us, I dare to say that to the extent to which we serve God we are free, while to the extent that we follow the law of sin, we are still slaves." (27) who live "by the flesh" experience 18 • 'Ihose Cod's law as a burden and indeed as a denial or at least a restriction of their own freedom.

On the other hand, those who are impelled by love and "walk by the Spirit" (GalS: 16), and who desire to serve others, find in God's law the fundamental c.ndnecessary way in which to practice love as something freely chosen and freely lived out. Indeed, they feel an interior urge-a genuine "necessLy" and no longer a form of coercionnot by stop at the minimum demands of the law, but to live them in their "fullness." This is a still uncertain and fragile journey as long as we are on earth, bt;t it is one made possible by grace, which enables liS to possess the full freedom of the children of God (cf. Rom 8: 21) and thus to live our morallile in a way worthy of our sublime vocation as ":;ons in the Son." This v(lcation to perfect love is not restricted to a small i~roup of individuals. The invitation "go, sell your possessions and give the money to the poor" and the promise "you will have treasure in heaven" are meant for everyone, because they bring ou'; the full meaning of the commandment of love for neighbor, just as the invitation which follows, "come, follow me," is the new, specific form of the commandment of love of God. Both the commandments and Jesus' invitation to the rich you::1g man stand at the service of a single and indivisible charity, which spontaneously tends toward that perfection whose measure is God aloLe: "You, therefore, must be perfect, as your hea venly Father is perfect" (Mt 5: 48) . In the Gospel e,f Luke, Jesus makes even clearer the meaning of this perfection: "Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful" (Lk 6: 36) .

'THAT YOU LOVE'The pope recalls the command of Jesus, "that you love one another as I have loved you," given whon He instituted the Eucharist.

The painting of "The Supperat Emmaus" is by an unknown 18thcentury artist.

'Come, follow me' /

(Mt 19:21).

and at the same time the content 19 • ofThethiswayperfection consist in the following of Jesus, "sequela Christi," once one has given up one's own wealth and very self. This is precisely the conclusion of Jesus' conversation with the young man: "Come, follow me" (Mt 19: 21). It is an invitation the marvelous grandeur of which will be fully perceived by the disciples after Christ's resurrection, when the Holy Spirit leads them to all truth (d. Jn 16: 13).

It is Jesus himself who takes the initiative and calls people to follow Him. His call is addressed first to those to whom 'He entrusts a particular mission" beginning with the Twelve; but it is also clear that every believer is called to be a follower of Christ (cf. Acts 6: 1). Following Christ is thus the essential and primordial foundation of Christian morality: Just as the people of Israel followed God, who led them through the desert toward the Promised Land (cf. Ex 13: 21), so every disciple must follow Jesus, toward whom He.is , drawn by the Father himself (cf. Jn 6: 44).

This is not a matter only of disposing oneself to hear a teaching and obediently accepting a commandment. More radically, It involves holding fast to the very person of Jesus, partaking of His life and His destiny, sharing in His free and loving obedience to the will of the Father. By responding in faith and following the one who is incarnate wi!,dom, the disciple of Jesus truly becomes a disciple of God (cf. Jn 6: 45). Jesus is indeed the light of the world, the light of life (cf. Jn 8: 12) . He is the shepherd who leads His sheep and feeds them (cf.

Jn 10: 11-16); He is the way and the truth and the life (cf.•Tn 14: 6). It is Jesus who leads to the Father, so much so that to see Him, the Son, is to see the Father (cf. Jn 14: 6-10). And thus to imitate the Son, "the image of the invisible God" (ColI: 15) , means to imitate the Father.

20 • Jesus asks us to follow Him and ~o imitate Him along the path of love, a love which

<?

gives itself completely to the brethren out of love for God: "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you" (In 15: 12). ' The word "as" requires imitation of Jesus and of His love, of which the washing of feet is a sign: "If I then, your lord and teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you" (In 13: 14-15).

Jesus' way of acting and His words, His deeds and His precepts constitute the moral rule of Christian life. Indeed, His actions, and in particular His passion and death on the cross, are the living revelation of His love for the Father and for others. This is exactly'the love that Jesus wishes

to' be imitated by all who follow Him. It is the "new" commandment: "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; even as I h~lVe loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another" (In 13: 34-35) .

The word "as" also indicates the degree of Jesus' love and of the love with which His disciples are called to love one another. After saying, "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you" (In 15: 12), Jesus continues with words which indicate the sacrificial gift of His life on the cross as the witness to a love "to the end" (In 13: 1): "Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends" (In 15: 13) .

As he calls the. young man to follow Him along the way of perfection, Jesus asks him to be perfect in the command of love, in "His" commandment: to become part of the unfolding of His complete giving, to imitate and rekindle the very love of the "good" teacher, the one who loved "to the end." This is what Jesus asks of everyone who wishes to follow Him: "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross arid follow me" (Mt 16: 24) . ,~

1.1

1• Following Christ is .not an outward imitation, since it touches man at the very

depths of his being. Being a follower of Christ means becoming conformed to Him who became a servant even to giving Himself on the cross (cf.

Phil 2: 5-8). Christ dwells by faith in the heart of .the believer (cf. Eph 3:17), and thus the disciple is conformed to the Lord. This is the effect of grace, of the active presence of the Holy Spirit in us.

Having become one with Christ, the Christian becomes a member of His body, which is the Church (cf. 1 Cor 12: 13, 27). By the work of the Spirit, baptism radically configures the faithful to Christ in the paschal mystery of death and resurrection; it "clothes him" in Ctrist (cf. Gal 3: 27): "Let us rejoice and give thanks," exclaims St. Augustine speaking to the baptized, "for we have become not only Christians, but Christ.. .Marvel and rejoice: We have become Christ!" (28) Having died to sin, those VI ho are baptized receive, new life (cf. Rom 6: 3-11); alive for God in Christ Jesus, they are called to walk ::>y the Spirit and to manifest the Spirit's fruits in their lives (cf. Gal 5: 16-25). Sharing in the Eucharist, the sacrament of the new covenant (cf. 1 Cor 11:23-29), is the culmination of our assimilation to Christ, the source of "eternal life" (cf. Jn 6: 51-58), the source and power of that complete gift of self, which Jesus-according to the testimony handed, on by Paul-commands us to commemorate in liturgy and in life: "As often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes" (1 Cor 11: 26) .

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'Veritatis Splendor' of the Spirit which we have received is even now the "guarantee of our inheritance" (Eph 1: 14).

'With God all things

are possible' (Mt 19:26).

The conclusion of Jesus' conversation • with the rich young man is very poignant: 22 "When the young man heard this, he went away sorrowful, for he had many possessions" (Mt 19: 22). Not only the rich man but the disciples themselves are taken aback by Jesus' call to discipleship, the demands of which transcend human aspirations and abilities: "When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astounded and said, 'Then who can be saved?'" (Mt 19: 25). But the master refers them to God's power: "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible" (Mt 19: 26) . . In the same chapter of Matthew's Gospel (19: 310), Jesus, interpreting the Mosaic law on marriage, rejects the right to divorce, appealing to a "beginning" more fundamental and more authoritative-than the law of Moses: God's original plan for mankind, a plan' which man, after sin has no longer been able to live up to: "For your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so" (Mt 19: 8) .

Jesus' appeal to the "beginning" dismays the disciples, who' remark, "If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is not expedient to marry" (Mt 19: 10). And Jesus, referring specifically to the charis.m of celibacy "for the kingdom of heaven" (Mt 19: 12), but stating a general rule, indicates the new and surprising possibility opened up to man by God's grace. "He said to them': 'Not everyone can accept this saying, but only those to whom it is given'" (Mt 19: 11) .

To imitate and live out the love of Christ is not possible for man by his own strength alone. He becomes capable of this love only by virtue of a gift received. As the Lord Jesus receives the love of His Father, so h~ in turn freely communicates that love to His disciples: "As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you; abide in my love" (In 15: 9). Christ's gift is His Spirit, whose first "fruit" (cf. Gal 5: 22) is charity: "God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us" (Rom 5: 5). St. Augustine asks, "Does love bring about the keeping of the commandments or does the keeping of tI:!e commandments bring about 10ve?"_And he answers, "But who can doubt that love comes first? For the one who does not love has no reason for keeping the commandments." (29)

so we find revealed the authentic and 24 • And original aspect of the commandment of

love and of the perfection to which it is ordered: We are speaking of a possibility opened up to man exclusively by grace, by the gift of God, by His love. On the other hand, precisely the awareness of having received the gift, of possessing in Jesus.

Christ the love of God; generates and sustains the free response of a full love for God and the brethren, as the apostle John insistently reminds us in his first letter: "Beloved, let us love one another; for love is of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God; for God is love...Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another...We love, because he first loved us" ( 1 Jn 4: 7-8, 11, 19) .

This inseparable connection between the Lord's grace and human freedom, between gift and task, has been expressed in simple yet profound words

by St. Augustine in his prayer: "Da quod iubes et iube quod vis" (grant what you corpmand and command what you will) . (31) The gift does not lessen but reinforces the moral demands of love: "This is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another just as he has commanded us" (1 Jn 3: 32). One can "abide" in love only by keeping the commandments, as Jesus states: "If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love" (In 15: 10).

Going to the heart of the moral message of Jesus and the preaching of the apostles, and summing up in a remarkable way the great tradition of the fathers of the East and West, and of St. Augustine in particular, (32) St. Thomas was able to write that the new law is the grace of the Holy Spirit given through faith in Christ. (33) The external precepts also mentioned in the Gospel dispose one for this grace or produce its effects in one's life. Indeed, the new law is not content to say what must be done, but also gives the power to "do what is true" (cf. Jn 3: 21). St. John Chrysostom likewise observed that the new law was promulgated at the descent of the Holy Spirit from Maven on the day of Pentecost and that the apostles "did not come down from the mountain carrying, like Moses, tablets of stone in their hands; but they came down carrying the Holy Spirit in their hearts...having become by His grace a living law, a living bodk." (34)

23

"The law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus • has set me free from the law of sin and death" (Rom 8: 2). With 'these words the apostle Paul invites us to consider in the perspective of the history of salvation, which reaches its fulfillment in Christ, the relationship between the (old) law and grace (the new law). He recognizes the pedagogic function of the law, which, by enabling sinful man to take stock of his own powerlessness and by stripping him of the presumption of his self-sufficiency, leads him to ask for and to receive "life in the Spirit." Only in this new life is it possible to carry out God's commandments. Indeed, it is through faith in Christ that we have been made righteous (cf. Rom 3: 28) : the "righteousness" which the law demands, but is unable to give, is found by every believer to be revealed and granted by the Lord Jesus. Once -again it is S1. Augustine who admirably sums up this Pauline dialectic of law and grace: "The law was given that grace might be sought; and grace was given that the law might be fulfilled." (30) Love and life according to the Gospel cannot be thought of first and foremost as a kind of precept, because what they demand is beyond man's abilities. They are possible only as the result of a gift of God who heals, restores and transforms the human heart by His grace: "For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ" (In 1: 17). The promise of eternal life is thus linked to the gift of grace, and the gift

'Lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age' (Mt28:20). conversation with the rich young 25 • Jesus' man continues, in a sense, in every period of history, including our own. The question "Teacher, what good must I do to have eternal life?" arises in the heart of every individual, and it is Christ alone who is capable of giving the full . and definitive answer. The teacher who expounds God's commandments, who invites others to follow Him and gives the grace for a new life, is always present and at work in our midst as He Himself promised: "Lo, I am with you always, td the close of the age" (Mt 28: 20). Christ's relevance for people of all times is sho~n forth in His bo.dy, which' is the Church. For this reason the Lord promised His disciples the Holy Spirit, who would "bring to their remembrance" and teach them to understand His commandments (cf. Jn 14: 26), " and who would be th~ principle and constant source of a new life in the world (cf. Jn 3: 5-8; Rom 8: 1-13).

The moral prescriptions which God imparted in the old covenant and which attained their perfection in the new and eternal covenant in the very person of the Son of God made man must be

faithfully kept and continually put into practice in the various different cultures throughout the course of history. The task of interpreting these prescriptions was entrusted by Jesus to the apostles and to their successors, with the special assistance of the Spirit of truth: "He who hears you hears me" (Lk 10: 16). By the light and the strength of this Spirit the apostles carried out their mission of preaching the Gospel and of pointing out the "way" of the Lord (cf. Acts 18: 25), teaching above all how to follow and imitate Christ: "For to me to live is Christ" (Phil 1:21).

the moral catechesis of the apostles, 26 • Inbesides exhortations and directions connected to specific historical and cultural situations, we find an ethical teaching with precise rules of behavior.- This is seen in their letters, which contain the interpretation, made under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, of the Lord's precepts as they are to be lived in different cultural circumstances (cf. Rom 12-15; 1 Cor 11-14; Gal 5-6; Eph 4-6; Col 3-4; 1 Pt and Jas). From the Church's beginnings, the apostles, by virtue of their pastoral responsibility to preach the Gospel, were vigilant over the right conduct of Christians, (35) just as they were vigilant for the purity of the faith and the handing down of the divine gifts in the sacraments. (36) The first Christians, coming both from the Jewish people and from the gentiles, differed from the pagans not only in their faith and their liturgy but also in the witness of their moral conduct, which was inspired by the n~w law. (37) The Church is in fact a communion both of faith and of life; her rule of life is "faith working through love" (Gal 5: 6) .

No damage must be done to the harmony between faith and life: The Unity of the Church is damaged not only by Christians who reject or distort the truths of faith but also by those who disregard the moral· obligations to which they are called by the Gospel (cf. 1 Cor 5: 9-13). The apostles decisively rejected any separation between the commitment of the heart and the actions which express or prove it (cf. 1 Jn 2: 3-6). And ever since apostolic times the Church's pastors have unambiguously condemned the behavior of those who fostered division by their teaching or by their actions. (38) Within the unity of the Church, promoting 27 • and preserving the faith and the moral .life is the task entrusted by Jesus to the apostles (cf. Mt 28: 19-20), a task which continues in the ministry of their successors. This is apparent from the living tradition, whereby-as the Second Vatican Council teaches-"the church, in her teaching, life and worship, perpetuates and hands on to every generation all that she is and all that 'she believes. This tradition, which comes from the apostles, progresses in the church under the assistance of the Holy Spirit." (39) In the Holy Spirit, the Church receives and hands down the Scripture as the witness to the "great things" which God has done in history. (cf. Lk 1: 49); she professes by the lips of her fathers and doctors the truth of the word made flesh, puts his precepts and love into practice in the lives of her saints and in the sacrifice of her martyrs, and celebrates het hope in him in the liturgy. By this same tradition Christians receive "the living voice of the Gospel," (40) as the faithful expression of God's wisdom and will.

Within tradition, the authentic interpretation of the Lord's law develops with the help of the Holy Spirit. The same Spirit who is at the origin of the revelation of Jesus' commandments and teachings guarantees that they will be reverently preserved, faithfully expounded and correctly applied in different times and places. This constant "putting into practice" of the commandments is the sign and fruit of a deeper insight into revelation and of an understanding in the light of faith of new historical and cultural situations. Nevertheless, it can only confirm the permanent validity of

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'The Splendor of Truth' revelation :md follow in the line of the interpretation given to it by the great tradition of the Church's tl~aching and life, as witnessed by the teaching oj the fathers, the lives of the saints, the Church's liturgy and the teaching of the magisterium. .In particular, as the council affirms, "the task of authentically interpreting the word of God, whether in its written form or in that of tradition, has been entrusted only to those charged with the Church's living magisterium, whose authority is exercised in the name of Jesus Christ." (41) The Church, in her life and teaching, is thus revealed as "the pLlar and bulwark of the truth" (1 Tm 3: 15), including the truth regarding moral action.

Indeed, "the church has the right always and everywhere:o proclaim moral principles, even in respect of the social order, and to make judgments abo'lt any human matter insofar as this is required by fundamental human rights or the salvation of souls." (42) Precisely on the questions frequently debated in moral theology today and with regard to which new tende:lcies and theories have developed, the magisterium, in fidelity to Jesus Christ and, in continuity with the Church's tradition, senses more urgE ntly the duty to offer its own discernment and teaching in order to help man in his journey to',vard truth and freedom~

Chapter 2 'Do Not Be Conformed' to this World' (Rom 12:2).

The Church And the Discernment Of Certain Tendencies In Present-day Moral Theology Teaching what befits-sound doctrine (cf. Ti 2:1).

28 • Our meditation on the dialogue between JE sus- and the rich young man has enablt:d us t) bring together the essential elements of revelation in the Old and New Testament with regard to :noral action. These are:' the ,subordination of man and his activity to God, the one who "alone is good"; the relationship between the moral good of human acts and eternal life; Christian discipleship, which opens up before man the perspectiye of perfect love; and finally the gift of the Holy :;;pirit, source and means of the moral life of the 'new creation" (d. 2 Cor 5: 17).

In her reflection on morality, the Church has always kept in mind the words of Jesus to the rich young man. Indeed, sacred Scripture remains the living ane. fruitful source of the Church's moral doctrine; as the Second Vatican Council recalled, the Gospel is "the source of all saving truth arid moral teaching." (43) The Church has faithfully preserved what the word of God teaches not only about truths which must be believed, but also about mO:,'al action, action pleasing to God (d. 1 Thes 4: 1), she has achieved a doctrinal development analogous to that which has taken place in the realm of the truths of faith. Assisted by the Holy Spirit, who leads her into all the truth (d. Jn 16: 13), the Church has not ceased, nor can she ever cease, to contemplate the "mystery of the Word incarnate," in whom "light is shed on the mystery cf man." (44)

' 9• The Church's moral reflection, always 2 conducted in the light of Christ, the "good teacher," has also developed in the specific form of the theological science called moral theology, a science which accepts and examines divine revelation wh ile at the same' time responding to the

'the Church...puts forward ...a reply thatpossesses a light and power capable of answering the most controversial and complex questions. '

demands of human reason. Moral theology is a reflection concerned with "morality," with the good and the evil of human acts and of the person who performs them; in this sense it is accessible to all people. But it is also "theology," inasmuch as it acknowledges that the origin and end of . moral action are found in the one who "alone is good" and who, by giving himself to man in Christ, offers him the happiness of divine life.

The Second Vatican Council invited scholars to take "special care for the renewal of moral theology," in such a way that "its scientific presentation, increasingly based on the teaching of Scripture, will cast light on the exalted vocation of the faithful in Christ and on their obligation to bear fruit in charity for the life of thenworld." (45) Th~ council also encouraged theologians, "while respecting the methods and requirements of theological science, to look for a' more appropriate.,... way of communicating doctrine to the peopleof their time; since there is a difference between the deposit or the truths of faith and the manner in which, they are expressed, keeping the same meaning and tl,1e same judgment." (46) This led to a further invitation, one extended to all the faithful, but addressed to theologians in particular: "The faithful should live in the closest contact with others of their time and should work for a perfect understanding of their modes of thought and feelings as expressed in their culture." (47) The work of many theologians who found support in the council's encouragement has already borne. fruit.in interesting and helpful reflections about the truths of faith to be believed and applied in life, reflections offered in a form better suited to the sensitivities and questions of our contemporaries. The Church, and particularly the bishops, to whom Jesus Christ primarily entrusted the ministry of teaching, are deeply appreciative of this work and encourage theologians to continue their efforts, inspired by that profound and authentic "fear of the Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom" (cf. Prv 1: 7).

At the same time, however, within the context of the theological debates which followed the council there have developed certain interpretations of Christian morality which are not consistent with "sound teaching" (2 Tm 4: 3). Certainly the Church's magisterium does not intend to impose upon the faithful any particular theological system, still less a philosophical one. Nevertheless, in order to "reverently preserve and faithfully expound" the word of God, (48)' the magiste.: rium has the duty to state that some trends of theological thinking and certain philosophical affirmations are. incompatible with revealed truth. (49)

In addressing this encyclical to you,my • brother bishops, it is my intention to state 30 the principles necessary for discerning what is contrary to "sound doctrine," drawing attention to those elements ofthe Church's moral teaching which today appear particularly exposed to error, ambiguity or neglect. Yet these are the very elements on which there depends "the answer to the obscure riddles of the human condition which today also, as in the past, profoundly disturb the human heart. What is man? What is the meaning and purpose of our life? What is good and what is sir..? What origin and purpose do sufferings have?

What is the way to attaining true happiness?

What are death, judgment and retribution after death? Last, what is that final, unutterable mystery which embraces our lives a::J.d from which we take our origin and toward which we tend?" (50) These and other questions-such as, What is freedom and what is its relationl?hip to the truth contained in God's law? What is the role of conscience in man"s moral development? How do we determine, in accordance with the truth about the good, the specific rights and duties of the human person?-can all be summed up in the fundamental question which the young man in the Gospel put to Jesus: "Teacher, what good must I do to have eternal life?" Because the Church has been sent by Jesus to preach the Gospel and to "make disciples of all nations... , teaching them to observe all" that He has commanded (cf. Mt 28: 1920), ·she today once more puts forward the master's reply, a r_eply that possesses a light and a power capable of answering even the most controversial and complex questions. This light and power also impel the Church constantly to carry out not only her dogmatic but also her moral reflection within an interdisciplinary coritext, which is especially necessary in facing new issues. (51) It is in the same .light ane power that the Church's magisterium continues to carry out its ta.sk of discernment, accepting and living out the admonition addressed by the apostle Paul to Timothy: "I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: Preach the word, be urgent in season and out of season, convince, rebuke and exhort, be unfailing in patience and in teaching. For the time will come when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own likings and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander into myths. As for you, always be steady, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry" (2 Tm 4: 1-5; cf. Ti 1: 10, 1314) .

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'y9U will know the truth, and the truth will make you free' (Jo 8:32).

human issues most frequently de31• The bated and differently resolved in contem-

,

porary moral reflection are all closely related, albeit in various ways, to a crucial issue: human freedom.

Certainly people today have a particularly strong sense of freedom. As the council's declaration on religious freedom "Dignitatis Humanae" had already observed, "The dignity of the human person is a concern of which people of our time are becoming increasingly more' aware." (52) Hence the insistent demand that people be permitted to "enjoy the use of their own responsible judgment and freedom, and decide on their actions on grounds of duty and conscience, without external pressure or coercion." (53) In particular, the right to religious freedom and to respect for conscience on its journey toward the truth is increasingly perceived as the foundation of the cumulative rights of the person. (54) .

This heightened sense of the dignity of the human person and of his or her uniqueness, and of the respect due to the journey of conscience, certainly represents one of. .the positive achievements of modern culture. This perception, authentic as it is, has been expressed in a number of more or less adequate ways, some of which, however, diverge from the truth about man as a creature and the image of God, and thus need to be corrected and purified in the light of faith. (55)\

32. • gone Certain currents of modern thought have so far as to exalt freedom to such an

";..

extent that it becomes an absolute, which would then be the source of values. This is the direction taken by doctrines which have lost the sense of the transcendent or which are explicitly atheist.

The individual conscience is accorded the status of a supreme tribunal of moral judgment which hands down categorical and infallible decisions about good and evil. To the affirmation that one has a duty to follow one's conscience is unduly added the affirmation that one's moral judgment , is true merely by the fact that it has its origin in the conscience. But in this way the inescapable claims of truth disappear, yielding their place to a criterion of sincerity, authenticity and "being at peace with oneself," so much so that some have come to adopt a radically subjectivistic conception of moral judgment. .

As is immediately evident, the crisis of truth is not unconnected with this ·development. Once the idea of a universal truth about the good,-lrnowable by human reason, is lost, inevitably the notion of conscience also changes. Conscience is no longer considered in its primordial reality (is an act of a person's intelligence, the function of which is to apply the universal lrnowlepge of the good in a specific situation and thus to express a judgment about the right conduct to be chosen here and now. Instead, there is a tendency to grant to the individual conscience the prerogative of independently determining the criteria of good and evil' and then acting accordingly. Such an outlook is quite congenial to an individualist ethic, wherein each individual is faced with his own truth, different from the truth of others. Taken to its extreme consequences, this individualism leads to a denial of the very idea of human nature.

These different notions are at the origin of currents of thought which· posit a radical opposition between moral law and conscience, and between nature and freedom. by side with its exaltation of freedom 33• Side yet oddly in contrast with it, modern culture radically questions the very existence of this freedom. A number of disciplines, grouped under the name of the "behavioral sciences," have rightly drawn attention to the many kinds of psychological and social conditioning which influ-

.-'

'God's law does not reduce, much less do away with human freedom...it protects and promotes that freedom. ' ence the exercise of human freedom. Knowledge of t~ese conditionings and the study they have received represent important achievements which have found application in various areas, for example, in pedagogy or the administration of justice. But some people, going beyond the conclusions which can be legitimately drawn from these observations, have come to question or even deny the very reality of human freedom.

Mention should also be made here of theories which misuse scientific research about the human person. Arguing from the great variety of customs, behavior patterns and institutions present in humanity, these theories end up, if not with an outright denial of universal human values, at least with a relativistic conception of morality.

"Teacher, what good must I do to have 34• eternal life?" The question of morality, to which Christ provides the answer, cannot prescind from the issue of freedom. Indeed, it considers that issue central, for there can be no morality without freedom: "It is only in freedom that man can turn to what is good." (56) But what sort of freedom? The council, considering our contemporaries who "highly regard" freedom and "assiduously pursue" it, but who "often cultivate it in wrong ways as a license to do anything they please, even evil," speaks of "genuine" freedom. "Genuine fJ;'eedom is an outstanding manifestation of the divine image in man. For God willed to leave man 'in the power of his own counsel' (cf. Sir 15: 14), so that he would seek his Creator of his own accord and would freely arrive at full and blessed perfection by cleaving t6 God." (57) Although each individual has a right to be respected in his own journey in search of the truth, there exists a prior moral obligation, and a grave one at that to seek the truth and to adhere to it once it is lrnown. (58) As Cardinal John Henry Newman, that outstanding defender of the rights of conscience, forcefully put it: "Conscience has rights because it has .duties." (59) Certain tendencies in contemporary moral theology, under the influence of the ~urrents ofsubjectivism and individualism just mentioned, involve novel interpretations of the relationship of freedom to the moral law, human nature and conscience, and propose novel criteria for the moral evaluation of acts. Despite their variety, these tendencies are at one in lessening or even denying the dependence of freedom on truth.

If we wish to undertake a critical discernment of these tendencies-a discernment capable of aclrnowledging what is legitimate, useful and of value in them, while at the same time pointing out their ambiguities, dangers and errors-we must examine them in the light of the fundamental dependence of. freedom. upon truth, a dependen<;e which has found its clearest and most authoritative expression in the words of Christ: "You will lrnow the truth, and the truth will set you free" (In 8: 32).

.

I. Freedom and Law· 'Of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat' (Go 2:17).

35

In the Book of Genesis we read:· "The .

• Lord God commanded the man, saying, 'You may eat freely of every tree of the garc;len; but of the tree of the lrnowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die'" (Gn 2: 16-17).

With this imagery, revelation teaches that the. power to decide what is good and what is evil does not belong to man, but to God alone. The man is certainly free, inasmuch as he can understand and accept God's commands. And he possesses an extremely far-reaching freedom, since he can eat "of every tree of the garden." But his freedom is not unlimited: It must halt before the "tree of the lrnowledge of good and evil," for it is called to accept the moral law given by God. In fact, human freedom finds its authentic and complete fulfillment precisely in the acceptance of that law.

God, who alone is good, lrnows perfectly what is good for man, and by virtue of His very love proposes this good to man in the commandments.

God's law does not reduce, much less do away with human freedom; rather, it protects and promotes that freedom. In contrast, however, some present-day cultural tendencies have given rise to several currents of thought'in ethics which center upon an alleged conflict between freedom and law.. These doctrines would grant to individuals or social groups the right to determine what is good or evil. Human freedom would thus be able to "create values" and would enjoy a primacy over truth, to the point that truth itself would be considered a creation of freedom. Freedom would thus lay claim to a moral autonomy which would actually amount to an absolute sovereignty. \

modern concern for the claims of au36• The tonomy has not failed to exercise an influ-

,ence also in the sphere of Catholic moral theology. While the latter has certainly never attempted to set human freedom against the divine law or to question the existence of an ultimate religious foundation for moral norms, it has nonetheless been led to undertake a profound rethinking about the role of reason and of faith in identifyingmoral norms with reference to specific "inner-worldly" kinds of behavior involving oneself, others and the material world.

It must be aclrnowledged that underlying this work of rethinking there are certain positive concerns which to a great extent belong to the best tradition of Catholic thought. In response to the encouragement of the Second Vatican Council, (60) there has been a desire to foster dialogue with modern culture, emphasizing the rational-and thus universally understandable and communicable-character of moral norms belonging to the sphere. of the naturat moral law. (61) There has also been an attempt to reaffirm the interior character of the ethical requirements deriving from that law, requirements which create an obligation for the will only because such an obligation was previously aclrnowledged by human reason and, concretely, by personal conscience.

Some people, however, disregarding the dependence of human reason on divine wisdom and the need, given the present state of fallen nature, for divine revelation as an effective means for lrnowing moral truths, even those of the natural order, (62) have actually posited a complete sovereignty of reason in the domain of moral norms regarding the right ·ordering of life in this world.

Such norms would constitute the boundaries for a mer.ely "human" morality; they would be the expression of a law which man in an autonomous manner lays down for himself and which has its source exclusively in human reason. In no way could God be considered the author of this law, except in the sense that human reason exercises its autonomy in setting down laws by virtue of a primordial and total mandate given to man by God. These trends of thought have led to a denial, in opposition to sacred Scripture (d. Mt ·15: 3-6) and the Church's constant teaching, of the fact that the natural moral law has God as its author and that man, by the use of reason, participates in

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~-I not dependent on God and that man can use them without reference to their Creator." (67) With regard to man himself, such a concept of autonomy produces particularly baneful effects and eventually leads to atheism: "Without its Creator the creature simply disappears... If God is ignored the creature itself is impoverished." (68)

H The teaching of the council emphasizes, on U • the one hand, the role of human reason in 4diseovering and applying the moral law: The

The Metropolitan Museum of Art! The Robert Lehman Collection.

IMAGERY-Giovanni di Paolo's painting, "The Creation and the Expulsion of Adam and Eve From Paradise," creates the imagery the pope cites as used by rev alation to teach "that the power to decide what is good and what is evil does not belong to man, but to God alone."

the eternal law, which it is .not for him to establish. however, to keep the 37 • Inmoraltheirlifedesire, in a Christian context, certain moral theologians have introduced a sharp distinction, contrary to Catholic doctrine, (63) between an Ethical order, which would be human in origin and of value for this world alone, and an order of s3.1vation for which only certain intentions and interior attitudes regarding God and neighbor would be significant. This has then led to an actual denial that there exists, in divine revelation, a s)ecific and determined moral content, universall;1 valid and permanent. The word of God would be limited to proposing an exhortation, a generic paraenesis, which the autonomous reason alone would then have the task of completing with normative directives whIch are truly "objective," that is, adapted to the concrete historical situation. Naturally, an autonomy conceived in this way also involves the denial of a specific doctrinal competence on the part of the Church and hermagisterium with regard to particular moral norms which deal with the so-called "human g,)od." Such norms would not be part of the proper content of revelation and would not in themselves be relevant for salvation.

No one ean fail to see that such an interpretation of thE' autonomy of human reason involves positions incompatible with Catholic teaching.

In such a context it is absolutely necessary to clarify, in the light of the word of God and the living tradition of the Church, the fundamental· notions of human freedom and of the moral law as well as thdr profound and intimate relationship.

Only thus will it be possible to respond to the rightful cl3.ims of human reason in a way which accepts th e valid elements present in certain currents of contemporary moral theology without compromising the Church's heritage of moral teaching with ideas derived from an erroneous concept of autonomy.

'God left man in the power of his own counsel' .

38

(Sir 15:14).

Taking up the words of Sirach, the Second • Vatican Council explains the meaning of

I

that "genUine freedom" which is "an outstanding manifestation of the divine image" in man: "God willed to leave man in the power of his own counsel, so that he would seek his ~reatori of his own accord and would freely arrive at full and blessed perfection by cleaving to God." (64) These words indicate the wonderful· depth of the· sharing in God's dominion to which man has been called: They indicate that man's dominion extends in a certain sense over man himself. This has been a constantly recurring theme in theological reflection on human freedom, which is described as a form of kingship. For example, .St. Gregory of Nyssa writes: "The soul shows its royal and exalted character...in that it is free and selfgoverned, swayed autonomously by its own will.

Of whom else can this be said, save a king? ...Thus human nature, created to rule other creatures, was by its likeness to the king of the ulliverse made as it were a living image, partaking with the .archetype both in dignity and in name." (65) The exercise of dominion over the world represents a great and responsible task for man, one which involves his freedom in obedience to the Creator's command: "Fill the earth and subdue it" (Gn 1: 28). In view of this, a rightful autonomy' is due to every man as well as to the human community, a fact to which the council's constitution "Gaudium et Spes" calls special attention. This is the autonomy of earthly realities, which means that "created things have their own laws and values which are to be gradually discovered, utilized and ordered by man." (66) Not only the world, however, but also man 39 • himself has been entrusted to his own care and responsibility. God left man "in the power of his own counsel" (Sir 15: 14), that he might seek his Creator and freely attain perfection. Attaining such perfection means personally building up that perfection in himself. Indeed, just as man in exercising his dominion over the world shapes it in accordance with his own intelligence and will, so too in performing morally good acts man strengthens, develops and consolidates within himself his likeness to God. Even so, the council warns against a false concept of the autonomy of earthly realities, one which would maintain that "created things are

moral life calls for that creativity and originality typical of the person, the source and cause of his own deliberate acts. On the other hand, reason draws its own truth and authority from the eternallaw, which is none other than divine wisdom itself. (69) At the heart of the moral life we thus find the principle of a "rightful autonomy" (70) of man, the personal subject of his actions. The moral law has its origin in God and always finds its source in him: At the same time, by virtue of natural reason, which derives ~rom divine wisdom, it is a properly human law. Indeed: as we have seen, the natural law "is nothing other than the light of understanding infused in us by· God, whereby we understand what must be done and what must be avoided. God gave this light and this law to man at creation." (71) The rightful autonomy of the practical reason means that man possesses in himself his own law, received from the Creator. Nevertheless, the autonomy of reason cannot mean that reason itself creates vatues and moral norms. (72) Were this autonomy to imply a deniai of the participatior. of the practical reason In the wisdom of the divine Creator and lawgiver or were it to suggest a freedom which creates m·oral norms on the basis of historical contingencies or the diversity of societies and cul.tures, this sort of alleged autonomy would contradict the Church's teaching on the truth about man. (73) It would be the death of true freedom: "But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die" (Gn 2: 1~). genuine moral autonomy in no way 41 • Man's means the rejection but rather the accep-

tance of the moral law, of God's command: "The Lord God gave this command to the man" (Gn 2: 16). Human freedom and God's law meet and are called to intersect, in the sense of man's free obedience to God and of God's completely gratuitous benevolence toward man. Hence obedience to God is not, as some would be]eve, a heteronomy, as if the moral life were subject to the will of something all-powerful, absolute, extraneous to man and intolerant of his freedom. If in fact a heteronomy of morality were to mean a denial of man's self-determination or the imposition of norms unrelated to his good, this would be in contradiction t.o the revelation of the covenant and of the redemptive ~ncarnation. Such a heteronomy would be nothing but a form of alienation, contrary to divine wisdom and to the dignity of the human person.

Others speak, and rightly so, of theonomy, or participated theonomy, since man's free obedience to God's law effectively implies that human reason and human will participate in God's wisdom and providence. By forbidding man to "eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil," God makes it clear that man does not originally possess such "knowledge" as something properly his own, but only participates ir. it by the light of natural reason and of divine revelation, which manifest to him the requirements and the promptings of eternal wisdom. Law must therefore be considered an expression of divine wisdom: By submitting to the law, freedom submits to the truth of creation. Consequently one must acknowledge in the freedom of the human person the image and the nearness of God, who is present in all (d. Eph 4: 6). But one must likewise acknowledge ·the majesty of the God of the universe and revere the holiness of the law of God, who is infinitely transcendent: "Deus semper mo~ior."

(74)

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Blessed is the man who takes delight in the law of the Lord (cf. Ps 1: 1-2).

42 • dom Patterned on God's freedom, man's freeis not negated by his obedience to the

divine law; indeed, only through this obedience does it aQide in the truth and conform to human dignity. This is clearly stated by the council: "Human dignity requires man to act through conscious and free choice, as motivated and prompted personally from within, and not through blind internal impulse or merely external pressure. Man achieves such dignity when he frees himself from all subservience to his feelings, and in a free choice of the good, pursues his own end by effectively and assiduously marshalling the appropriate means." (75) In his journey toward God, the one who "alone is good," man must freely do good and avoid evil.

But in order to accomplish this he must be able to distinguish good from evil. And this takes'place above all thanks to the light of natural reason, the reflection in man of the splendor of God's countenance. Thus St. Thomas, commenting on a verse of P.salm 4, writes: "After saying: Offer right sacrifices (Ps 4: 5) , as if some had then asked him what right works were, the psalmist adds: There are many who say: Who will make us see good?

And in reply to the question he says: The light of your face, Lord, is signed upon us, thereby implying that the light of natural reason whereby we discern good from evil, which is the function of the natural law, is nothing else but an imprint on us of the divine light." (76) It also becomes clear why this law is called the natural law: It rec~ives this name not because it refers to the nature of irrational beings, but because the reason which· promulgates it is proper to human nature. (77)

43 • The Second Vatican Council points out that the "supreme rule of life is the divine law itself, the eternal, objective and universal law by which God out of his wisdom and love arranges, directs and governs the whole world and the paths of the human commu.nity. God has enabled man to share in this divine law, and hence man is able UIider the gentle guidance of God's providence increasingly to recognize the unchanging truth." (78) The council refers back to the classic teaching on God's eternal law. St. Augustine defines this as "the reason or the will of God, who commands us to respect the natural order and forbids us to disturb it." (79) St. Thomas identifies it with "the type of the divine wisdom as moving all things to their due end." (80) And God's wisdom is providence, a love which cares. God Himself loves and cares, in the most literal and basic sense, for all creation (cf. Wis 7: 22; 8: 11). But God provides for man differently from the way in which He provides for beings which are not persons. He cares for man not "from without," through the laws of physical nature;but "from within," through reason, which by its natural knowledge of God's eternal law is consequently able to show man the right direction to take in his free actions. (81) In this way God calls man to participate in his own providence, since he desires to guide the worldnot only the world of nature but also the world of human persons-through man himself, through man's reasonable and responsible care. The natural law enters here as the human expression of God's eternal law. St. Thomas writes: "Among all others, the rational creature is subject to divine providence in the most excellent way, insofar as it partakes of a share of providence, being provident both for itself and for others. Thus it has a share of the Eternal Reason, whereby it has a natural inclination to its proper act and end.

This participation of the eternal law in the ratio. nal creature is called natural law." (82) The Church has often made reference to • the Thomistic doctrine of natural law, in44 cluding it in her own. teaching on morality. Thus

'It is in the light of the dignity of the human persona dignity w~ich must be affirmed forits own sakethat reason grasps the specific moral value of certain goods toward which the person is naturally inclined. ' my venerable predecessor Leo XIII emphasized the essential subordination of reason and human law to the wisdom of God and to His law. After stating that "the natural law is written and engraved in the heart of each and every man, since it is none other than human reason itself which commands us to do good and counsels us not to sin," Leo XIII appealed tothe "higher reason" of the divine lawgiver: "But this prescription of human reason could not have the force of law unless it were the voice and the interpreter of some higher reason to which our spirit and our freedom must be subject." Indeed, the force of law consists in its authority -to impose duties, to confer rights and to sanction certain behavior: "Now all of this, clearly, could not exist in man if, as his own supreme legislator, he gave himself the rule of his own actions." And he concluded: "It follows that the natural law is itself the eternal law, implanted in beings endowed with reason, and inclining them toward t)leir right action and end; it is none other than the eternal reason of the Creator and ruler of the universe." (83) Man is able to recognize good and evilthanks to that discernment of good from evil which he himself carries out by his reason, in particular by his reason enlightened by divine revelation and by faith, through the law which God gave to the chosen people, beginning with the commandments on Sinai. Israel was called to accept and to live out God's law as a particular gift and sign of its election and of the divine covenant, and also as a pledge of God's blessing. Thus Moses could address the children of Israel and ask them: "What great nation is that that has a god so near to it as the Lord our God is to us, whenever we call upon him? And what great nation is there that has statutes and ordinances so righteous as all this law which I set before you this day?" (Dt 4: 7-8). In the psalms we encounter the sentiments of praise, gratitude and veneration which the·chosen people are called to' show toward God's law, together with an eXhortation to know it, pond~r it and translate it into life. "Blessed is the 'man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers, but his delight is in the law of the Lord and on his lawhe meditates day and night" (Ps 1: 1-2).

"The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes" (Ps 18/19: 8-9).

Church gratefully accepts and lov45 • 'The ingly preserves the entire deposit of revelation, treating it with religious respect and fulfilling her mission of authentically interpreting God's law in the light of the Gospel. In addition, the Church receives the gift of the new law, which is the "fulfillment" of God's law in Jesus Christ and in His Spirit. This is an "interior" law (cf. Jer 31: 31-33), "written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts" (2 Cor 3: 3); a law of perfection and of freedom (d. 2 Cor 3: 17); "the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus" (Rom 8: 2). St. Thomas writes that this law "can be called law in two ways. First, the law of the spirit is the Holy Spirit...who, dwelling in the soul, not only teaches what it is necessary to do by enlightening the intellect on the things to be done, but also inclines the affections to act with uprightness...Second, the law of the spirit can be called the proper effect of the Holy Spirit, and thus faith working through love (cf. Gal 5: 6),

which teaches inwardly about the things to be done... and inclines the affections to act." (84) Even if moral/theological reflection usually distinguishes between the positive or revealed law of God and the natural law, and within the economy of salvation, between the "old" and the "new" law, it must not be forgotten that these and other useful distinctions always refer to that law whose author is the one and the same God and which is always meant for man. The different ways in which God acting in history cares for the world and for mankind are not mutually exclusive; on the contrary, they support each other and intersect. They have their origin and goal in the eternal, wise and loving counsel whereby God predestines men and women "to be conformed to the image of his Son" (Rom 8: 29). God's plan poses no threat to man's genuine freedom; on the contrary, the acceptance of God's plan is the only way to affirm that freedom;

'What the law requires is written on their hearts'

,

(Rom 2:15). alleged conflict between freedom and 46 • The law is forcefully brought up once again today with regard to the natural law and particularly with regard to nature. Debates about nature and freedom have always marked the history of moral reflection; they grew especially heated at the time of the Renaissance and the Reformation, as can be seen from the teaching of the Council of Trent. (85) Our own age is marked, though in a . different sense, by a similar tension. The penchant for empirical observation, the procedures of scientific objectification, technological progress and certain forms of liberalism have red to these two terms being set in opposition as if a . dialectic, if not an absolute conflict, between freedom and nature were characteristic of the structure of human history. At other periods it seemed that nature subjected man totally to its own dynamics and even its own unbreakable laws. Today too the situation of the world of the senses within space and time, physiochemical constants, bodiiy processes, psychological impulses and forms of social conditioning seem to many people the only really decisive factors of human reality.

In this context even moral facts, despite their specificity, are frequently treated as if they were statistically verifiable data, patterns of behavior which can be subject to observation or explained exclusively in categories of psychosocial processes. As a result, some ethicists professionally engaged in the study of human realities and .behavior can be tempted to take as the standard for their discipline and even for its operative norms the results of a statistical study of concrete human behavior patterns and the opinions about morality encountered in the majority of people.

Other moralists, however, in their concern to stress the iOlfJortance of values, remain sensitive to the dignity of freedom, but they frequently conceive of freedom as somehow in opposition to or in conflict with material and biological nature, over which it must progressively assert itself.

Here various approaches are at one in overlooking the created dimension of nature and in misunderstanding its integrity. For some, "nature" becomes reduced to raw material for human activity and for its power: Thus nature needs to be profoundly transformed, and indeed overcome by freedom, inasmuch as it represents a limitation

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'The Splendor of Truth' and denial of freedom. For others, it is in the untrammel,~d advancement of man's power, or of his freedom, that eGonomic, cultural, social and even moral values are established: Nature would thus come to me~n everything found in man and the world apart from freedom. In such an under.standing, nature would include in the first place the human body, its makeup and its processes: Against this physical datum would be opposed whatever is "constructed," in other words "culture," seen as the product and result of free e dom. Heman nature, understood in this way, could be ::educed to and treated as a readily available biological or social material. This ultimately means making freedom self-defining and a phenomenon creative of itself and its values. Indeed, .when all is said and done man would not even have a nature; he would be his own personal lifeproject. Man would be nothing more than his own freedom!

In this context, objections of physicalism 47 - and naturalism have been leveled against of the natural law,

the tradltional conception which is accused of presenting as moral laws what am in themselves mere biological laws.

Consequently, in too superficial a way, a permanent and unchanging character would be attributed to certain kinds of human behavior and, on the basi~ of this, an attempt would be made to formulat~ universally valid moral norms. According to certain theologians, this kind of "biologistic or naturalistic argumentation" would even be present. in certain documents of the Church's magisterium, particularly those dealing with the area of sexual and conjugal ethics. It was, they maintain, on the basis of a naturalistic understanding. of the sexual act that contraception, dire ct sterilization, autoeroticism, premarital sexual relations, homosexual relations and artificial insemination were condemned as morally unacceptable.. ln the.opinion of these sameth~qlo颅 gians, a morally negative evaluation of such acts fails to take into adequate consideration both man's character as a rational an<~ free being and the cultural conditioning of all moral norms. In their view man, as a rational being, not only can but actually must freely determine the meaning of hi$ behavior. This process of "determining the meaning" would obviously have to take into account the many limitations of the human being as . existing in a body and in,history. Furthermore, it would have to take into consideration the behavioral. models and the meanings which the latter acquire in any given culture. Above all, it would have.to respect the fundamental commandment of love 0:: God and. neighbor. Still, they continue, God made man as a rationally free being; he left him "in the power of his own counsel," and he expects l1im to shape his' life in a personal and rational way. Love of neighbor would mean above all and even exclusively respect for his freedom to make his own decisions. The workings of typically human behavior, as well as the so-called "natural inclinations," would establish at the路 most-so they say-a general orientation toward correct t,ehavior, but they cannot determine the moral a~:sessment of individual human acts, so complex from the viewpoint of situations.

~ith this theory, one- has to con48 - Faced sider carefully the correct relationship existing between freedom and human nature, and in particular the place of the human body in questions of natural law.

A freec.om which claims to be absolute ends up treating the human body as a raw datum devoid of any IT.eaning and moral values until freedom has shaped it in accordance with its design. Consequently, human nature and the body appear as presuppcsitions or preambles, materially necessary"for ::reedom to make its choice, yet extrinsic to the pl~rson, the subject and the human act.

Their functions would not be able to constitute reference points for moral decisions, because the finalities of these inclinations would be merely "physical" goods, called by some "premoral." To refer to them, in order to find in them rational

CNY/Chris Sheridan

SUMMER SCENE-Two of the thousands of young people who traveled to Denver to see and hear him last August meet Pope John Paul in Mile High Stadium where he bade them "enter the depths" of their hearts to find Christ.

. indications with regard to the order of morality, would be to expose oneself to the accusation of physicalism or biologisll).. In this way of thinking, the tension between freedom and a nature conceived of in a reductive way is resolved by a division within man himself.

This moral theory does.n9t correspond to the truth about man and his freedom. It contradicts the Church's teachings on the ~nity of the human person, whose rational soul is "per . se et essentialiter" the form of his body. (86) The spiritual and immortal soul is the principle of unity of the human being, whereby it exists as a whole,,"corpore et anima ~lnUS" (87) -as a person. These definitions not only point out that the body, which has been promised the resurrection, will also share in glory. They also remind us that reason and free will are linked with all the bodily and .sense faculties. The p~rson, including the body, is completely entrusted to himself, and it is in the unity of body and soul that the person is the subject of his own moral acts. The person, by the light of reason and the support of virtue, discovers in the body the anticipatory signs, the expression and the promise of the gift of self, in conformity with the wise plan of the Creator. It is in the light of the dignity of the human person~a dig. nity which must be affirmed for its own sakethat reason grasps the speeific moral value of certain goods toward which the person is naturally inclined. And since the human person cannot be reduced to a freedom which is selfdesigning but entails a particular spiritual and bodily structure, the primordial moral requirement of loving and respecting the person as an end and never as a mere means also implies, by its very nature, respect for certain fundamental goods, without which one would fall into relativism and arbitrariness.

49 - act A doctrine which dissociates the moral from the bodily dimensions of its exercise is contrary to the teaching of Scripture and tradition. Such a doctrine revives in new forms certain ancient errors which have always been opposed by the Church, inasmuch as they reduce the human person to a "spiritual" and purely for- . mal freedom. This reduction misunderstands the moral meaning of the body and of kinds of behavior involving it (cf. 1 Cor 6: 19). S1. Paul declares that "the immoral, idolaters, adulterers, sexual perverts, thieves, the greedy, drunkards, revilers, robbers" are excluded from the kingdom of God (cf. 1 Cor 6: 9). This condemnation-repeated by the Council of Trent (88) -lists as "mortal

sins" or "immoral practices" certain specific -kinds of behavior the willful acceptance of which p:revents believers from sharing in the inheritance promised to them. In fa~t. body and soul are insepa~able: In the person, in the willing agent and in the deliberate act, they stand. or fall together.

e" 0

At this point the true meaning of the natu--ral law can be understood: It refers to man's proper and primordial nature, the "nature of the human person," (89) which is the person himself in the unity of soul and body, in the unity of his spiritual and biological inclinations and of an the other specific characteristics necessary for the pursuit of his end. "The natural moral law expresses and lays down the purposes; rights and duties which are based upon the bodily and spiri- . tual nature of the human person. Therefore this law cannot be thought of as simply a set of norms on the biological level; rather it must be defined as the rational order whereby man is called by the Creator to direct and regulate 'his life and actions and in particular to make use of his own body." (90) To give an example, the origin and the . foundation of the duty of absolute respect for hu'man life are to be found in the dignity proper to . the person and not simply in the natural inclination to preserve one's own physical life. Human life, even though it is a fundamental good of man, thus acquires a moral significance in reference to the good of the person, who must always be affirmed for his own sake. While it is always morally illicit to kill an innocent human being, it can be licit, praiseworthy or even :mperative to give up one's' own life (cf. In 15: 13) out of. love of neighbor or as a witness to the truth. Only in refe:rence to the human person in his "unified totality," that is, as "a soul which expresses itself in a body and a body informed by an immortal spirit," (91) can the specifically human meaning of the body be grasped. Indeed, natural inclinations take on moral relevance only insofar as they refer to the human person and his authentic fulfillment, a fulfillment which for that matter can take place always and only in human nature. ,By' rejecting all manipulations of corporeity which alter its human meaning, the Church serves man and shows him the path of true love, the only path on which he can find the true God. The natural law thus understood does not allow for any division between freedom and nature. Indeed, these two realities are harmoniously bound together, and each is intimately linked to the other.

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'From the beginning

it was not so' (Mt 19:8) The alleged conflict between freedom and • nature also has repercussions on the interpretation of certain specific aspects of the natural law, especially its universality and immutability. "Where then are these rules written," St. Augustine wondered, "except in the book of that light which is called truth? From thence every just law is transcribed and transferred to the heart of the man who works justice, not by wandering but by being, as it were, impressed upon it, just as the image from the ring passes over to the wax, and yet does not leave the ring." (92) Precisely because of this "truth" the natural law involves universality. Inasmuch as it is inscribed in the rational nature of the person, it makes itself felt· to all beings endowed with reason and living in history. In order to perfect himself in his specific order, the person must do good and avoid evil, be concerned for the transmission and preservation of life, refine and develop the riches of the material world, cultivate social life, seek truth, practice good and contemplate beauty. (93) The separation which some have posited between the freedom of individuals and the nature which all have in common, as it emerges from certain philosophical theories which are highly influential in present-day culture, obscures the perception of the universality of the moral law on the part of reason. But inasmuch as the natural law expresses the dignity of the human person and lays the foundation for his fundamental rights and duties, it is universal in its precepts and its authority extends to all mankind: This universality does not ignore the individuality of human beings nor is it opposed to the absolute uniqueness of each person. On the contrary, it embraces at its root each of the person's free acts, which are meant to bear witness to the universality of the true good. By submitting to the common law, our acts build up the true communion of persons and,

by God's grace, practice charity, "which binds everything together in perfect harmony" (Col 3: 14). When on the contrary they disregard the law or even are merely ignorant of it, whether culpably or not, our acts damage the communion of persons, to the detriment of each.

51

and just, always and for every52 • Itone,is right to serve God, to render Him the worship which is His due and to honor one's parents as they deserve. Positive precepts such as these, which order us to perform certain actions and to cultivate certain dispositions, are universally binding; they are "unchanging." (94) They unite in the same common good all people. of every period of history, created for "the same divine calling and destiny." (95) These universal and permanent laws correspond to things known by the practical reason and are applied to particular acts through the judgment of conscience. The acting subject personally assimilates the truth contained in the law. He appropriates this truth of his being and makes it his own by his acts and the corresponding virtues. The negative precepts of the natural law are universally valid. They oblige each and every individual, always and in every circumstance. It is a matter of prohibitions which forbid a given action "semper et pro semper," without exception,because the choice of this kind of behavior is in no case compatible with the goodness of the will of-the acting person, with his vocation to life with God and to communion with his neighbor. It is prohibited-to everyone and in every case-to violate these precepts. They oblige everyone, regardless of the cost, never to offend in anyone, beginning with oneself, the personal dignity common to all.

On the other hand, the· fact that only the negative commandments oblige always and under all

circumstances does not mean that in the moral life prohibitions are more important than the obligation to do good indicated by the positive commandments. The reason is this: The commandment of love of God and neighbor does not have in its dynamic any higher limit, but it does have a lower limit, beneath which the commandment is broken. Furthermore, what must be done in any given situation depends on the circumstances, not all of which can be foreseen; on the other hand there are kinds of behavior which can never, in any situation, be a proper response-a response which is in conformity with the dignity of the person. Finally, it is always possible that man, as the result of coercion or other circumstances, can be hindered from doing certain good actions; but he can never be hindered from not doing certain actions, especially if he is prepared to die rather than to do evil.

The Church has always taught that one may never choose kinds of behavior prohibited by the moral commandments expressed in negative form in the Old and New Testaments. As we have seen, Jesus himself reaffirms that these prohibitions allow no exceptions: "If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments...You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness" (Mt 19: 17-18).

The great concern of our contemporaries • for historicity and for culture has led some to call into question the immutability of the natural law itself and thus the existence of "objective norms of morality" (96) valid for all people of the present and the future, as for those of the past. Is it ever possible, they ask, to consider as universally valid and always binding certain rational determinations established in the past, when no one knew the progress humanity would make in the future?

It must certainly be admitted that man always exists in a particular culture, but it must also be admitted that man is not exhaustively defined by that same culture. Moreover, the very progress of cultures demonstrates that there is something in man which transcends those cultures. This "something" is precisely human nature: This nature is itself the measure of culture and the condition ensuring that man does not become the prisoner of any of his cultures, but asserts his personal dignity by living in accordance with the profound truth of his being. To call into question the permanent structural elements of man which are connected with his own bodily dimension would not only conflict with common experience, but would render meaningless Jesus' reference to the "beginning," precisely where the social and cultural context of the time had distorted the primordial meaning and the role of certain moral norms (d. Mt 19: 1-9). This is the reason why "the church affirms that underlying so many changes there are some things which do not change and are ultimately founded upon Christ, who is the same yesterday and today and forever." (97) Christ is the "beginning" who, having taken on human nature, definitively illumines it in its con-' stitutive elements and in its dynamism of charity toward God and neighbor. (98) Certainly there is a need to seek out and to discover the most adequate formulation for universal and permanent moral norms in the light of different cultural contexts, a formulation most capable of ceaselessly expressing their historical relevance, of making them understood and of authentically interpreting their truth. This truth of the moral law-like that of the "deposit of faith"unfolds down the centuries: The. norms expressing that truth remain valid in their substance, but must be specified and determined "eodem sensu eademque sententia" (99) in the light of historical circumstances by the Church's magisterium, whose decision is preceded and accompanied by the work of interpretation and formulation characteristic of the reason of individual believers and of theological reflection. (100)

53

II. Conscience and Truth Man's sanctuary The relationship between man's freedom • and God's law is most deeply lived out in 54 the "heart" of the person, in his moral conscience. As the Second Vatican Council observed: "In the depths of his conscience man detects a law which he does not impose on himself, but which holds him to obedience. Always summoning him to love good and avoid evil, the voice of conscience can when necessary speak to his heart more specifically: 'Do this, shun that.' For man has in his heart a law written by God. To obey it is the very ~gnity of man; according to it he will be judged (d. Rom 2: 14-16)." (101) The way in which one conceives the relationship between freedom and law is thus intimately bound up with one's understanding of the moral conscience. Here the cultural tendencies referred to above-in which freedom and law are set in opposition to each another and kept apart, and freedom is exalted almost to the point of idolatry-lead to a "creative" understanding of moral conscience, which diverges from the teaching of the church's tradition and her magisterium.

According to the opinion of some theolo• gians, the function of conscience had been 55 reduced, at least at a certain period in the past, to a simple application of general moral norms to individual cases in the life of the person. But those norms, they continue, cannot be expected to fore: see and to respect all the individual concrete acts of the person in all their uniqueness and particularity. While such norms might somehow be useful for a correct assessment of the situation, they cannot replace the individual personal decision on how to act in particular cases. The critique already mentioned of the traditional understanding of human nature and of its importance for the moral life has even led certain authors to state that these norms are not so much a binding objective criterion for judgments of conscience, but a general perspective which helps man tentatively to put order into his personal and social life.

These authors also stress the complexity typical of the phenomenon of conscience, a complexity profoundly related to the whole sphere of psychology and the emotions, and to the numerous influences exerted by the indiVidual's social and cultural environment. On the other hand, they give maximum attention to the value of conscience, which the council itself defined as "the sanctuary of man, where he is alone with God, whose voice echoes within him." (102) This voice; it is said, leads man not so much to a meticulous observance of universal norms as to a creative and re- ' sponsible acceptance of the personal tasks entrusted to him by God. In their desire to emphasize the "creative" character of conscience, certain authors no longer call its actions "judgments" but "decisions": Only by making these decisions "autonomously" would man be able to attain moral maturity. Some even hold that this process of maturing is inhibited by the excessively categorical position adopted by the Church's magisterium in many moral questions; for them, the Church's interventions are the cause of unnecessary conflicts of conscience.

'You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall notsteal... '

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'The SplE!ndor of Truth' In order to justify these positions, some 56 • aut10rs have proposed a kind of double status of moral truth. Beyond the doctrinal and abstract level, one would have to acknowledge the priority of a certain more concrete existential consideration. The latter, by taking account of circumstaLces and the situation, -could legitimately be the basis of certain exceptions to the general rule and thus permit one to do in practice and in gooC:. conscience what is qualified as intrinsically evil by the moral law. A separation, or - even an OIlposition, is thus established in some .cases between the teaching of the precept, which is valid in general, and the norm of the individual conscience, which would in fact make the final decision about what is good and what is evil. On this basis, an attempt is made to legitimize socalled "pantoral" solutions contrary to the teaching of the magisterium and to justify a "creative" hermeneutic according to which the moral conscience is in no way obliged, in every case, by a particular :1egative precept.

No one can fail to realize that these approaches pose a challenge to the very identity of the moral conscience in relation to human freedom and God's law. Only the clarification made earlier with regard to the relationship, based on truth, between freedom and law makes possible a discernment concerning this "creative" understanding of conseience.

The Judgment of Conscience' ThE' text of the Letter to the Romans 57 • which has helped us to grasp the essence of the natu ral law also indic@tes the biblical understanding of conscience, especially in its specific connedion with the law: "When gentiles who have not the law do by nature what the law requires, thE~y are a law unto themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that what the law requires is written on their hearts, while theil' conscience also bears witness and their confl:.cting thoughts accuse or perhaps excuse them" (Rom 2: 14-15).

According to St. Paul, conscience in a certain sense confronts man with the law and thus becomes a "witness" for man: a witness of his own faithfulness or unfaithfulness with regard to the law, of his ess~ntial moral rectitude or iniquity.

Conscience is the only witness, since what takes place in the heart of the person is hidden from the eyes of ev~ryone outside. Conscience makes its witness known only to the person himself. And, in turn, only the person himself knows what his own response is to the voice of conscience.

ThE~

importance of this interior dialogue of 58 • man with himself can never be adequately appreciated. But it is also a dialogue of man with God, the author of the law, the primordial image and final end of man. St. Bonaventure teaches that "conseience is like God's herald and messenger; .it does not command things on its own authority, but commands them as coming from God's authority, like a herald when He proclaims the edict of the king. This is why conscience has binding force.", (103) Thus it can be said that conscience be.lrs' witness to man's own rectitude or iniquity to man himself but, together with this and indeed even beforehand, conscience is' the witness of God Himself, whose voice and judgment penetrate the depths of man's soul, calling him "jorliler et suaviter" to obedience. "Moral conscience does not close man within an insurmountable and impenetrable solitude, but opens him to the I~all, to the voice of God. In this, and not in anythinl~ else, lies the entire mystery and the dignity of the moral conscienc~: in being the place, the sacred place where God speaks to man." (1041

59

-

St. Paul does not merely acknowledge • that conscience acts as a "witness'" he also revea1s the way in which conscience 'performs that function. He speaks of "conflicting

'Human freedom belongs to us as creatures,: it is a'freedom which is given as a gift... to be received like a seed and 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 primordia,- vocation whereby the Creator calls man to the true good, and... through Christ's revelation, to become His friend and to sJlare His divine life. ' thoughts" which ,accuse or excuse the gentiles with regard to their behavior (cf. Rom 2: 15). The term "conflicting thoughts" clarifies the precise nature of conscience: It is a moral judgment about man and his actions, a judgment either of acquittal or of condemnation, according as human acts are'in conformity or not with the law of God written on the heart. In the same text the apostle clearly speaks of the judgment of actions, the judgment of their author and the moment when that judgment will be definitively rendered: "(This will take place) on that day when, according to, my Gospel, God judges the secrets of men

by Christ Jesus" (Rom 2: 16) . .The judgment of conscience is a practical judgment, a judgment which makes known what man must do or not do, which assesses an act already performed by him. It is a judgment which applies to a concrete situation the rati6nal conviction that one must love and do good and avoid evil. This first prinGiple of practical reason is part of the natural law; indeed it constitutes the very foundation of the 'natural law inasmuch as it expresses that primordial insight about good and evil, ,that reflection of God's creative wisdom which, like an imperishable spark ("scintilla animae"), shines in the heart of every man. But whereas the natural law discloses the objective and universal demands of the moral good, conscience is the application of the law to a particular case; this application of the law thus becomes an inner dictate for the individual, a summons to do what is good in this particular situation. Conscience thus formulates moral obligation in the light of the natural law: It is the obligation to do what the individual, through the workings of his' conscience, knows to be a good he is called to do here and now. The universality of the law and its obligation are acknowledged, not suppressed, once reason has established the law's application in concrete present circumstances. The judgment of conscience states "in an ultimate way" whether a certain particular kind of behavior is in conformity with the law; it formulates the proximate norm of the morality of a voluntary act, "applying the objective law to a particular case." (105)

or

Like the natural law itself and all practi• cal knowledge, the judgment of con60 science also has an imperative character: Man must act in accordance with it. If man acts against this judgment or, in a case where he lacks certainty about the rightness and goodness of a determined act, still performs that act, he stands condemned by his own conscience, the proximate norm of personal morality. The dignity of this rational forum and the authority of its voice and judgments derive from the truth about moral good and evil, which it is called to listen to and to express. This truth is indicated by' the "divine law," the universal and objective norm of morality. The judgment of conscience does not establish the law; rather it bears witness to the authority of the natural law and of the practical reason with

reference to the supreme good, whose attractiveness the human person perceives and whose commandments he accepts. "Conscience is not an independent and exclusive capacity to decide what is good and what is evil. Rather there is profoundly imprinted upon it a principle of obedience vis..a-vis the objective norm which establishes and conditions the correspondence of its decisions with the commands and prohibitions which are at the basis of human behavior.' ~ (106) .

The truth about moral good, as that truth • is declared in the law of reason, is practi61 cany and concretely recognized by the judgment of conscience, which leads one to take responsibility for the good or the evil one has done. If man does evil, the just judgment of his conscience remains within, him as a witness to the universal truth of the good, as well as to the malice of his particular choice. But the verdict of.conscience remains in him also as a pledge of hope and mercy: While bearing witness to the evil he has done, it also reminds him of his need, with the help of God's grace, to ask forgiveness, to do good and to cultivate virtue constantly.

Consequently in the practical ~udgment of conscience, which imposes on the person the obligation to perform a given act, the link between freedom and truth is made manifest. Precisely for this reason conscience expresses itself in acts of "judgment" which reflect the truth about the , good and not in arbitrary "decisions." The maturity and responsibility of these judgments-and, wh~n all is said and done, of the individual who is their subject-are not measured by the liberation of the conscience from objective truth, in favor of an alleged q.utonomy in personal decisions but, on the contrary, by an insistent search for truth and by allowing oneself to be guided by that truth in one's actions.

SE~eking what

is true and good

Conscience, as the judgment of an act, is • not exempt from the possibility of error.

62 As the council puts it, "not i::J.frequently conscience CaI~ be mistaken as a result of invincible ignorance, although it does not on that account forfeit its dignity; but this cannot be said when a man shows little concern for seeking what is true and good, and conscience gradually becomes almost blind from being accustomed to sin." (107) In these brief words the council sums up the doctrine which the Church down the centuries has developed with regard to the erroneous conscience.

Certainly, in order to have a "good conscience" (1 Tm 1: 5), man m,Ust seek the truth and must make judgments in accordance with that same truth. As the apostle Paul says, the conscience must be "confirmed by the Holy Spirit" (cf. Rom 9: 1); it must be "clear" (2 Tm 1: 3); it must not "practice cunning and tamper witb God's word," but "openly state the truth" (cf. 2 Cor 4: 2). On the

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other hand, the apostle also warns Christians: "Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the ren~wal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect" (Roni 12: 2) .

Paul's admonition urges us to be watchful, warning us that in the judgments of our con-science' t}:1e possibility of error is always present.

Conscience is not an infallible judge; it can make mistakes. However, error of conscience can be the result of an invincible ignorance, an ignorance of which the subject is not aware and which he is unable to overcome by himself. ' The council reminds us that in cases where such invincible ignorance is not culpable, conscience does not lose its dignity, because even when it directs us to act in a way not in conformity with the objective moral order, it continues to speak in the name of that truth about the good which the subject is called to seek sincerely.

63 • Inthatanytheevent, it is always from the truth dignity of conscience derives. In the case of the correct conscience, it is a question of the objective truth received by man; in the case of the erroneous conscience, 'it is a question of what man mistakenly subjectively considers to be true. It is never acceptable to confuse a "subjective" error about moral good with the "objective" truth rationally proposed to man in virtue of his end or to make the moral value of an act performed with a true and correct conscience equivalent to the moral value of an act performed by following the judgment of an erroneous conscience. (108) It is possible that the evil done as the result of invincible ignorance or a nonculpable error of judgment may not be imputable to the agent; but even in this case it does not cease to be an evil, a disorder in relation to the truth about the good. Furthermore, a good act which is not recognized as such does not contribute to the moral growth of the person who performs it; it does not perfect him, and it does not help to dispose him for the supreme good. Thus, before feeling easily justified in the name of our conscience, we should reflect on the words of the psalm: "Who can discern his errors? Clear me from hidden faults" (Ps 19: 12). There are faults which we fail to see but which nevertheless'remain faults, because we have refused to walk toward the light .(cf. Jn 9: 39-41).

Conscience, as the ultimate concrete judgment, compromises its dignity when it is culpably erroneous, that is to say, "when man'shows little concern for seeking what is true and good, and conscience gradually becomes almost blind from being accustomed to sin." (109) Jesus alludes to, the danger of the conscience being deformed when He warns: "The eye is the lamp of the body. So'if your eye is sound, your whole body will be full of light; but if your eye is not sound;' your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!" (Mt 6: 22-23).

The words of Jesus just quoted also repre64 • sent a call to form our conscience, to make it the object of a continuous conversion to what is true and to what is good. In the same vein, St. Paul exhorts us not to' be conformed to the mentality of this world, but to be transformed by the renewal of our mind (cf. Rom 12: 2). It is the "heart" converted to the Lord and to the love of what is good which -is really the source of true judgments of conscience. Indeed, in order to "prove what'is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect" (Rom 12: 2), knowledge of God's law in general is certainly necessary, but it is not sufficient: What is essential is a sort of "connaturality" 'between man and the true good. (110) Such a connaturality is rooted in and develops through the virtuous -attitudes of the individual himself: prudence and the other cardinal virtues, and even before these the theological virtues of faith, hope and charity. This is the meaning of Jesus' saying: "He, who does what is true

- -< .

comes to the light" (In 3: 21) .

Christians have a great help for the formation of conscience in the Church and her magisterium.

As the council affirms: "In forming their consciences the Christian faithful must give careful attention to the sacred and certain·teaching of the Church. For the Catholic Church is by the will of Christ the teacher of truth. Her charge is to announce and teach authentically that truth which . is Christ, and at the same time with her authority to declare and confirm the principles of the moral order which derive from human nature itself." (Ill) It follows that the authority of the Church, when she pronounces on moral questions, in no way undermines the freedom of conscience of Christians. This is so not only because freedom of conscience is never freedom ','from" the truth but always and only freedom "in" the truth, but also because the magisterium does not bring to the Christian conscience truths which are extraneous to it; rather it brings to light the truths which it ought already to possess, developing them from the starting point of the primordial act of faith. The Church puts herself always and only at the service of conscience, helping it to avoid being tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine proposed by human deceit (cf. Eph 4: 14), and helping it not to swerve from the truth about the good of man, but rather, especially in more diffi. cult questions, to attain the truth with certainty and to abide in it.

III. Fundamental Choice And Specific Kinds of Behavior 'Only do not use your freedom as' an opportunity for the flesh' (Gal 5:13). heightened concern for freedom in 65 • The our own day has led many students of the behavioral and the theological sciences to develop a more penetrating analysis of its nature and of its dynamics. It has been rightly pointed out that freedom is not only the choice for one or another particular action; it is also, within that choice, a decision about oneself and a setting of one's own life' for or against the good, for or against the truth and ultimately for or against God. Emphasis has rightly been placed on the importance of certain choices which "shape" a person's entire moral life, and which serve as bounds within which other particular everyday choices can be situated and allowed to develop.

Some authors, however, have proposed an even more radical revision of the relationship between person and acts. They speak of a "fundamental freedom" deeper than and different from freedom of choice, which needs to be considered if human actions are to be corre,ctly understood and Ewaiuated. According to these authors, the key role in the moral' life is to be attributed to a "fundamental option," brought about by that fundamental freedom whereby the person makes an overall self-determination, not through a specific and conscious decision on the level of reflection, but in a "transcendental" and "athematic" way.

Particular acts which flow from this option would constitute only partial and never definitive attempts to give it expression; they would only be its "signs" or symptoms. The immediate object of such acts would not be apsolute good (before which the freedom of the person would be expressed on a transcendental level) , but particular (also termed "categorical") goods. In tlie opinion of some theologians, none of these goods, which by their nature are partial, could determine the freedom of man as a person in his totality, even though it is only by bringing them about or refusing to do so that man is able to express his own fundamental option.

A distinction thus comes to be introduced

between the fundamental option and deliberate choices of a concrete kind of behavior. In some authors this division tends to become. a separation, when they expressly limit moral "good" and "evil" to the transcendental dimension_proper to the fundamental option and describe as "right" or "wrong" the choices of particular "innerworldly" kinds of behavior: those, in other words, concerning man's relationship with himself, with others and with the material world. There thus appears to be established within human acting a clear disjunction between two levels of morality: On the one hand the order of good and evil, which is dependent on the will, and on the other hand specific kinds of behavior, which are judged to be .morally right or wrong only on the basis of a technical calculation of the proportion between the "premoral" or "physical" goods and evils which actually result from the action. This is pushed to the point where a concrete kind of behavior, even <me freely chosen, comes to be considered as a merely physical process and not according to the criteria proper to a human act. The conclusion to which this eventually leads is that the properly moral' assessment of the person is reserved to his fundamental option, prescinding in whole or in part from his choice of particular actions, of concrete kinds of behavior.

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There. is no doubt that Christian moral • teaching, even in its biblical roots, acknowledges the specific importance of a fundamental choice which qualifies the moral life and engages freedom on a radical level before God. It is a question of the decision of faith, of theobedience of faith (cf. Rom 16: 26) "by which man makes a total and free self-commitment to God, offering 'the full submission ofintellect and will to, God as He reveals.'" (112) This faith, which works through love (cf. Gal 5: 6), comes from the core of man, from his "heart" (d. Rom 10: 10), whence it is called to bear fruit in works (d:Mt 12: 33-35; Lk 6: 43-45; Rom 8: 5-10; Gal 5: 22). In the Decalogue one finds, as an introduction to the various commandments, the basic clause "I am the Lord your God" (Ex 20: 2) which, by impressing upon the' numerous and varied particular prescriptions their primordial meaning, gives the morality of the covenant its aspect of completeness, unity and profundity. Israel's fundamental decision, then, is about the fundamental commandment (cf. Jos 24: 14-25; Ex 19: 3-8; Mi 6: 8). The morality of the new covenant is similarly dominated by the fundamental call of Jesus to follow Him-thus He also says to the young man, "If you wish to be perfect...then come, follow me" (Mt 19: 21); to this call the disciple must respond with a radical decision and choice. The Gospel parables of the treasure and the pearl of great price, for which one sells all one's possessions, are eloquent and effective, images of the radical and unconditional. nature of the decision demanded by the kingdom of God. The radical nature of the decision to follow Jesus is admirably expressed in His Qwn words: "Whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake and the Gospel's will save it" (Mk 8: 35).

Jesus' call to "come, follow me" marks the greatest possible exaltation of human freedom, yet at the same time it witnesses to the truth and to the obljgation of acts of faith and of decisions which can be described as involving a fundamental option. We find a similar exaltation of !ll1man freedom in the words' of St. Paul: , "You were called to freedom, brethren" ,(O'al 5: 13). But the grave. warning:' apostle immediately adds "Only do not use yom: freedom as an 9Pportunity for the flesh.'~ This warning echoes his earlier words: "For freedom Christ has set us free; stand fast therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke.of slavery" (Gal 5: 1). Paul encourages us to be watchful, because freedom is always threatened by slavery. And this is precisely the case. when an act of faith-in the sense of a fundamental option-becomes separated from the choice of particular acts, as in the tendencies mentioned above.

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'The Splendor of Truth' These tendencies are therefore contrary • to the teaching of Scripture itself, which 67 sees the fl.ndamental option as a genuine choice of freedom and links that choice profoundly to particular acts. By his fundamental choice, man is capable of giving his life direction and of progressing, with the help of grace, toward his end, following God's call. But this capacity is actually exercised :,n the particular choices of specific actions, through which man deliberately conforms himself to God's will, wisdom and law. It thus needs to be stated that the so-called fundamental option, to ';he extent that it is distinct from a generic intection and hence one not yet determined in such a way that freedom is obligated, is always brought in':o play through conscious and free decisions. Precisely for this reason, it is revoked when man engages his freedom in conscious decisions to be contrary, with regard to morally grave matter.

To separate the fundamental option from concrete kinds of behavior means to contradict the substantia I integrity or personal unity of the moral age:lt in his body and in his souL A fundamental option understood without explicit consideratioI) of the potentialities which it puts into ef-' fect and the determinations which express it does not do justice to the rational finality, immanent in man's acting and in each of his deliberate decisjons. In point of fact, the morality of human acts is not deduced only from one's intention, orientation or fundamental option, understood as an intention de void of a clearly determined binding content or as an intention with no corresponding positive effort to fulfill the different obligations of the moral life. Judgments about morality cannot be made without taking. into consideration whether 01' not the deliberate choice of a specific kind of behavior is in conformity with the dignity and integral vocation of the human person. Every choice always implies a reference by the deliberate will to the goods and evils indi,cated by the natural law as goods to be pursued and evilsto be avoided. In the case of the positive moral precepts, prudence always has the task of verifying that they .apply in a specific situation, for example, in view of other duties which may be more important or urgent. But the negativ.e moral precepts, tho~:e prohibiting certain concrete actions or kinds 0 f behavior as intrinsically evil, do not allow for any legitimate exception. They do not leave room, in any morally acceptable way, for the "creativity" of any contrary determination whatsoever. Once the moral species of an action prohibited by a universal rule is'concretely recognized, .the only morally good act is that of obeying the moral law and of refraining from the action which it fo:~bids. ,l

Her~ an important pastoral consideratio~ 68 • mllst be added. to the logic of Ac~ording

the positions mentioned above, an individual could, by virtue of a fundamental option, remain faithful to God independently of whether or not certain of his choices and his acts are in conformity with specific moral norms or rules. By virtue of a- pl'imordial option for charity, that individual could continue to be morally good, persevere in God's grace and attain salvation, even if certain of his specific kinds of behavior were deliperately and gravely contrary to God's commandments as set forth by the Church.

In point of fact, man does not suffer perdition only by being unfaithful to that fundamental option whereby he has made "a free selfcommitment to God." (113) With every freely committee. mortal sin, he offends God as the giver of the law and as a result becomes guilty with regard to the entire law (cf. Jas 2: 8-11); even if he persevere~: in faith, he loses "sanctifying grace," "charity" and "eternal.happiness." (114) As the' Council of Trent teaches, "the grace of justification once received is lost not only by apostasy, by which faith itself is lost, but also by any other mortal sin. "(115)

'Whatever is hostile to life itself, such as any kind of homicide, genocide, abortion, euthanasia and voluntary suicide'; whatever violates the integrity of the human person, such as m~tilation, physical and rnef}tal torture anp attempts to coerce the spirit; whatever is off~nsive to ,human dignity' such as subhuman living.conditions,. arbitrary imprisonment, deportation, slavery, prostitution and trafficking in woi77en and children; degrading conditions of work which treat workers as mere instruments of profit, and not as free responsible persons:' All these and the like are a disgrace... and they area negation of the ho,?or due to the Creator. ' -Vatican Council II.

Mortal and Venial Sin we have just seen, reflection on the 69 • Asfundamental option has also led some theologians to undertake a basic revision of the traditional distinction between mortal sins and venial sins. They insist that the opposition to God's law which causes the loss of sanctifying grace-and eternal damnation, when one dies in such a state of sin-could only be'theresult of an act which engages the person in his totality: in other words, an act of fundamental ~ption. According to these theologians, 'mortal sin, which separates man from God, only exists in the rejection of God, carried out at a level of freedom which is neither to be identified with an act of choice nor capable of becoming the' object of conscious awareness. Consequently,. they go on to say, it is difficult, at least psychologically, to accept the fact that a Christian who wishes to remain united to Jesus Christ and to His Church could so easily and repeatediy commit mortal sins, as the "matter" itself of his actions would sometimes indicate. Likewise, it would be hard to accept that man is able in a brief lapse of time to sever radically the bond of communion with God and afterward be converted to Him by sincere repentance. The gravity of sin, they maintain, ought to be measured by the degree of engagement of the freedom of the person performing an act, rather than by the matter of that act.

The postsynodal apostolic exhortation 70 • "Reconciliatio et Paenitentia" reaffirmed the importance and permanent validity of the distinction between mortal and venial sins, in accordance with the Church's tradition. And the 1983 Synod of Bishops, from which that exhortation emerged, "not only reaffirmed the teaching of the Council of Trent concerning the existence and nature of mortal and venial sins, but it also recalled that mortal sin is sin whose object is grave matter and which is also committed with full knowledge and deliberate consent." (116) The statement of the Council of Trent does not

only consider the "grave matter" of mortal sin; it also recalls that its necessary condition is "full awareness and deliberate consent." In ,any event, both in 'moral theology and in pastoral practice one is familiar with cases in which an act which is grave by reason of its matter does not constitute a mortal sin because of a lack of full awareness or <;leliberate consent on the part of the person performing it. Even so, "care will have to be taken not to reduce mortal sin to an act of 'fundamental option'-as is commonly said today-against God," seen either as an explicit and formal rejection of God and neighbor or as an implicit and uneon,scious rejection of love. ",For mortal sin exists also when a person knowingly and willingly, for whatever reason, chooses something gravely disordered. In fact, such a choice already includes contempt for the divine law, a rejection of God's love for humanity and the whole of creation:The .person turns away from God and loses charity. Consequently, the fundamental orienta~ tion can be radically changed by particular acts.

Clearly, situations can occur which are very complex and obscure from a psychological viewpoint, and which influence the sinner's subjective imputability. But from a consideration of the psychological sphere one cannot proceed to create a theological category, which is precisely whatthe 'fwldamental option' is, understanding it in such a way that it objectively changes or casts doubt upon the traditional concept of mortal sin." (117) , The separation of fundamental option from deliberate choices of· particular kinds of behavior disordered in themselves or in their circumstances which would not engage that option thus involves a denial of ,Catholic doctrine on mortal sin: "With the whole tradition of the church, we call mortal sin the act by which man freely and consciously rejects God, his law, the covenant of lov,e that God offers, preferring to turn in on himself or to some created and finite reality, something, contrary. to the' divine will ("conversio ad drenturam"). This can occur in a direct and for" mal way in the sins of idolatry, ,apostasy and atheism; 'or in an equivalent way as in every act of dis()bedienc~ to God's commandments in,a grave matter." (118)'

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IV. The Moral Act Teleology and T.eleologism . relationship man's freedom 71. • The and God's law, which has its intimate and b~tween

living center in the moral conscience, is manifested and realized in human acts. It is .precisely through his acts that man attains perfection as' man, as ·one who is called to seek his Creator of his own accord and freely to arrive at full and blessed perfection by cleaving to Him. (119) Human· acts are moral acts because they express and determine the. goodness or evil of the individual who performs them. (120) They do not produce a change merely in the state of affairs outside of man but, to the extent that they are deliberate choices, they give moral definition to the very person who performs them, determining his profound spiritual traits. This was .perceptivelynoted by·St. Gregory of Nyssa: "All things subject to change and to becoming never remain constant, but continually pass from one state to another, for better or wor;.;e...Now, human life is always subject to change; it needs to be born ever anew...But here birth does not come about by a foreign intervention as is the case with bodily beings...; it is the result of a free choice. Thus we are in a certain way our own parents, creating ourselves as we will, by our decisions." (121)

.72 .Themorallty of acts,is defined by the rela.

• tionship of man's freedom with the ·authentic good. This good is established as the·eternallaw by·divine wisdom, which orders every being toward its end: This eternal law is known both by man's natural reason (hence it is "natural law"), and-in an integral and perfect way-by God's supernatural revelation (hence it is called "divine law"). Acting is morally good .when the choices of freedom are in conformity with man's true good and thus express the voluntary ordering of the person toward his ultimate end: God himself, the supreme good in whom man finds his full and perfect happiness. The first question in the young man's conversation.with Jesus "What good must I do to have eternal life?" (Mt 19: 6) immediately brings out the 'essential connection between the moral value of an act and man's final end. Jesus, in His reply, confirms the young man's conviction: the performance of.good acts, commanded by the one who "alone is good," constitutes the indispensable condition of and path to eternal blessedness: "If you wish to enter into life, keep the'commandments" (Mt 19: 17) . Jesus' answer.and His reference to the commandments . also make it clear· that the' path to that end is markedby·respect for the divine laws which safeguard human good. Only the act in conformity with the. good can be a path that leads to life.

The rational. ordering of the human act to the good in.its truth and the voluntary pursuit of that good, known by reason, constitute, morality.

Hence human activity' cannot be judged as morally good 'merely because it is a means for attaining one or another of its goals or simply because the subject's intention ,is good. (122) Activity is morally good when it attests to and expresses the voluntary ordering of the person to his ultimate end and the conformity of a concrete action with the human good as it is acknowledged inits truth by reason. If the object of the concrete action is not in harmony with the true good of the person, the choice of that action makes our will and ourselves morally evil, thus putting us in conflict with our ultimate end, the supreme good, God Himself.

Christian, thanks to God's revelation 73 • The and to faith, is aware of the "newness" which characterizes the morality of his actions: These actions are called to show either consistency or inconsistency with that dignity and vocation which have been bestowed on him by grace.

In Jesus Christ and in His Spirit, the Christian is a "new creation," a child of God; by his actions he shows his likeness or unlikeness to the image of the Son who is the firstborn among many brethren (d. Rom 8: 29), he lives out his fidelity or infidelity to the gift of the Spirit, and he opens or closes himself to eternal life, to the communion of vision, love and happiness with God the Father, 'Son and Holy Spirit. (123) As St. Cyril of Alexandria writes, Christ "forms us·according to his image, in such a way that the traits of his divine nature shine forth in us through sanctification and justice and the life which is good and in conformity with virtue...The beauty of this image shines forth in us who are in Christ, when we show ourselves to be good in our works." (124) Consequently the moral life has an essential "teleological" character, since it consists in the deliberate ordering of human acts to God, the supreme good and ultimate end ("telos") of man.

This is attested to once more by the question posed by the young man to Jesus: "What good must I do to have eternal life?" But this ordering to one'sul~imate end is not something subjective, dependent solely upon one's intention. It presupposes that such.acts are in themselves capable of being ordered to this end, insofar as they are· in conformity with the authentic moral good of-man, safeguarded by the commandments. This is what Jesus Himself points out in His reply to the young man: "If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments"(Mt'l9: 17).

Clearly such an ordering must be rational and free, conscious and deliberate, by virtue ofwhich man is "responsible" for his actions and subject to the judgment of·.God, the just and good judge who, as th~ apostl~ Paul reminds us, rewards good and punishes e:vil: '.'We must all appear before the judgment.seat of Christ, so that each one may receive good or evil, according to what he has done in the body" (2 Cor 5: 10) .

rightly recognize the need to find ever more consistent rational arguments in order to justify the requirements and to provide a ,foundation for the norms of the moral life. This kind of investigation is legitimate and necessary, since the moral order, as established by the natural law, is in principie accessible to human reason. Furthermore, such. investig'ation is well-suited to meeting the demands .of dialogue' and cooperation with nonCatholics and nonbelievers, especially in pluralistic societies. as part of the effort to work out such a 75. • But rational morality (for this reason it is

sometimes called an ."autonomous morality") there exist false solutions, linked ·in particular to an inadequate understanding .. of the ,object of moral action. Some authors do not take into suffi. cient consideration' the. fact that the will is involved in the concrete choices which it makes: These choices. are a condition of its moral goodness and its being ordered to the. ultimate end of the person. Others are 'inspired by a notion of freedom which prescinds from the .actual conditions of its,exercise, from its objective reference to the truth about the good, and from its detenrunation through choices of concrete kinds of behav- ior. According to these theories, free will would neither' be morally subjected tQ specific obliga~ tions nor shaped by· its choices while nonetheless still remaining responsible for its own acts and for their consequences.

This "teleologism," as a method for discovering .the moral norm, can thus be called-according to terminology and approaches imported from different currents of thought-"consequentialism" or "proportionalism.":The' former claims to draw the criteria of the rightness of a given way of acting solely from a calculation of foreseeable conse.qtiences deriving from a given choice. The latter, by weighing the various values and goods being sought, focuses-rather on the proportion acknowledged between the good and bad effects of .that choice, with a view to the ~'greater good" or '~lesser evil" actually possible .in ap<;lrticular situation.

The teleological ethical theories (proportionalism, consequentialism) , while acknowledging that moral values are indicated by reason and by revelation, maintain that it is. never, possible to ' But on what does the moral assessment of " formulate an absolute prohibition of particular . , • man's free acts depend? What .is it that kinds of behavior which would be in conflict in ensures this ordering of human acts to God? Is it every circu~stance and in every culture with the intention of the 'acting subject, the . those values. The acting subject would indeed be circumstances-and in particular the responsible for attaining .the values pursued, but consequences-of his action or the object itself of in two ways: The ~alues or goods involved in a his act? human act would be, from one viewpoint, of the This is what is traditionally called the .problem moral order (in relation to properly moral values of the "sources of morality." Precisely with resuch as' love of. God and .neighbor, justice,. etc.) .gard to.this problem there have emerged in the and, from another viewpoint, of the premoral orlast few decades new or newly revived theological der, which some term "nonmoral," "physical" or ·and cultural trends which call for careful discern"ontic" (in relation to the adv.antages anddisadment on the part of the Church~s magisterium. .vantages accruing both to the agent and to all Certain ethical theories, called "teleological," other persons possibly'involved, such as, for exclaim to be concerned for the conformity of huample,health or its endangerment, physical in.man acts with the ends pursued by the agent and tegrity, life, death, loss.of material goods, etc.). ·with the values iritended by him. The criteria for In a world where goodness 'is always mixed. with evaluating the moral rightness· of an action are evil, and every good effect linked to other ev.il efdrawn from the wejghing of the nonmoral or fects, the morality of an act would be judged in premoral goods to'be gained and the correspondtwo different ways: Its .moral "goodness" would ing nonmoral or premoral values to' be respected. be jUdged on the basis of the subject's ·intention in . For some, c'oncrete behavior would be right or 'reference to moral goods,·and its "rightness" on wrong according as whether or not it is capable of the basis of a consideration of its foreseeable·efproducing a better state of affairs for all confects or consequences and .of their proportion. cerned. Right conduct would be the one capable of Consequently, concrete kinds of behavior could be "maximizing" goods and "minimizing" evils. described as "right" or "wrong" withoutit being Many of the Catholic moralists who follow in thereby possible to judge as morally "good" or this direction seek to distance themselves from "bad" the will of the person choosing them. In utilitarianism and pragmatism, where the moralthis wayan act.which,·by contradicting a univerity of human acts would be judged without any sal negative norm, directly violates goodsconsidreference to the man's true ultimate end. They ered as "premoral" could'be qualified.asmorally

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'The Splendor of Truth' acceptable if the intention of the subject is focused, in accordance with a "responsible" assessment of the goods involved in the concrete action, on the moral value judged to be decisive in the situation.

The evaluation of the consequences of the action, based on the proportion between the act and , its effects and between the effects themselves, would rega:rd only the premoral order. The moral specificity I)f acts, that is, their goodness or evil, would be determined exclusively by the faithfulness of the person to the highest values of charity and prudence, without this faithfulness necessarily being incompatible with choices contrary to certain palucular moral precepts. Even when grave matter is concerned, these precepts should be considered as operative norms which are always relative and open to exceptions.

In this view, deliberate consent to certain kinds of behavior declared illicit by traditional moral theology w(luld not imply an objective moral evil.

The Object of the Deliberate Act These ·theories can gain a certain persua76 • sive force from their affinity to the scientific mentality, which is rightly concerned with . ordering teehnical and economic activities on the basis of a calculation of resources and profits, procedures and their effects. They seek to provide liberation from the constraints of a voluntaristic and arbitrary morality of obligation which would ultimately be dehumanizing.

Such thec'ries however are not faithful to the Church's teaching, when they believe they can justify as :norally good, deliberate choices of kinds of betaviol' contrary to the commandments of the divine and natural law. These theories cannot claim to be grounded in the Catholic moral tradition. Although the latter did witness the development of a casuistry which tried to assess the best ways to' achieve the good in certain concrete situations, it is nonetheless true that this casuistry concemed only cases in which the law was uncertain, c.nd thus the absolute validity of negative moral precepts, which oblige without exception, was not called into question. The faithful are obliged to cicknowledge and respect the specific moral precepts declared and taught by the Church in the name of God, the Creator and Lord. (125) When the apostle Paul sums up the fulfillment of the law in the precept of love of neighbor as oneself (cf. Rom 13: 8-10), he is not weakening the commandments but reinforcing them, since he is revealing their requirements and their gravity. Love of God and of one's neighbor cannot be separab:d from the observance of the commandments of the covenant renewed in the blood of Jesus Christ and in the gift of the Spirit. It is an honor characteristic of Christians to obey God rather than men (cf. Acts 4: 19; 5: 29) and accept even marty.rdom asaconsequence, like the holy men and women of the Old and New Testaments, who are considered such because they gave their lives rather than perform this or that particular act contrary to faith or virtue.

77 • Inrigh';ordermoralto offer rational criteria for a decision, the theories mentioned above take account of the intention and consequences of human action. Certainly there is need to take into account both the intention-as Jesus forcefully insisted in clear disagreement with the scri bes and Pharisees, who prescribed in great detail certain outward practices without paying attention to the heart (d. Mk 7: 20- 21; Mt 15: 19) -and the goods Qbtained and the evils avoided as CI result of a particular act. Responsibility demands as mUCh. 'But the consideration of these consequences, and also of intentions, is not sufficient for judging the moral quality of a concrete choice. The weighing of the goods and evils foreseeable as the consequence of an action is not an adequate method for determining whether the choice of that concrete kind of behavior is

MEDITATIVE MOMENT-The pope, whose depth of thought and comprehensive vision of the human condition are revealed again in the new encyclical, took a break from last August's World Youth Day for a thoughtful stroll through a Colorado woodland.

"according to its species" or "in itself" morally good or bad, licit or illicit. The foreseeable consequences are part of those circumstances of the act which, while capable of lessening the gravity of an evil act, nonetheless cannot alter its moral species.

Moreover, everyone recognizes the difficulty, or rather the impossibility, of evaluating all the good· and evil consequences and effects-defined as premoral- not possible, How then can one go about establishing proportion~ which depend on a measuring, the criteria of which remain obscure?

How could an absolute obligation be justified on the basis of such debatable calculations?

'78 • The mora'uty of the human act depends primarily and fundamentally on the "object" rationally chosen by the deliberate will as is borne out by the insightful analysis, still valid today, made by St. Thomas. (126) In order to be able to grasp the object of an act which specifies that act morally, it is therefore necessary to place oneself in the perspective of the acting person. The object of the act of willing is in fact a freely chosen kind of behavior. To the extent that it is in conformity with the order of reason, it is the cause of the goodness of the will; it perfects us morally and disposes us to recognize our ultimate end in the perfect good, primordial love. By the object of a given moral act, then, one cannot mean a process or an event of the merely physical order, to be assessed on the basis of its ability to bring about a given state of affairs in the out- . side world. Rather, that object is the proximate end of a deliberate decision which determines the act of willing on the part of the acting person.

Consequently, as the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches, "there are certain specific kinds of behavior that are always wrong to choose, because choosing them involves a disorder of the will, that is, a moral evil." (127) And St. Thomas observes that "it often happens that man acts with a good intention, but without spiritual gain, because he lacks a good will. Let us say that someone robs in order to feed the poor: In this case, even though the intention is good, the uprightness of the will is lacking. Consequently, no evil done with a good intention can be excused.

'There are those who say: And why not do evil that good may come? Their condemnation is just' (Rom 3: 8)." (128) The reason why a good Intention is not itself sufficient, but a correct choice of actions is also needed, is that the human act depends on its object, whether that object is capable or not of being

ordered to God, to the one who "alone is good," and thus brings about the perfection of the person. An act is therefore good if its object is in conformity with the good of the person with respect for the goods morally relevant for him. Christian ethies, which pays particular attention to the moral object, does not refuse to consider the inner "teleology" of acting inasmuch as it is directed to promoting the true good of the person; but it recognizes that it is really pursued only when the essential elements of human nature are respected.

The human act, good according to its object, is also capable of being ordered to its ultimate end.

That same act then attains its ultimate and decisive perfection when the will actually does order it to God through charity. As the patron of moral theologians and confessors teaches: "It is not enough to do good works; they :r:.eed to be done well. For our works to be good and perfect, they must be done for the sole purpose of pleasing God." (129)

'Intrinsic Evil': .It Is Not Licit to Do Evil That Good May Come Of It (cf. Rom 3:8).

7(J.

One must therefore reject the thesis, characteristic of teleological and proportionalist theories, which holds that it is impossible to qualify as morally evil according to its species-its "object"-the deliberate choice of certain kinds of behavior or' specific acts apart from a consideration of the intention for which the choice is made or the totality of the foreseeable consequences of that act for all persons concerned.

The primary and decisive element for moral judgment is the object of the human act, which establishes whether it is capable of being ordered to the good and to the ultimate end, which is God. This capability is grasped by reason in the very being of man, considered in his integral truth, and therefore in his natural inclinations, his motivations and his finalities, which always have a spiritual dimensIon as well. It is precisely these which are the contents of the natural law and hence that ordered complex of "personal goods" which serve the "good of the person": the good which is the person himself and his perfection. These are the goods safeguarded by the commandments, which, according to St. Thomas, contain the whole natural law. (130) to

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.'Veritatis' Splendor'· Reason attests that there are objects of 80 • the human act which are fly their nature "incapable_ of being ordered" to God, because they radically contradict the good of the person made in His image. These are the acts which, in the Church's moral tradition, have been termed "intrinsically evil" ("intrinsece malum"): They are such always and per se, in other words, on account of their very object and quite apart from the ulterior intentions of the one acting and the circumstances. Consequently, without in the least denying the influence on morality exercised by circumstances and especially by intentions, the Church teaches that "there exist acts which per se and in themselves, independently of circumstances, are always seriously wrong by reason of their object." (131) The Second Vatican Council it-. self, in discussing the respect due to the human person, gives a number of examples of such acts: "Whatever is hostile to life itself, such as any kind of homicide, genocide, abortion, euthanasia and voluntary suicide; whatever violates the integrity of the human person, &uch as mutilation, physical and mental torture and attempts to coerce the spirit; Whatever is offensive to human dignity such as subhuman living c:onditions, arbitrary imprisonment, deportation, slavery; prostitution and trafficking in women and children; degrading conditions of work which tr~at laborers as mere instruments of profit, and not as free responsible persons: All these and the like are a disgrace, and so long as they infect human civilization they contaminate those who inflict them more than those who suffer injustice, and they are a negation u[ the honor due to the Creator." (132) With regard to intrinsically evil acts and in reference to contraceptive practices whereby the conjugal act is intentionally rendered infertile, Pope Paul VI teaches: "Though it is true that sometimes it is lawful to tolerate a lesser moral evil in order to avoid a greater evil or in order to promote a greater good, it is never lawful even for the gravest reasons to do evil that good may come of it (cf. Rom 3: 8)-in other words, to intend directly something which of its very nature contradicts the moral order· and which must therefore be judged unworthy of man, even though the intention is to protect or promote the welfare of an individual, of a family or of society in general." (133) In teaching the existence of intrinsically 81 • evil acts, the Church accepts the teaching . of sacred Scripture. The apostle Paul emphatically states: "Do not be deceived: Neither the immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor sexual perverts, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor robbers will inherit the kingdom of God" (1 Cor 6: 9-10).

If acts are intrinsically evil, a good intention or particular circumstances can diminish their evil, but they cannot remove it. They remain "irremediably" evil acts; per se and in themselves they are not capable of being ordered to God and to the good of the person. "As for acts which are themselves sins" ("cum iam opera ipsa peccata sunt") , St. Augustine writes, "like theft, fornication; blasphemy, who would dare affirm that by doing them for good motives ("causis bonis"), they would no longer be sins or,

what is even more absurd, that they would be sins that are justified?" (134) Consequently, circumstances or intentions can never transform an act intrinsically evil by virtue of its object into an act "subjectively" good or defensible as a choice.

Chapter 3 'Lest the Cross of Christ Be Emptied of Its Power' (1 Cor 1: 17).

Furthermore, an intention is good when it • has as its aim the true good -of the person in view of his ultimate end. But acts whose object is "not capable of being ordered"· to God and "unworthy of the human person" are always and in every case in conflict with that good. Consequently, respect for norms which prohibit such, acts and oblige "semper et pro semper," that is, without any exception, not only does not inhibit a good intention, but actually represents its basic expression.

The doctrine of the object as a source of morality represents an authentic explicitation of the biblical morality of the covenant and of the commandments, of charity and of the virtues. The moral quality Of .human acting is dependent on this fidelity to the commandments as an expression of obedience and of love. For this reason-we repeat-the opinion must be rejected as erroneous which maintains that it is impossible to qual. ify as morally evil according to its species the deliberate choice of certain kinds of behavior or specific acts, without taking into account the intention for which the choice was made or the totality of the foreseeable consequences of that act for all persons concerned. Without the rational determination of the morality of human acting as stated above, it would be impossible to affirm the existence of an "objective moral order" (135) and to establish any particular norm the content of which would be binding without exception. This would be to the detriment of human fraternity and the truth about the good, and would be injurious to ecclesial communion as well.

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As is evident, in the question·of the moral• ity of human acts, and in particular the 83 question of whether there exist intrinsically evil acts, we find ourselves faced with the question of man himself, of his truth and of the moral cqnsequences flowing from that truth. By acknowledging and teaching the existence of intrinsic evil in given human acts, the Church remains faithful to the integral truth about man; she thus respects and promotes man in his dignity and vocation.

Consequently, she must reject the theories set forth above, which contradict this truth.

Dear brothers in the episcopate, we must not be content merely to warn the faithful about the errors and dangers of certain ethical theories. We must first of all show the inviting splendor of that truth which is Jesus Christ Himself. In Him, who is the truth (cf. Jn 14: 6), man can understand fully and live perfectly, through his good actions, his vocation to freedom in obedience to the divine law summarized in the commandment of love of God and neighbor. And this is what takes place through the gift of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth, of freedom and of love: In Him we are enabled to interiorize the law, to receive it and to live it as the motivating force of true personal freedom: "the perfect law, the law of liberty" (Jas 1: 25).

'... the fact that some believers act without following the teachings of the magisterium or erroneously consider as morally correct a kind of behavior declared by their pastors as contrary to the law of God cannot be a valid argument for rejecting the truth of the moral norms taught by the Church. '

Moral Good for the Life - Of the Church And of the World 'For Freedom Christ Has Set Us Free' (Gal5:!). fundamental question which the 84 • The moral theories mentioned above pose in a particularly forceful way is that of the relationship of man's freedom to God's law; it is ultimately the question of the relationship between freedom and truth. . According to Christian faith and the Church's teaching, "only the freedom which submits to the truth leads the human person to his true good.

The good of the person is to be in the truth and to do the truth." (136) .

A comparison between the Church's teaching and today's social and cultural situation immediately makes clear the urgent need for the Church herself to develop an intense pastoral effort precisely with regard to this fundamental question.

"This essential bond between truth, the good and freedom has been largely lost sight of by presentday culture. As a result, helping man to rediscover it represents nowadays one of the specific requirements of the Church's mission, for the salvation of the world. Pilate's question, 'What is truth?' reflects the distressing perplexity of a man who often no longer knows who he is, whence he comes and where he is going. Hence we not infrequently witness the fearful plunging of the human person- into situations of gradual self- . destruction. According to some, it appears that one no longer need ackn.owledge the enduring absoluteness of any moral value. All around us we encounter contempt for human life after conception and before birth; the ongoing violation of basic rights of the person; the unjust destruction of goods minimally necessary for a human life. Indeed, something more serious has happened: Man is no longer convinced that only in the truth can he find salvation. The saving power of the truth is contested, and freedom alone, 'uprooted from any objectivity, is left to decide by itself what is good and what is evil. This relativism becomes, in the field of theology, a lack of trust in the wisdom of God, who guides man with the moral law. Concrete situations are unfavorably contrasted with the precepts of the moral law, nor is it any longer maintained that when all is said and done, the law of God is always the one true good of man." (137) discernment wpich the Church car85 • The ries out with regard to these ethical theories is not simply limited to denouncing and refuting them. In a positive way, the Church seeks, with great love, to help all the faithful to form a moral conscience which will make judgments and .lead to decisions in accordance with the truth, following the exhortation of the apostle Paul: "Do not be conformed t6 this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect" (Rom 12: 2). This effort by the Church finds its support-the "secret" of its educative power-not so much in doctrinal statements and pastoral appeals to vigilance as in constantly looking to the Lord Jesus. Each day the Church looks to Christ with unfailing love, fully aware that the true and final answer to the problem of morality lies in Him alone. In a

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'The Splendor of Truth' particular way, it is in the crucified Christ that the Church finds the answer to the question troubling so many people today: How can obedience to universal and unchanging moral norms respect the uniqueness and individuality of the person and not represent a threat to his freedom and dignity? The Church makes her own the apostle Paul's awareness of the mission he had received: "Christ...sent me...to preach the Gospel, and not with eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power...We preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to gentiles, but to these 'who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Crrist the power of God and the wisdom of God" (1 Cor 1: 17, 23-24). 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.

86 â&#x20AC;˘ demonstrate Rational reflection and daily experience the weakness which marks man's freedom. That freedom is real but limited: Its absolute and ,unconditional origin is not in itself, but in the life within which it is situated and which represents for it, at one and the same time, both a limitation and a possibility. 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. (138) Freedom then is rooted in the truth about man, and it is ultimately directed toward communion.

Reason and experience not only confirm the weakness of human freedom; they also confirm its tragic aspects. Man comes to realize that his freedom iH in some mysterious way inclined to betray thi~ openness to the true and the good, and that all too often he aCtually prefers to choose finite, limit(~d and ephemeral goods. What is more, within his errors and negative decisions, man glimpses the source of a deep rebellion, which leads him '~O reject the,truth and the good in order to set hirr..self up as an absolute principle unto himself: "You will be like God" (Gn 3: 5). Consequently, freedom itself needs to be set free. It is Christ who sets it free: He "has set us free for freedom" (cf. Gal 5: 1) . reveals, first and foremost, that 87 â&#x20AC;˘ trc;1riSt e frank and open acceptance of truth is the condition for authentic freedom: "You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free" (In 8: 32) .1:139) This is truth' which sets one free in the face of worldly power and which gives the strength to endure martyrdom. So it was with Jesus before Pilate: "For this I was born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth" (In 18: 37). The true worshipers of GO,d must thus worship Him "in spirit and truth" (In 4: 23): in bris worship they become free. Worship of God and'a relationship with truth are revealed in Jesus Christ as the deepest foundation of freedom.

Furthermore, Jesus reveals by His whole life, and not only by His words, that freedom is acquired in ]ove, that is, in the gift of self. The one who says: "Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends" (In 15: 13), freely goes out to meet His passion (cf. Mt 26: 46), anj in obedience to the Father gives His life on the cross for all men (cf. Phil 12: 6- 11).

Contemplation of Jesus crucified is thus the highroad which the Church must tread every day if she wisheH to understand the full meaning of freedom: the gift of self in service to God and one's brethren. Communion with the crucified and risen Lord is the never-ending source from which the Church draws unceasingly in order to live in

TOTAL GIFT-"The crucified Christ reveals the authentic meaning of freedom," the pope writes. "He lives it fully in the total gift of Himself and calls His disciples to share in His freedom." The artist's concept is by Durer.

,-----------' freedom, to give of herself and .to serve. Commenting, on the verse iu Psalm 100. "serve the Lord with gladness," St. Augustine says: "In the house of the Lord, slavery is free. It is free because it serves not out of necessity, but out of charity...Charity should make you a servant, just as truth has made you free ...You are at once both a servant and free: a servant, because you have become such; free, because you are loved by God your Creator; indeed, you have also been enabled to lq've your Creator...You are a servant of the Lord and you are a freedman of the Lord. Do not go looking for a liberation which will lead you far from the house of your liberator! " (140) The Church, and each of her members, is thus , called to share in the "munus regale" of the crucified Christ (cf. Jn 12: 32), to share in the grace and in the responsibility of the Son of Man who came "not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many" (Mt 20: 28) . (141) Jesus, then, is the living, personal summation of perfect freedom intotal obedience to the will of God. His crucified flesh fully reveals the unbreakable bond between freedom and truth, just as His resurrection from the dead is the supreme exaltation of the fruitfulness and saving power of a freedom lived out in truth.

Walking in the Light (cf. 1 In 1:7).

88 â&#x20AC;˘ toThetruth, attempt to set freedom in opposition and indeed to separate them radically, is the consequence, manifestation and consummation of another more serious and destructive dichotomy, that which separates faith from morality.

This separation represents one of the most acute pastoral concerns of the Church amid today's growing secularism, wherein many,

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indeed too many, people think and live "as if God did not exist." We are speaking of a mentality which affects, often in a profour..d, extensive and all-embracing way, even the attitudes and behavior of Christians, whose faith is weakened and lostes its character 'as a new and original criterion for thinking and acting in personal, family and sodal life. In a widely de-Christianized culture, the criteria employed by believers themselves in making judgments and decisions often appear extraneous or even contrary to those of the Gospel.

It is urgent then that Christians should rediscover the newness of the'faith and its power to judge a prevalent and all-intrusive ctJ)ture. As the apostle Paul admonishes us: "Once you were dal,kness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of the light (for the fruit of the light is fot:nd in all that is good and right and true), and try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful words of darkness, but instead expose them...Look carefully then how you' walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of the time, because the days are evil" (Eph 5: B:-11, 15-16; cf. 1 Thes 5: 4-8). , 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. Rather, faith is a liv,ed knowledge of Christ, a living remembrance .of His commandments, and a truth to be lived out.

A word, in any event, is not truly received until it pa.sses into action, lintil it is put into practice.

Faith is a decision involving one's whole existen'::e. It is an encounter; a dialogue, a communion of love and of life between the believer and Jesus Christ, the way and the truth and the life (d. Jn 14: 6) . It entails an act of trusting abandonment to Christ, which enables us to live as He lived (d.

Gal 2: 20), in profound love of God and of our brothers and sisters.

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'Veritatis .Splendor' act contrary to God's love and the witness of faith. Like Christ Himself, they obediently trusted and handed over their lives to the Father, the one who could free them from death (cf. Heb 5: 7).

The Church proposes the example of numerous saints who bore witness to and defended moral truth even to the point of enduring martyrdom or who preferred death to a single mortal sin. In raising them to the honor of the altars, the Church has canonized their witness and declared the truth of their judgment, according to which the love of God entails the obligation to respect His commandments, even in the most dire of circumstances, and the refusal to betray those commandments, even for the sake of saving one's own life.

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Faith also possesses a moral content. It • gives rise to and calls for a consistent life commitment; it entails and brings to perfection the acceptance and observance of God's commandments. As St. John writes: "God is light and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not live according to the truth...And by this we may be sure that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He who says 'I know him' but disobeys his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps his word, in him truly love for God is perfected. By this we may be sure that we are in him: He who says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked" (1 Jn 1: 5-6; 2: 3-6) .

Through the moral life, faith becomes "confession," not only before God but also before men: It becomes witness. "You are the light of the world," said Jesus; "A city set on a hill cannot be hid. Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good Works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven" (Mt 5: 1416). These works are above all those of charity (cf. Mt 25: 31-46) and of the authentic freedom which is manifested and lived in the gift of self, even to the total gift of self, like that ofJesus, who on the cross "loved the church and gave himself up for her" (Eph 5: 25). Christ's witness is the source, model and means for the witness of His disciples, who are called to walk on the same road: "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me" (Lk 9: 23). Charity, in conformity with the radical demands of the Gospel, can lead the believer to the supreme witness of martyrdom.

Once again this means imitating Jesus, who died on the cross: "Be imitators of God, as beloved children,"- Paul writes to the Christiaps of Ephesus, "and walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God" (Eph 5: 1-2) .

Martyrdom, the Exaltation Of the Inviolable Holiness

Of God's law

"90 • The between" faith and morality shines forth witb all its brilliance in rel~tionship

the unconditional respect due to the insistent demands of the personal dignity of every man, demands protecte<:l by those moral norms which prohibit without exception actions which are intrinsicallyevil. The universality and the immutability of the moral norm make manifest and at the same time serve to protect the personal dignity and inviolability of man, on whose face is reflected the splendor of God (d. Gn 9: 5-6).

The unacceptability of "teleological," "consequentialist" and "proportionalist" ethical theories, which deny the existence of negative moral norms regarding specific kinds of behavior, norms which are valid without exception, is confirmed in a particularly eloquent way by Christian martyrdom, which has always accompanied and continues to acCOmpany the life of the Church even today. .In the Old Testament we already find ad• mirable witnesses of fidelity to the holy 91 law of God even to the point of a voluntary acceptance of death. A prime example is the story of Susanna: In reply to the two unjust judges who threatened to have her condemned to death if she refused to yield to their sinful passion, she says: "I am hemmed in on every side. For if I do this thing, it is death for me; and if I do not, I shall not escape your hands. I choose not to do it and to fall into your hands, rather than to sin in the sight of the Lord!" (Dn 13: 22-23). Susanna, preferring to "fall innocent" into the hands of the judges, bears witness not only to her faith arid trust in God but also to her obedience to the truth and to the

accepted as an affirmation 92 • Martyrdom, of the inviolability of the moral order,

-eNS EXAMPLE-"The Church proposes the example of numerous saints who bore witness to and defended moral truth even to the point of enduring martyrdom or who preferred death to a single mortal sin," the pope writes. The burning of 81. Joan of Arc is depicted in painting by E. Lenepreu.

absoluteness of the moral order. By her readiness to die a martyr, she proclaims that it is not right to do what God's law qualifies as evil in order to. draw some good from it. Susanna chose for herself the "better part": Hers was a perfectly clear witness, without any compromise1'"to the truth about the good and to the God of Israel. By her acts, she revealed the holiness of God. At the dawn of the New Testament, John the "Baptist, unable to refrain from speaking of the "law of the Lord and rejecting any compromise with evil, "gave his life in witness "to truth and, justice," (142) and thus also became the forerunner of the Messiah in the way he died (cf. Mk 6: 1729). "The one who came to bear witness to the light and who deserved to be called by that same light, which is Christ, a burning and shining lamp, was cast into the darkness of prison...The one to whom it was granted to baptize the Redeemer of the world was thus baptized in his own blood." (143) " In the New Testament we find many examples of followers of Christ, beginning with the deacon Stephen (cf. Acts 6: 8-7: 60) and the apostle James (d. Acts 12: 1-2), who died as martyrs in order to profess their faith and their love for ChristJ unwilling to deny Him. In this they followed the Lord Jesus, who "made the good confession" (1 Tm 6: 13) before Caiaphas and Pilate, confirming the truth of His message at the cost of His life. Countless other martyrs accepted persecution and death rather than perform the idolatrous act of burning incense before the statue of the emp~ror (d. Rv 13: 7-10). They even refused to feign such worship, thereby giving an example of the duty to refrain from performing even a single concrete

bears splendid witness both to the holiness of God's law and to the inviolability of the personal dignity of man, created in God's image and likeness. This dignity may never be disparaged or called into question, even with good intentions, whatever the difficulties involved. Jesus warns us most sternly: "~hat does it profit a man, to gain the whole world and forfeit his life?" (Mk 8: 36).

Martyrdom rejects as false and illusory whatever "human meaning" one might claim to attribute, even in "exceptional" conditions, to an act morally evil in itself. Inde~d, it even more clearly unmasks the true face of such an act: It is a violation of man's "humanity," in the one perpetrating it even before the one enduring it. (144) Hence martyrdom is also the exaltation of a person's perfect "humanity" and of true "life," as is attested by St. Ignatius of Antioch, addressing the Christians of Rome, the place of his own martyrdom: "Have mercy on me, brethren: Do not hold me back from living; do not wish that I die...Let me arrive at the pure light; once there I will be truly a man. Let me imitate the passion of my God." (145) Finally, martyrdom is an outstanding " • sign of the holiness of the Church. Fidelity to God's holy law, witnessed to by death, is a . solemn proclamation and missionary commitment "usque ad sanguinem," so that the splendor of moral truth may be undimmed in the behavior and thinking of individuals and society. This witness makes an extraordinarily valuable contribution to warding off in civil society and within the ecclesial communities themselves a headlong plunge into the most dangerous crisis which can afflict man: the confusion between good and evil, which makes it impossible to build up and to preserve the moral order of individuals and communities. By their eloquent and attractive example of a life completely transfigured by the splendor of· moral truth, the martyrs and, in general, all the Church's saints light up every period of history by reawakening its moral sense. By witnessing fully to the good, they are a living reproof to those who transgress the law (cf. Wig 2: 12), and they make the words of the prophet echo ever afresh: "Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and" sweet for bitter!" (Is 5: 20) .

Although martyrdom represents the high point of the witness to moral truth, and one to which relatively few people are called, there is nonetheless a consistent witness which all Christians must daily be ready to make, even at the cost of suffering and grave sacrifice. Indeed, faced with

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'Martyrdom, accepted as an affirmation ofthe inviolability of the moral order, bears splendid witness...to the holiness of God's law and to the inviolability of the personal dignity of man. '

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'The Splendor of Truth' the many difficulties which fidelity to the moral order can demand even in the most ordinary circumstances, the Christian is called, with the grace of Gcd invoked in prayer, to a sometimes heroic commitment. In this he or she is sustained by the virtue of fortitude, whereby-as Gregory the Great teaches-one can actually "love the difficulties of this world for the sake of eternal rewards." (l46) this witness to the absoluteness of the 94 • Inmoral good Christians are not alone: They are supported by the moral sense present in peoples and by the great religious and sapiential traditions of East and West, from which the interior and mysterious workings of God's Spirit are not absent. The words of the Latin poet Juvenal apply to all: "Consider it the greatest of crimes to prefer survival to honor and, out of love of physical life, to lose the very reason for living." (147) The voice of conscience has always clearly recalled that there are truths and moral values for which one must be prepared to give up one's life. In an individual's words and above all in the sacrifice of his life for a moral value, the Church sees a single testimony to that truth which, already present in creation, shines forth in its fullness on the face of Christ. As St. Justin put it, "The Stoics, at least in their teachings on ethics, demonstrated wisdom, thanks to the seed of the word present in all peoples, and we know that those who followed their doctrines met with hatred and were killed." (148)

Universal and Unchanging Moral Norms at the Service of The Person and of Society Church's teaching, and in particular 95• The her firmness in defending the universal and perma nent validity of the precepts prohibiting intrinsil~ally evil acts, is not infrequently seen as the sign )f an intolerable intransigence, particularly with regard to the enormously complex and conflict-filled situations present in the moral life of individuals and of society today; this intransigence is said to be in contrast with the I Church's motherhood. The Church, one hears, is lacking in understanding and compassion. But the Church s motherhood can never in fact be separated fro:n her teaching mission, which she must alwa ys carry out as the faithful bride of Christ, who is the truth in person. "As teacher, she never tires of proclaiming the moral norm...The Church is in no way the author or the arbiter of this norm. In obedience to the truth which is Glrist, whose image is reflected in the nature and dignity of the human person, the Church interprets the moral norm and proposes it to all people of good will, without concealing its demands 0:: radicalness and perfection." (149) In fact, genuine understanding and compassion must mear. love for the person, for his true good, for his autnentic freedom. And this does not result, certainly, from concealing or· weakening moral truth, but rather from proposing it in its most profound meaning as an outpouring of God's eternal wisdom, which we have received in Christ, ane, as a service to man, to the growth of his freedom and to the attainment of his happiness. (150) Still, a clear and forceful presentation of moral truth can never be separated from a profound and heartfelt respect, born of that patient and trusting love which man .always needs along his moral journey, a journey frequently wearisome on account of difficulties, weakness and painful situations. The Church can never renounce "the principle of tntth and consistency, whereby she does not agree to call good evil and evil good"; (151) she must always be careful not to break the bruised reed or to quench the dimly burning wick (cf. Is 42: :1). As Paul VI wrote: "While it is an outstandin g manifestation of charity toward souls to omit nothing from the saving doctrine of Christ, thiB must always be joined with tolerance

Windsor Castle. Royal Ubrary. Her Majesty the Queen

THE CHARGE-Raphael's 16th-century drawin!l, 'Feed My Sheep': Christ's Charge to Peter," depicts the genesis of the call in Pope John Paul's new encyclical to 20th-century bishops to safeguard the faith of the people.

II

and charity, as Christ Himself showed by His conversations and dealings with men. Having come not to judge the world but to save it, He was iuncOrnprorrusingly stern toward sin, but patient and rich in mercy toward sinners." (152) The Church~s firmness in defending the 96 • universal and unchanging moral norms is not demeaning at all. Its only purpose is to serve man's true freedom. Because there can be no freedom apart from or in opp'osition to the truth, the categorical-wlyielding and uncompromising-defense of the absolutely essential demands of man's personal dignity must be considered the way and the condition for the very existence of freedom.

This service is directed to every man, considered in the uniqueness and singularity of his being and existence: Only by obedience to universal. moral norms does man find full confirmation of his personal uniqueness and the possibility of authentic moral growth. For this very reason, this service is also directed to all mankind: It is not only for individuals but also for the community, for society as such. These norms in fact represent the unshakable foundation and solid guarantee of a just and peaceful haman coexistence, and hence of genuine democracy, which can come into being and develop onry on the basis of the equality of all its members, who possess common rights and duties. When it is a matter of the moral norms prohibiting intrinsic evil, there are no privileges or exceptions for anyone. It makes no difference whether one is the master of the world or' the "poorest of the poor" on the face of the earth. Before the demands of morality we are all absolutely equal. ' /

In this way moral norms, and primarily • the negative ones, those prohibiting evil, 97 manifest their meaning and force, both personal and social. By protecting the inviolable personal dignity of every human being they help to preserve the 'human social fabric and its proper and 'fruitful development. The commandments of the second table of the Decalogue in particularthose which Jesus quoted to the young man of the Gospel (cf. Mt 19: 19)-constitute the indispensable rules of all social life.

These commandments are formulated in general terms. But the very fact that "the origin, the subject and the purpose of all social institutions is and should'be the human person" (153) allows for them to-be specified and made more explicit in a

detailed code of behavior. The fundamental moral rules of social life thus entail specific demands to which both public authorities and citizens are required to pay heed. Even though intentions may sometimes be good, and circumstances frequently difficult, civil authorities and particular individuals never have authority to violate the fundamental and inalienable rights of the human person. In the end, only a morality which acknowledges certain norms as valid always and for everyone, with no exception, can guarantee the ethical foundation of social coexistence, both on the national and international levels.

Morality and the Renewal Of Social and Political Life \

10 In the face of serious forms of social and

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c() • economic irijustice and political corruption affecting entire peoples and nations, there is ·a growing reaction of indignation on the part of very many people whose fundamental human rights have been trampled upon and held in contempt, as well as an ever more widespread a!1d acute sense of the need for radical personal and social renewal capable of ensuring justice, solidarity, honesty and openness.

Certainly there is a long and. difficult road ahead; bringing about such a renewal will require enormous effort, especiaI:.y on account of the number and the gravity of ti.le causes giving rise to and aggravating the situations of injustice present in the world today. But, as history and personal experience show, it is not difficult to discover at the bottom of these situations causes wh~ch are properly "cultural," l:nked to particular ways of looking at man, society and the world.

Indeed, at the heart of the issue of culture we find the moral sense, which is in turn rooted and fulfilled in the religious sense. (154)

a

I

9' the Only God, the supreme good, constitutes 9 unshakable foundation and essential condition of morality, and thus of the command1 I

•

ments, particularly those negative commandments which always and in every case prohibit behavior and actions incompatible with the personal dignity of every man. The supreme good and the moral good meet in truth: the truth of God, the creator and redeemer, and the truth of man, created and redeemed by Him. Only upon this truth is it possible to construct a renewed society and to solve the complex and weighty problems affecting it, above all the problem of

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'Veritatis Splendor' overcoming the various forms of totalitarianism, so as to make way for the authentic freedom of the person. "Totalitarianism arises out of a denial of truth in the objective sense. If there is no transcendent truth, in obedience to which man achieves his full identity, then there is no sure principle for guaranteeing just relations between people. Their self-interest as a class, group or nation would inevitably set them in opposition to one another. If one does not acknowledge transcendent truth, then the force of power takes over and each person tends to make full use of the means at his disposal in order to impose his own interests or his own opinion, with no regard for the . rights of others...Thus, the root of modern totalitarianism is to be found in the denial, of the transcendent dignity of the human person who, as the visible image of the invisible God, is therefore by his very nature the subject of rights which no one may violate-no individual, group, class, nation or state. Nf\t even the majority of a social body may violate these rights by going against the minority, by isolating, oppressing or exploiting it or by attempting to annihilate it." (155) Consequently, the inseparable connection between truth and freedom-which expresses the essential bond between God's wisdom and will-is extremely significant for the life of persons in the socioeconomic and sociopolitical sphere. This is clearly seen in the Church's social teachingwhich "belongs to the field ...of theology and particularly of moral theology'~(156)-andfrom her presentation of commandments governing social, economic and political life, not only with regard to general attitudes'but also to precise and specific kinds of behavior and concrete acts.

100 • The Catechism of the Catholic Church affirms that "in economic matters, respect for human dignity requires the practice of the virtue of temperance, to moderate our attachment to the goods of this world; of the virtue of . justice, to preserve our neighbor's rights and to render what Is his or her due; and of solidarity, following the Golden Rule and in keeping with the generosity of the Lora, who 'though he was rich, yet for your sake...became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich' (2 Cor 8: 9)." (157) The catechism goes on to present a series of kinds of behavior and actions contrary to human dignity: theft, deliberate retention of goods lent or objects lost, business fraud (cf. Dt 25: 13-16), unjust wages (d. Dt 24: 14-15), forcing up prices by trading on the ignorance or hardship of another (cf. Am 8: 4-6), the misappropriation and private use of the corporate property of an enterprise, work badly done, tax fraud, forgery of checks and invoices, excessive expenses, waste, etc. (158) It continues: "The Seventh Commandment prohibits actions or enterprises which for any reason-selfish or ideological, commercial or totalitarian-lead to the enslavement of human beings, disregard for their personal dignity, buying or selling or exchanging them like merchandise. Reducing persons by violence tQ use value or a source of profit is a sin against their dignity as persons and their fundamental rights. St. Paul set a Christian master right about treating his Christian slave 'no longer as a slave but...as a brother.. .in the Lord' (phlm 16)." (159)

10·1• Inthatthetruthfulness political sphere, it m~st be noted in the relations between those governing and those governed,

openness in public administration, impartiality in the service of the body politic, respect for· the rights of political adversaries, safeguarding the rights of the accused against summary trials and convictions, the just and honest use of public funds, the rejection of equivocal or illicit means in order to gain, preserve or increase power at any cost-all these are principles which are primarily rooted in, and in fact derive their singular ur. gency from, the transcendent value of the person and the objective moral demands of the functioning of states. (160) When these principles are not observed, the very basis,of political coexistence is weakened and the life of society itself is gradually jeopardized, threatened and doomed to decay (cL Ps 14: 3-4; Rv 18: 2-3, 9-24). Today, when many countries have seen the fall of ideologies which bound politics to a totalitarian conception of the world-Marxism being the foremost of these'. there is no less grave a danger that the fundamental rights of the human person will be denied and that the religious yearnings which arise in the heart of ·every human being will be absorbed once again into politics. This is the risk of an alliance between democracy and ethical relativism, which would remove any sure moral reference point from political and social life, and on a deeper level make the acknowledgment of truth impossible. Indeed, "if there is no ultimate truth to guide and direct political activity, then ideas and convictions can easily be manipulated for reasons of power. As history demonstrates, a democracy without values easily turns into open or thinly disguised totalitarianism." (161) Thus, in every sphere of personal, family, social and political life, morality-founded upon truth and open in truth to authentic freedom-renders a primordial, indispensable and immensely valu-able service not only for the individual person and his growth in the good, but also for society and its genuine development.

Grace and Obedience

To God's Law Even in the most difficult situations • man must respect the norm of morality 102 so that he can be obedient to God's holy commandment and consistent with his own dignity as a person. Certainly, maintaining a harmony between freedom and truth occasionally demands uncommon sacrifices and must be won at a high price: It can even involve martyrdom--: But, as universal and daily experience, demonstrates, man is tempted to break that harmony: "I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.. .I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want" (Rom 7: 15, 19) .

What is the ultimate source of this inner division of man? His history of sin begins'when he no longer acknowledges the Lord as his Creator and himself wishes to be the one who determines, with complete independence, what is good and what is evil. "You will be like God, knowing good and evil" (Gn 3: 5): This was the first temptation, and it is echoed in ?ll the other temptations to which man is more easily inclined to yield as a result of the original fall.

But temptations can be overcome, sins can be avoided, because together with the commandments the Lord gives us the possibility of keeping them: "His eyes are on those who fear him, and he know~ every deed of man. He has not commanded anyone to be ungodly, and he has not given anyone permission to sin" (Sir 15: 19-20).

'Moral theologians are to set forth the Church's teaching and to give, in the exercise of their ministry, the example of loyal assent, both internal and external, to the magisterium's teaching in the areas of both dogma and morality. '

.:.

.;

Keeping God's law in particular situations can be difficult, extremely difficult, but it is never impossible. This is the constant teaching of the Church's tradition and was expressed by the Council of Trent: "But no one, however much justified, ought to consider himselfexempt from the observance of the commandments nor should he employ that rash statement, forbidden by the fathers under anathema, that the commandments of God are impossible of observance by one who is justified. For God does not command the impossible, but in commandlng He admonishes you to do what you can and to pray for what you cannot, and He gives His aid to enable you. His commandments are not burdensome (cf. 1 Jn 5: 3); his yoke is easy and his burden light (cf. Mt 11: 30)." (162)

103 • Man always has before him the spirittial horizon of hope, thanks to the help of divine grace and with the cooperation of human freedom.

It is in the saving cross of Jesus, in the gift of the Holy Spirit, in the sacraments which flow forth from the pierced side of the Redeemer (cf.

Jn 19: 34), that believers find the grace and the strength always to keep God's holy law, even amid the gravest of hardships. As St. Andrew of Crete observes, the law itself "was enlivened by grace and made to serve it in a harmonious and fruitful combination. Each element preserved its characteristics without change or confusion. In a divine manner, he turned what could be burdensome and tyrannical into what is easy to bear and a source of freedom." (163) Only in the mystery of Christ's redemption do we discover the' "concrete" possibilities of man.

"It would be a very serious error to conclude...that the Church's teaching is essentially only an 'ideal' which must then be adapted, proportioned, graduated to the so-called concrete possibilities of man, according to a 'balancing of the goods in question.' But what are the 'concrete possibilities of man'? And of which man are we speaking? Of man dominated by lust or of man redeemed by Christ? This is what is at stake: the reality of Christ's redemption. Christ has redeemed us! This means that He has given us the possibility of realizipg the entire truth of our being; He has set our freedom free from the domination of concupiscence. And if redeemed man still sins, this is not due to an imperfection of Christ's redemptive act, but to man's will not to avail himself of the grace which flows from that act. God's command is of course proportioned to man's capabilities; but to the capabilities of the man to whom the Holy Spirit has been given; of the man who, though He has fallen into sin, can always obtain pardon and enjoy the presence of the Holy Spirit." (164)

104 • isIn made this context, appropriate allowance both for God's mercy toward the sin of the man who experiences conversion and for the understanding of human weakness.

Such understanding never means compromising , and falsifying the standard of good and evil in order to adapt it to particular circumstances.. It is quite human for the sinner to acknowledge his weakness and to ask mercy for his failings; what is unacceptable is the attitude of one who makes his own weakness the criterion of the truth about the good, so that he can feel self-justified, without even the need to have recourse to God and His mercy. An attitude of this sort corrupts the morality of society as a whole, since it encourages doubt about the objectivity of the moral law in general and a rejection of the absoluteness of moral prohibitions regarding specific human acts, and it ends up by confusing all judgments about values.

Instead, we should take to heart the message of the Gospel parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector (cf. Lk 18: 9-14). The tax collector might possibly have had some justification for the sins he committed, such as to diminish his responsibility. But his prayer does not dwell on such

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'The Splendor of Truth'

'When people ask the Church the questions raised by their consciences, when the faithful in the Church turn to their bishops and pastors, the Church's reply contains the voice of Jesus Christ, the voice of truth about good and evil.

In the words spoken by the Church there resounds, in people's inmost being, the voice of God who alone is good, who alone is love. ' justifications, but rather on his own unworthiness before God's infinite holiness: "God, be merciful to me a simer!" (Lk 18: 13). The Pharisee, on the other hane:, is self-justified, finding some excuse for each of his failings. Here we encounter two different attitudes of the moral conscience of man in every :lge. The tax collector represents a "repentant" conscience, fully aware of the frailty of its own nature and seeing in its own failings, whatever their subjective justifications, a confirmation of its need for redemption. The Pharisee represents a "self-satisfied" conscience, under the illusion that it is able to observe the law without the he:.p of grace and convinced that it does not need mercy.

expression." (166) De~Christianization, which weighs heavily upon entire peoples and communities once rich in faith and Christian life, involves not only the loss of faith or in any event its becoming irrelevant for everyday life, but also, and of necessity, a decline or obscuring of the moral sense. This comes about both as a result of a loss of awareness of the originality of Gospel morality and as a result of an eclipse of fundamental principles and ethical values themselves. Today's widespread tendencies toward subjectivism, utili-' tarianism and relativism appear not merely as pragmatic attitudes or patterns of behavior, but rather as approaches having a basis in theory and claiming full cultural and social legitimacy.

baptism. His moral life has the value of a "spiritual worship" (Rom 12: 1; cf. Phil 3: 3) flowing from and nourished by that inexhaustible source of holiness and glorification of God which is found in the sacraments, especially in the Eucharist: By sharing in the sacrifice of the cross, the Christian partakes of Christ's self-giving love and is equipped and committed to live this same charity in all his thoughts and deeds. In the moral life the Christian's royal service is also made evident and effective: With the help of grace, the more one obeys the new law of the Holy Spirit, the more one grows in the freedom to which he or she is ealled by the service of truth, charity and justice.

105 • allow All people must take great care not to themselves to be tainted by the

'107 • Evangelization-and therefore the "new evangelization"-arso involves

108 • and At the heart of the new evangelization of the new moral life which it pro-

the proclamation and presentation of morality.

Jesus himself, even as He preached the kingdom of God and its saving love, called people to faith and conversion (cf. Mk 1: 15). And when Peter, with the other apostles, proclaimed the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth from the dead, He held out a new life to be lived, a "way" to be followed, for those who would be disciples of the risen One (cf. Acts 2: 37-41; 3: 17-20).

Just as it does in proclaiming the truths of faith, and even more so in presenting the foundations and content of Christian morality, the new evangelization will show its authenticity and unleash all its missionary force when it is carried out through the gift not only of the word proclaimed but also of the word lived. In particular, the life of holiness which is resplendent in so many mem- ' bers of the people of God, humble and often unseen, constitutes the simplest and most attractive way to perceive at once the beauty of truth; the liberating force of God's love, and the value of unconditional fidelity to all the demands of the Lord's law, even in the most difficult situations.

For this reason, the Church, as a wise teacher of morality, has always invited believers to seek and to find in the saints, and above all in the virgin mother of God "full of grace" and "all-holy," the model, the strength and the joy needed to live a life in accordance with God's commandments and the Beatitudes of the Gospel.

The lives of the saints, as a reflection of ~he goodness of God-the one who "alone is good"constitute not only a genuine profession of faith and an incentive for sharing it with others, but also a glorification of God and His infinite holiness. The life of holiness thus brings to full expression and effectiveness the threefold and unitary "munus propheticum, sacerdotale et regale" which every Christian receives as a gift by being born again "of water and the Spirit" (In 3: 5) in

poses and awakens by its fruits of holiness and missionary zeal, there is the Spirit of. Christ, the principle and strength of the fruitfulness of holy mother Church. As Pope Paul VI reminded us: "Evangelization will never be possible without the action of the Holy Spir.it." (167) The Spirit of Jesus, received by the humble and docile heart of the believer, brings aJ;>ouUhe flourishing of Christian moral life and the witness of holiness amid the great variety of vocations, gifts, responsibilities, conditions and life situations. As Novatian once pointed out, here expressing the authentic faith of the Church, iUs the Holy Spirit "who confirmed the hearts and minds of the disciples, who revealed the mysteries of the Gospel, who shed upon them the light of thipgs divine. Strengthened

by His gift, they did not fear eit.her prisons or chains for the name of the Lord; indeed they even trampled upon the powers and torments of the world, armed and strengthened by Him, having to themselves the gifts which this same spirit bestows and directs like jewels to the Church, the bride of Christ. It is in fact He who raises up prophets in the Church, instructs teacliers, guides ton.gues, works wonders and healings, accomplishes miracles, grants the discernment of spirits, assigns governance, inspires counsels, distributes and harn10nizes every other charismatic gift. In this way He completes and verfects the Lord's Church everywhere and in all things." (168) In the living context of this new evangelization, aimed at generating and nourishing "the faith which works through love" (cf. Gal 5: 6), and in relations to the work of the. Holy Spirit, we can now understand the proper place which continuing theological reflection about the moral life hol.ds in the Church, the community of believer's.

We can likewise speak of the mission and the responsibility proper to moral theologians.

attitude 0:: the Pharisee, which would seek to eliminate awareness of one's own limits and of one's own sin. In our ()wn day this attitude is expressed particularly in the attempt to adapt the moral norm to one's own capacities and personal interests, and even in the rejection of the very idea of a norm. Accepting, on the other hand, the "dispropOltion" between the law and human ability (that i:;, the capacity of the moral forces of man left to himself) kindles the desire for grace and prepa:res one to receive it. "Who will deliver me from this body of death?" asks the apostle Paul. And in an outburst of joy and gratitude he replies: "Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! " (Rom 7: 24-25) .

We find the same awareness in the following prayer of St. Ambrose of Milan: "What then is man, if you do not visit him? Remember, Lord, that you have made me as one who is weak, that you formed me from dust. How can I stand, if you do not constantly look upon me, to strengthen this clay, so th:lt my strength may proceed from your face? When you hide your face, all grows weak (Ps 104: 29): If you turn to look at me, woe is me!

You have nothing to see in me but the stain of my crtmes; there is no gain either in being abandoned or in being seen, because when we are seen, we offend you. Still, we can imagine that God does not reject those He sees, because He purifies those upon whom He gazes. Before him burns a fire capable of consuming our guilt (cf. Jl 2: 3) ." (165)

Morality and New Evangelization

106 • Evangelization is the most powerful and stirring challenge which the Church has been called to face from her very beginning. Indeed, this challenge is posed not so much py the social and cultural milieux which she encounter::; in the course of history, as by the mandate (If the risen Christ, who defines the very reason fa)' the Church's existence: "Go into all the world :lnd preach the Gospel to the whole creation" (M:~ 16: 15 ) .

At least for many peoples, however, the present time is instead marked by a formidable' challenge. to undertake a "new evangelization," a proclamation of the Gospel which is always new and always the hearer of new things, an evangelization which must be "new in its ardor, methods and

'...temptations can be' overcome, sins can be avoided, because together with the corr1mandments the Lord gives us the possibility of keeping them... '

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'Veritatis Splendor'

The Service Of Moral Theologians

the primordial question: What is good or evil?

What must be done to have eternal life?

109

112 •.exercise The moral theologian must therefore careful discernment in the con-

not only in the sphere of faith, but also, and inseparably so, in the sphere of morals. It has the task of "discerning, by means of judgments normative for the consciences of believers, those acts which in themselves conform to the demands of faith The whole Church is calfed to evangeliand foster their expression in life and those • zation and to the witness of a life of which, on the contrary, because intrinsically evil, faith, by the fact that she has been made a sharer are incompatible with such demands." (172) In in the "munus propheticum" of the Lord Jesus proclaiming the commandments of God and the through the gift of His Spirit. Thanks to the percharity of Christ, the Church's magisterium also manent presence of the Spirit of truth in the teaches the faithful specific particular precepts Church (cf. Jn 14: 16-17), "the universal body·of and requires that they consider them in conthe faithful who have received the anointing of the science as morally binding. In addition, the magholy one (cf. 1 Jn 2: 20, 27) cannot be mistaken in belief. It displays this particular quality through - isterium carries out an important work of vigilance, warning the faithful of the presence of posa supernatural sense of the faith in the whole peosible errors, even merely implicit ones, when ple when, 'from the bishops to the last of the lay their consciences 'fail to acknowledge the correctfaithful,' it expresses the consensus of all in matness and the truth of the moral norms whiCh the ters of faith and morals." (169) magisterium teaches.

In order to carry out her prophetic mission, the This is the point at which to consider the speChurch must constantly reawaken or "rekindle" cific task of all those who by mandate of their leher own life oi faith (cf. 2 Tm 1: 6), particularly gitimate pastors teach moral theology in semithrough an ever deeper reflection, under the guidnaries and faculties of theology. They have the ance of the Holy Spirit, upon the content of faith , grave duty to instruct the faithful-especially fuitself. The "vocation" of the theologian in the lure pastors-about all those commandments and Church is specifically at the service of this practical norms authoritatively declared by the "believing effort to understand the faith." As the Church. (173) While recognizing the possible limiinstruction "Donum Veritatis" teaches: "Among tations of the human arguments employed by the the vocations awakened by the Spirit in the magisterium, moral theologians are called to deChurch is that of the theologian. His role is to purvelop a deeper understanding of the reasons unsue in a particular wayan ever deeper underderlying its teachings and to expound the validity standing of the word of God found in the inspired and obligatory nature of the precepts it proposes, Scriptures and handed 01) by the living tradition demonstrating their connection with one another of the Church. He does this in communion with and their relation with man's ultimate end. (174) the magjsterium, which' has been charged with Moral theologians are to set forth the Church's the responsibility of preserving the deposit of teaching and to give, in the exercise of their minfaith. By its nature, faith appeals to reason beistry, the example of a loyal assent, both internal cause it reveals to man the truth of his destiny and external, to the magisterium's teaching in and the way to attain it. Revealed truth, to be areas of both dogma and morality. (175) Workthe sure, surpasses our telling. All our concepts fall ing together ill cooperation with the hierarchical short of its ultimately unfathomable grandeur magisterium, theologians will be deeply con(d. Eph 3: 19). Nonetheless, revealed truth beckcerned to clarify ever more fully the biblical founons reason-God's gift fashIoned for the assimila. dations, the ethical significance and the anthropotion of truth-to enter into its light and thereby logical concerns which underlie the moral doccome to understand in a certain measure what it trine and the vision of man set forth by the has believed. Theological science responds to the Church. invitation of truth as it seeks to understand the faith. It thereby aids the people of God in fulfilling the apostle's command (cf. 1 Pt 3: 15) to give .an The service which moral theologians accounting for their hope to those who ask .

• are called to provide at the present it." (170) time -is of the utmost importance, not only for the It is fundamental for defining the very identity Church's life and mission, but also for human soof theology, and consequently for theology to ciety and culture. Moral theologians have the carry out its proper mission, to recognize its protask, in close and vital connection with biblical found and vital connection with the Church, her and dogmatic theology, to highlight through their mystery, her life and her mission: "Theology is scientific reflection "that dynamic aspect which an ecclesial science because it grows in the will elicit the response that man must give to the church and works on the church...!t is a service to divine call which comes in the process of his the Church and therefore ought to feel itself acgrowth in love, within a community of salvation. tively involved in the mission of the Church, parIn this way, moral theology will acquire an inner ticularly in its prophetic mission.'~ (171) By its spiritual dimension in response to the need to devery nature and procedures, authentic theology velop fully the "imago Dei" present in man, and, can flourish and develop only through a commitin response to the laws of spiritual development ted and responsible participation in and described

by Christian ascetical and mystical "belonging" to the Church as a "community of theology." (176) faith." In turn, the fruits of theological research Certainly moral theology and its teaching are and deeper insight become a source of enrichmeeting with particular difficulty today. Because ment for the Church and her life of faith. the Church's morality necessarily involves a normative dimension, moral theology cannot be reduced to a body of knowledge worked out purely All that has been said about theology in in the context of the so-called behavioral sciences.

• general can and must also be said for The latter are concerned with the phenomenon of moral theology, seen in its specific nature as a morality as a historical and social fact; , moral scientific reflection on the Gospel as the gift and theology, however, while needing to make use of commandment of new life, a reflection on the life the behavioral and natural sciences, does not rely which "professes the truth in love" (d. Eph 4: 15) on the results of formal empirical observation or and on the Church's life of holiness, in which there . phenomenological understanding alone. Indeed, shines forth the truth about the good brought to its the relevance of the behavioral sciences for perfection. The Church's magisterium intervenes moral theology must always be measured against

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110

text of today's prevalently scientific and'technical culture, exposed as it is to the dangers of relativism, pragmatism and positivism. From the theological viewpoint, moral principles are not dependent upon the historical moment in which they are discovered. Moreover, the fact that some believers act without following the teachings of the magisterium or erroneously consider as morally correct a kind of behavior declared by their pastors as contrary to the law of God cannot be a valid argument for rejecting the truth of the moral norms taught by the Church. The affirmation of moral principles is not within the competence of formal empirical methods. While not denying the validity of such methods, but at the same time not restricting its viewpoint to theql, moral theology, faithful to the supernatllral sense of the faith, takes into account first and foremost the spiritual dimension of the human heart and its vocation to divine love.

In fact, while the behavioral sciences, like all experimental sciences, develop an empirical and statistical concept of "normality," faith teaches that this normality itself bears the traces of a·fall from man's original situation-in other words, it is affected by sin. Only Christian faith points out to man the way to return to "the beginning" (cf. ,Mt 19: 8), a way which is often quite different from that of empirical normality. Hence the behavioral sciences, despite the great value of the information which they provide, cannot be considered decisive indications of moral norms. It is the Gospel which reveals the full truth about man and his moral journey, and thus enlightens and admonishes sinners; it proclaims to them God's mercy, which is constantly at work to preserve them both from despair at their inability fully to know and keep God's law and from the presumption that they can be saved without merit. God also reminds sinners of the joy of forgiveness, which alone grants the strength to see in the moral law a liberating truth, a grace-filled source of hope, a path of life.

Teaching moral doctrine involves the • conscious acceptance of these intellec113 tual, spiritual and pastoral responsibilities. Moral theologians, who have, accepted the charge of teaching the Church's doctrine, thus have a grave· duty to train the faithful to make this moral discernment, to be committed to the true good and to have confident recourse to God's grace. ' While exchanges and conflicts of opinion may . constitute normal expressions of public life in a representative democracy, moral teaching certainly. canriot depend simply upon respect for a process: Indeed, it is in no way established by following the rules and deliberative procedures typical of a democracy. Dissent, inthe form of carefully orchestrated protests and polemics carried on in the media, is opposed to ecclesial communion and to a correct understanding of the hierarchical constitution of the people of God. Opposition to the teaching of the Church's pastors cannot be seen as a legitimate expression either of Christian freedom or of the diversity of the Spirit's gifts. When this happens, the Church's pastors have the duty to act in conformity with their apostolic mission, insisting that the right of the faithful to receive Catholic doctrine in its purity and integrity must always be respected. "Never forgetting that he too is a member of the people of

'...in every sphere of personal, family, social and:politicallife, morality-founded upon truth and open in truth to authentic freedomrenders a primordial, indispensable and immensely valuable service not only for the indiviejual person...but also for society... '

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'The Splendor of Truth'

ROME, 1963-Although 30 years have passed since this scene of the opening of the second session of Vatican Council II, Pope John Paull! is still interpreting it, building upon it, in his new encyclical.

-eNS

God, th~ theologian must be respectful of them and be committed to offering them a teaching which in no way does harm to the doctrine of the " faith." (177)

Our Own Responsibilities As Pastors

114 • us,As theresponsibility Second Vatican Council reminds for the faith and the life of faith cf the people of God is particularly incumbent upon the Church's pastors: "Among the principal ':asks of bishops the preaching of the Gospel is pre-eminent. For the bishops are the heralds of the faith who bring new disciples to Christ. "They are authentic teachers, that is, teachers endowed with the authority of Christ, who preach to the 'people entrusted to them the faith to be believed and put into practice; they illustrate this faith in the light of the Holy Spirit, drawing out of the treasury of revelation things old and new (cf. Mt 13: 52); they make it bear fruit and they vigilantly ward off errors that are threatening their flock (cf.' 2 Tm 4: 1-4)." (178) It is our common duty, and even before that our common gral~e, as pastors and bishops of the Church, to te2ch the faithful the things which lead them to God, just as the Lord Jesus did with the young man in the Gospel. Replying to the question: "What good must I do to have eternal life?"

Jesus referred the young man to God, the Lord of creation and (If the covenant. He reminded him of the moral commandments already revealed in the Old Testament, and he indicated their spirit and deepest r~eaning by inviting the young man to follow him in poverty, humility and love: "Come, follow me!" The truth of this teaching, was sealed on the cross in the blood of Christ: In the Holy Spirit, it has become the new law of the Church and of every Christian.

This "answer" to the question about morality has been entnlsted by Jesus Christ in a particular way to us, the pastors of the Church; we have been called to make it the object of our preaching, in the fulfillment of our "munus propheticum." At the same timE', our responsibility as pastors with' regard to Chr:~stian moral teaching must also be exercised as :;>art of the "munus sacerdotale": This happens when we dispense to the faithful the gifts of grace and sanctification as an effective means for obeying God's holy law and when, with our constant and confident prayers, we support believers in their efforts to be faithful to the demands of the faith and to live in accordance with the Gospel (d. ColI: 9-12). Especially today, Christian moral teaching must be one of the chief areas in which we exercise our pastoral vigilance, in carrying out our "munus regale."

is the first time, in fact, that the 115 • This magisterium of the Church has set forth in detail the fundamental elements of this teaching and presented the principles for the pastoral discernment necessary in practical and cultural situations which are complex and even crucial.

In the light of revelation and of the Church's constant teaching, especially that of the Second Vatican Council, I have briefly recalled the essential characteristics of freedom as well as the fundamental values connected with the dignity of the person and the truth of his acts so as to be able to discern in obedience to the moral law a grace and , a sign of our adoption in the o~e Son (cf. Eph 1: 46) . Specifically, this encyclical has evaluated certain trends in moral' theology today. I now pass this evaluation on to you, in obedience to the word of the Lord who entrusted to Peter the task of strengthening his brethren (cf. Lk 22: 32) , in order to clarify and aid our common discernment.

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 individuals 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.

In acknowledging these commandments, Christian hearts and our pastoral charity listen to the call of the one who "first loved us" (1 Jn 4: 19) .

God asks us to be holy as He is holy (cf. Lv 19: 2), to be in Ghrist-perfect as he is perfect (cf. Mt 5: 48). The unwavering demands of that commandment are based upon GOd's infinitely mercifullove (cf. Lk 6: 36), and the purpose of that commandment is to lead us, by the grace of Christ, on the path of that fullness of life proper to the childrenofGod.

We have the duty, as bishops, to be vigi116 • lant that the word of God is faithfully taught. My brothers in the episcopate, it is part of our pastoral ministry to see to it that this moral teaching is faithfully handed down and to have recourse to appropriate measures to ensure that the faithful are guarded from every doctrine and theory contrary to it. In carrying out this task we are all assisted by theologians; even so, theological opinions constitute neither the rule nor the norm of our teaching. Its authority is derived, by the assistance of the Holy Spirit and in communion "cum Petro et sub Petro," from our fidelity to the Catholic faith which comes from the apostles.

As bishops, we have the grave obligation to be

personally vigilant that the "sound doctrine" (1 Tm 1: 10) of faith and morals is taught in our dioceses.

A particular responsibility is incumbent upon bishops with regard to Catholic institutions.

Whether these are agencies for the pastoral care of the family or for social work, or institutions dedicated to teaching or health care, bishops can canonically erect and recognize these structures and delegate certain responsibilities to them.

Nevertheless, bishops are never relieved of their own-personal obligations. It falls to them, in communion with the Holy See, both to grant the title "Catholic" to Church-related schools, (179) universities, (180) health care facilities and counseling services, and, in cases of a serious failure to live up to that title, to take it away.

11"'74 • inmost In the heart of every Christian, in the depths of each person, there is always an echo of the question which the young man hI the Gospel once 'asked Jesus: "Teacher, what good must I do to have eternal life?" (Mt 19: 16). Everyone, however, needs to address this question to the "good teacher," since he is the only one who can answer in the fullness of truth, in aU situations, in the most varied of circumstances. And when Christians ask him the question which rises from their conscience, the Lord replies in the words of the new covenant which have been entrusted to His Church. As the apostle Paul said of himself, we have been sent "to preach the Gospel, and not with eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power" (1 Cor 1: 17). The Church's answer to man's question contains the wisdom and power of Christ crucified, the truth which gives of itself.

When people ask the Church the questions raised by their consciences, when the faithful in the Church turn to their bishops and pastors, the Church's reply contains the voice of Jesus Christ, the voi.ce of tM truth about good and evil. In the words spoken by the Church there resounds, in people's inmost being, the voice of God who "alone is good" (cf. Mt 19: 17), who alone "is love" (1 Jn 4: 8, 16).

Through the anointing of the Spirit this gentle but challenging word becomes ligh: and life for man. Again the apostle Paul invites us to have confidence, because "our competence is from God, who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not in a written code but in the Spirit...The Lord is the Spirit, anj where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And all of us, wit;1 unveiled faces, reflecting th~ glory of the Lord, are being changed into his l:Ikeness from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit" (2 Cor 3: 5-3, 17-18).

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E26

The Anchor

October 29, 1993

'Veritatis Splendor'

Conclusion Mary, Mother of Mercy At the end of these considerations, let us 118 • entrust ourselves, the sufferings and the

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joys of our life, the moral life of believers and people of good will, and the research of moralists, to Mary, mother of God and mother of mercy.

Mary is mother of mercy because her son, Jesus Christ, was sent by the Father as the revelatiop of God's mercy (d. Jn 3: 16-18). Christ came not to condemn but to forgive, to show' mercy (cf. Mt 9: 13). And the greatest mercy of all is found in His being in our midst and calling us to meet him and to confess, with Peter, that He is "the Son of the living God" (Mt 16: 16). No human sin can erase the mercy of God or prevent Him from unleasHing all His triumphant power, if we only call upon him. Indeed, sin itself makes even more radiant the love of the Father who, in order to ransom a slave, sacrificed His Son: (181) His mercy toward us is redemption. This mercy reaches its fullness in the gift of the Spirit who bestows new life and demands that it be lived. No matter how many and great the obstacles put in His way by human frailty and sin, the Spirit, who renews the face of the earth (cf. PsI04: 30), makes possible the miracle of the perfect accomplishment of the good. This renewal, which gives the ability to do what is good, noble, beautiful, pleasing to God and in conformity with His will, is in some way the flowering of the gift of mercy, which offers liberation from the slavery of evil and gives the strength to sin no more. Through the gift of new life, Jesus makes us sharers in His love and leads us to the Father in the Spirit.

119 • Such is the consoling certainty of Chris- \ tian faith, the source of its profound humanity and extraordinary simplicity. At times in the discussions about new and complex moral problems it can seem that Christian morality is in . itself too demanding, difficult to understand and almost impossible to practice. This is untrue, since Christian morality consists, in the simplicity of the Gospel, in following Jesus Christ, in apandoning oneself to Him, in letting oneself be .transformed by His grace and renewed by His mercy, gifts which come to us in the living communion of His church. St. Augustine reminds us that "he who would live has a place to live, and has everything needed to live. Let him draw n~ar, let him believe, let him become part of the body, that he may have life. Let him not shrink from the unity of the members." (182) By the light of the Holy Spirit, the living essence of Christian morality can be understood by everyone, even the least learned, but particularly those who are able to preserve an "undivided heart" (Ps 86: 11) . On the other hand, this evangelical simplicity does not exempt one from facing reality in its complexity; rather it can lead to a more genuine understanding of reality, inasmuch as following Christ will gradually bring out the distinctive character of authentic Christian morality, while providing the vital energy needed to carry it out. It is the task of the Church's magisterium to see that the dynamic process of following Christ develops in an organic manner, without the falsification or obscuring of its moral demands, with all their consequences. The one who loves Christ keeps his commandments (d. Jn 14: 15).

120 • itMaryis tois also mother of mercy because her that Jesus entrusts His Church and all humanity. At the foot of the cross, when she accepts John as her son, when she asks, together with Christ, forgiveness from. the Father for those who do not know what they do (cf. Lk 23: 34), Mary experiences, in perfect docility to the Spirit, the richness and the universality of God's love, which opens her heart and enables it

-United Press Intemational

MOTHER OF MERCY-"She understands sinful man and loves him with a mother's love," Pope John Paul writes of Mary, portrayed here in Michelangelo's "Pieta."

to embrace the entire human race. Thus Mary becomes mother of each and every one of us, the mother who obtains for us divine mercy.

Mary is the radiant sign and inviting model of the moral life. As St. Ambrose put i~, "The life of this one person can serve as a model for everyone," (183) and while speaking specifically to virgins but within a context open to all, he affirmed: "The first stimulus to learning is the nobility of the teacher. Who can be more noble than the mother of God? Who can be more glorious than the one chosen by glory itself?" (184) Mary lived and exercised her freedom precisely by giving herself to God and accepting God's gift within herself. Until the time of His birth, she shelteredin her womb the Son of God who became man; she raised Him and enabled Him to grow, and she accompanied Him in that supreme act of freedom which is the complete sacrifice of His own1ife. By the gift of herself, Mary entered fully into the plan of God who gives Himself to the world. By accepting and pondering in her heart events which she did not always understand (cf. Lk 2: 19), she became the model of all those who hear the word of God and keep it (cf. Lk 11: 28), and merited the title of "seat of wisdom." This wisdom is Jesus Christ Himself, the eternal Word of God, who perfectly reveals and accomplishes the will of the Father (d. Heb 10: 5-10). Mary invites everyone to accept this wisdom. To us too she addresses the command she gave to the servants at Cana in Galilee during the marriage feast: "Do whatever he tells you" (In 2: 5).

Mary shares our human condition, but in complete openness to the grace of God. Not having known sin, she is able to have compassion on every kind of weakness. She understands sinful man and loves him with a mother's love. Precisely for this reason she is on the side of truth and shares the Church's burden in recalling always and to

everyone the demands of morality. Nor does she permit sinful man to be -deceived by those who claim to love him by justifying his sin, for she knows that the sacrifice of Christ her Son would thus be emptied of its power. No absolution offered by beguiling doctrines, even in the areas of philosophy and theology, can ma~e man truly happy: Only the cross and the glory of the risen Christ can grant peace to his conscience and salvation to his life.

OMary, Mother of Mercy, watch over all people, that the cross oJ Christ may not be emptied of its power, that man may not stray from the path of the good or become blind to sin, but may put his hope ever more fully in God, who is "rich in mercy" (Eph. 2: 4).

May he carry out the good works prepared

by God beforehand (cf. Eph. 2: 10) and so live completely "for the praise of his glory" (Eph. 1: 12) . .

Given in Rome, at St. Peter's, Aug. 6, feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord, in the year 1993, the 15th of my pontificate.

John Paul"

...

The Anchor

E27

October 29, 1993

'The Splendor of Truth'

Footnotes: 1. Pastora 1Constitution on the Church in the Modern World "Gaudium et Spes," 22.

2. Cf. Vatican Council II, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church "Lumen Gentium," 1.

3. Cf. ibid" 9.

4. "Gaudiltm efSpes," 4.

5. Paul VC, Address to the General Assembly of the United Nations (Oct. 'I, 1965), 1: Acta Apostol ica Sedis 57 (196S), 878; cf. encyclical "Popitiorum Progressio" (March 6, 1967), 13: AAS 59 (1967), 263-:!64.

6. Cf. "Goudium et Spes," :6.

7.

"Lumen Gentium," 16.

8. Pius X::r had already pointed out this doc,trinal develDpment: cf. radiD message for the 50th anniv{'rsary of the encyclical "Rerum Novarum" of Leo XIII (June I, 1941): AAS 33 (1941), 195-205. Also John XXIII; encyclical "Mater et lIfagistra'" (May 15, 1961): AAS 5~ (1961),410--:13.

9. Apostclic letter "Spiritus Domini" (Aug. I, 1987): AP.S 79 (1987), 1374.

10. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1692.

11.

A ~ostolic constitution "Fidei DepOi>-i!.um" (Oct. 11, 1992),4.

12. Cf. Vatican Council II, Dogmatic Constitution on Ilivine Revelation "Dei Verbum," 10.

13. Cf. Apostolic letter to the young people of the world on International Year of Youth "Parati Semper" (March 31, 1985), 2-8: AAS 77 (1985), 5:11~00.

14. Cf. Decree on Priestly Formation

"()ptatam :"otius," 16.

15. Enl:yclical '''Redemptor

Hominis"

(March 4, J 979) , 13: AAS 71 (1979), 282.

16. Ibid., 10.

17. "Exc,meron," Dies VI, Sermo IX, 8, 50:

CorPus Scriptorum Latinorum 32, 241.

Ecclesiasticorum

18. St. Leo the Great, Sermo XCII, Chap.

III, Patrologia Latina 54, 454.

19. St. T.lomas Aquinas, "In Duo Praecepta

Caritatis et in Decem Legis Praecepta."

Prologw;: Opuscula Theologica, II, No. 1129, Ed. Taulinen. (1954), 245; cf. Summa Theologiae, I-II, q. 91, a. 2; Catechism, 1955.

20.

St. Maximus the Confessor, ','Quaestim~ ad Thalaso-ium," Q. 64: Patrologia Graeca 90, 723-728.

21. "Gaudium et Spes," 24.

22. Catechism, 2070.

Cf.

23. "In Iohannis Evangelium Tractatus," 'II, 10: Ccrpus Christianorum, Series Latina

36,363.

24. Cf.

~:t. Augustine, "De Serm.one Domini in Monte," I, I, 1: CCL 35,1-2.

25. "Ill Psalmum CXVIII Expositio,"

Sermo 18, 37: PL 15, 1541; cf. St. Chromatius of Aquileia, "Tractatus in Matthaeum," XX, 1,1-4: CCL 9/A, 291-292.

'26. Cf. Catechism, 1717.

27.

Each of us knows how important is. the teaching which represents the central theme of this encyclical and which is today being restated with ~he authority of the successor of St. Peter.

Each of us can see the seriousness of what is involved, not only for individuals 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.

"In Iohannis Evangelium Tractatus,"

41.

28. Ibid, 21, 8.

29. Ibid" 82, 3.

30. "De Spiritu et LiUem," 19,34: CSEL 60, 187.

31. "Ccnjessiones," X, 29, 40: eCL 27, 176; cr. "De Gi·atia et Libero Arbitrio," XV: PL 44, 899.

32. Cf. "De Spiritu et Littera," 21, 36; 26,46.

33. Cf. Summa TheologUie, I-II, q. 106, a. 1 conclusio.l and ad 2um.

34. "In Matthaeum," Hom. I, 1: PG 57, 15.

35. Cf. St. Irenaeus, "AdversUs Haereses," IV, ~6, 2-5: Sources Chretienne 10012, 718·729.

36. Cf. St. Justin, "Apologia," 1, 66: PG 6, 427-430.

37. Cf. 1 Pt. 2: 12 ff., cL "Didache," II, 2: "Patres Apostolici," ed. F.X. Funk, I, 6-9; Clement of Alexandria, "Pciedagogw;," I, 10; II, 10: PG 8, 355-364; 497-536; Tertullian, "Apologel.icum," IX, 8: CSEL, 69, 24.

38. CL St. Ignatius of Antioch, "Ad Magnesios,' , VI, 1-2: Pai:res Apostolici, ed.

F.X. Funk, I, 234-235; St. Irenaeus, "Adversus Haereses," IV, 33: 1,6,7.

39. "Dd Verbum," 8.

40. Cf. ibid.

41. Ibid., 10.

42. Calion 747.2.

43. "Din Verbum," 7.

44. "Gltudium et Spes," 22. . 45. "0;1tatam Totius," 16.

46. "a.zudium et Spes," 62.

47. Ibid.

48. Cf. "Dei Verbum," 10.

49. Cf. Vatican Council I, Dogmatic Constitution 0:1 the Catholic Faith "Dei Filius," Chap. 4: Enchiridion Symbolorum (Denzinger SchonmBtzer) 3018.

50. V~tican Council II, Declaration on the Relationship of the Church to Non-Christian Religions "Nostra Aetate," 1.

51. Cf. "Gaudium et Spes," 43-44.

52. Declaration on Religious Freedom "Dignitatis HU1nanae," I, referring to John XXIII, encylical "Pacem in Terris" (April 11, 1963): AAS 55 (1963), 279; ibid., 265, and to Pius XII, radio message Dec. 24, 1944: AAS 37 (1945),14.

53. "Dignitatis HU1nanae," 1.

54. CL "Redemptor Hominis," 17; address to participants in the fifth international colloquiumof juridical studies (March 10, 1984), 4: Insegnamenti VII, 1 (1984), 656; Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Instruction on Christian Freedom and Liberation "Lilx:rtatis Conscientia" (March 22, 1986), 19: AAS 79 (1987) , 561. .

55. Cf. "Gaudium et Spes," 11.

56. Ibid., 17.

57. Ibid.

58. Cf. "Dignitatis HU1nanae," 2; cl. also Gregory XVI, encyclical "Mirari Vos Arbitramur" (Aug. 15, 1832): Acta Gregorii Papae XVI, I, 169-174, Pius IX, encyclical "Quanta Cura" (Dec. 8,1864): PH IX P.M. Acta, 1,3, 687-700; Leo XIII, encyclical "liibertas Praestantissimum" (June 20, 1888): Leonis XIII P.M. Acta, VIII, Rome 1889, 212-24Ii. 59. "A Letter Addressed to His Grace the Duke of Norfolk: Certain Difficulties Felt by Anglicans in Catholic Teaching" (uniform ed.: Longman, Green and Company, London, 1868-1881), vol. 2, p. 250.

60. Cf. "Gaudium et Spes," 40 and 43.

61. Cf. St. Thomas Aquinas, .summa Theologia, I-II, q. 71, a. 6; see also ad 5um.

62. Cf. Pius XII, encyclical "}[u1nani Generis" (Aug. 12, 1950): AAS 42 (1950), 561562..

63. Cf. Council of Trent, Sess. VI, Decree on Justification "Cum Hoc Tempore," Canons 1921: Denz. Schon., 1569-1571. ' 64.

65.

"Gaudium et Spes," 17.

"De Hominis Opificio," Chap. 4: PG 44,

135-136.

66.

"Gaudium et Spes," 36.

67. Ibid.

68. Ibid.

69. Cf. St. Thomas Aquinas, Sum1na Theologiae, I-II, q. 93, a. 3, ad 2um, cited in "Pacem in Terris," 271.

70.

'.'Gaudium et Spes," 41.

71. St. Thomas Aquinas,"In Duo Pra£cepta Caritatis et in Decem Legis Praecepta."

Prologus: Opuseula Theologica, II, No. 1129, Ed. Taurinen. (1954), 245.

72. Cf. Address to U.S. bishops on "ad limina" visit (Oct. 15, 1988), 6: Insegnamenti, XI, 3 (1988), 1228.

73. Cf. "Gaudium et Spes," 47.

74. Cf. St. Augustine, "Enarratw ,,:n Psalmum LXII," 16: CCL 39, 804.

75. "Gaudium et Spes," 17.

7~.

Sum1na Theologiae I-II, q. 91, a. 2.

77. Cf. Catechism, 1955.

78. "Dignitatis HU1nanae," 3.

79. "Contra Faustum, " Bk. 22, Chap. 27: PL 42,418.

80. Summa Theologiae, I-II, q. 93, a. 1.

81. CL ibid., I-II, q. 90, a. 4, ad lum.

82. Ibid., I-II, q. 91, a 2 83. "Libertas Praestantissimum."

84. "In Epistulam ad Romanos," c. VIII, lect. 1.

85. Cf. Sess. IV, '''Cum Hoc Tempore," Chap. 1.

86. Cf. Council of Vienna, constitUlion "Fide Cathalicae": Denz. Schon., 902; Lateran Council V, bull "Apostolici Regiminul": Denz.

Schon., 1440.

87.

"Gaudium et Spes," 14.

88. Cf. "Cum Hoc Tempore," Chap. 15. The postsynodal apostolic exhortation "Reconciliation and Penance in the Mission of the Church Today" cites other texts of the Old and New Testaments which condemn as mortal sins certain modes of conduct involving the body: cf. "Reconciliatw et Paenitentia" (Dec. 2, 1984), 17: AAS 77 (1985),218-223.

89. "Gaudium et Spes," 51.

90. Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Instruction on Respect for Human Life in Its Origin and on the Dignity of Procreation "Donum Vitae" (Feb. 22, 1987), Introduction, 3: AAS 80 (1988), 74; cf. Paul VI, encyclical "Hu1nanae Vitae" (July 25, 1968), 10: AAS 60 (1968),487-488.

91. Apostolic exhortation "Familiaris 'Consortw" (Nov. 22, 1981), 11 AAS 74 (1982), 92.

92. "De Trinitate," XIV, 15, 21: CCL 50/A, 451.

93. Cf. Sum1na Theologiae, I~II, q. 94, a. 2.

94. Cf. "Gaudium et Spes," 10; Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Declaration on Certain Questions Concerning Sexual Ethics "Persona Humana" (Dec. 29, 1975), 4: AAS 68 (1976), 80: "But in fact, divine revelation and, in its own proper order, philosophical wisdom, emphasize the authentic exigencies of human nature. They thereby necessarily manifest the existence of immutable laws inscribed in the constitutive elements of human nature and' which are revealed to be identical in all beings endowed with reason."

95.

"Gaudium et Spes," 29.

96. Cf. ibid., 16.

97. Ibid., 10.

98. Cf. Sum1na Tll£OlouWe I-II, q. 108, a. 1.

St. Thomas bases the fact that moral norDlS, even in the context of the new law, are not merely formal in character but have a determined content, upon the assumption of human nature by the Word.

99. St. Vincent of Lerins, "Com.lIwnitorium Primum," c. 23: PL 50, 668.

100. The development of the Church's moral

doctrine is similar to that of the doctrine of the faith (cf. "Dei Filius" Chap. 4, and Canon 4: bSJ 3024). The words spoken by John XXIII at the opening of the Second Vatican Council can also be applied to moral doctrine: "This certain and unchanging teaching (Le., Christian doctrine in its completeness) " to which the faithful owe obedience, needs to be more deeply understood and set forth in a way adapted to the needs of our time. Indeed, this deposit of the faith, the truths contained in our time-honored teaching, is one thing; the manner in which these truths are set forth (with their meaning preserved intact) is somethmg else": AAS 54 (1962), 792; cf. L'Osservatol'e Romano, Oct. 12, 1962, p. 2.

101. "Gaudium et Spes," 16.

102. Ibid.

103. "In Ir'Librum Sentent.," dist. 39, 8. I, q 3, conclusion Ed Ad Claras Aquas, II, 907b.

104. Address (General Audience, Aug. 17, 1983), 2: Insegnamenti, 2 (1983), 256.

105. Congregation of the Holy Office, instruction on situation ethics "Contra Doctrinam" (Feb. 2, 1fl56).

106.

Encyclical "Dooninum et Vivi/icantem" (May 18, 1986), 43: AAS 78 (1986), 859; "Gawtium et Spes," 16;

"Dignitatis HUlnanae," 3.

107. "Gaudium et Spes," 16.

108. Cf. St. Thomas Aquinas, "De Veritate," q.17, a. 4.

109. "Gaudium et Spes," 16.

110. Cf. Summa Theologiae, q. 45, a. 2.

111.

112.

"Dignitatis HUinanae," 14.

"Dei Verbum," 5; cf. "Dei Filius,"

Chap. 3.

113. Ibid. Cf. "Perscna. HU1nana," 10.

114. Cf. "Reconciliotio et Paenitentia," 17.

115. "Cum Hoc Tempore," Chap 15. !i6. "Reconciliatio d Paenitentia, " 17.

117. Ibid.

118. Ibid.

119. Cf. "Gaudium et Spes," 17.

120. Cf. Sum1na Theologiae, I-II, q. I, 3:

"Idem sunt actus mOTiI.les et actus hU1nani:' 121. "De Vita Moysis," II, 2-3: PG 44, 327328.

122. Cf. Summa Theologiae, II-II, q. 148, a.

3.

123. The Second Vatican Council, in the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, makes this clear: "This applies not only to Christians but to all men of good will in whose hearts grace is secretly at work. Since Christ died for all and since man's ultimate calling comes from God and is therefore a universal one, we are obliged to hold that the Holy Spirit offers to all the possibility of sharing in this pascha. mystery in a manner known to God" (No. 22).

124. "Tractatus (!d Tiberium Diaconum socWsque," II. "Resparu,wnes ad Tiberium Diaconum sociosque": St. Cyril of Alexandria, "In Dim Johannis Evangelium," Vol. III,

ed. Philip Edward Pusey, Brussels, Culture et Civilfzation (1965),590.

125. 'Cf. "Cum Hoc Tempore," Canon 19. See also: Clement XI, constitution "Unigenitus Dei Filius" (Sept. 8, 1713) against the errors of Paschasius Quesnel, Nos. 53-56: Denz. Schon.

2453-2456.

126. Cf. Sum1na Ti,eologiae, I-II, q. 18, a. 6.

127. C~techism, 1761.

128. "In Duo Praecep!a Caritatis etin Decem Legis Praecept:r.." De Dilectione Dei: Opuscula Theologica, n, No. 116P', Ed. Taurin-

en. (1954),250.

129. St. Alphonslls

Maria

de'Liguori,

"Practica di a1nar Geb1t Cristo," VII, 3.

130. Cf. Sum1na Theologiae, I-II, q. 100, a. 1.

131. "Reconciliatio et Paenitentia.," 17; cf.

Paul VI, address to the Redemptorists, (September 1967): AAS 59 (1967), 962: ."Far be it from Christians to be led to embrace another opinion, as if the council taught that nowadays some things are permitted which the church had previously· declared intrinsically evil.

Who does not see in this the rise of a depraved moral relativism, one that clearly endangers the church's entire doctrinal heritage?"

132.

"Gaudium et Spes," 27.

133. "Hu1nanae Vitae," 14.

134. "Contra Melu1acium," VII, 18: PL 40, 528; cr. St. Thomas Aquinas, "Questiones Quodlibetales," IX, q. 7, ,a. 2; Catechism, 17531755. .

135. "Dignitatis l!umanae," 7.

136. Address to p3rticipants in international congress of moral t:1eology (April 10, 1986), Insegnamenti, IX, 1 (1986), 970.

137. Ibid., 2.

138. Cf. "Gaudiu'in et Spes," 24.

139. Cf; "Redemptln' Hominis," 12.

140. "Enarratw in Psalmum XCIX," 7: CCL39,1397.

141. "Lumen Gentium," 36; cf. "Redemptor Hominis," 21.

E28

The Anchor

October 29, 1993

'Veritatis S lendor'

Truth and Freedom They remain eternally connected, pope's encyclical asserts

By FATHER RICHARD JOHN NEUHAUS This week Pope John Paul II issued his lOth encyclical, Veritatis Splendor ("The Splendor of Truth"). The tabloids blazoned that the pope is clamping down on sexual ethics. And'yes, it turns out that he hasn't changed his mind on fornication and adultery, but that is rather to miss the point of this extended (179 pages) and closely reasoned argument about the nature of morality. Other reports focused on his criticism of ethical theories that go by cumbersome names such as "proportionalism" and "consequentialism." That is closer to the point, but still doesn't quite get it.

Veritatis Splendor is much more than a pontifical salvo in intramural disputes among moral philosophers and theologians.

In this document, the pope offers not so much an analysis of the world's moral condition (which we all know is in a very bad way) as an examination of why we moderns no longer make moral sense to one another. Making sense assumes that there is some truth about the matter in dispute.

But when it comes to morality, it is widely assumed today that there is no such thing as truth.

Indeed, "moral truth" is thought to be an oxymoron. You have your "values" and I have mine, and there the discussion comes to a screeching halt. "What is truth?" asked Pontius Pilate. He, like many of our contemporaries, took that question to be a discussion-stopper. John Paul II argues that it ought to be a discussion-starter.

Modernity, he notes appreciatively, has been very big on freedom. But now freedom has been untethered from truth, and freedom cannot stand alone without degenerating into license. License, in turn, is the undoing of freedom, for then, as Nietzsche and others recognized, all personal and social life becomes simply the assertion of power.

If freedom is to be secured, power-and freedom itself-must be accountable to truth. Or, as John Paul puts it repeatedly, "Authentic freedom is ordered to truth."

This, the pope emphatically insists, is not a new idea. The central text for Veritatis Splendor is the word of Jesus, "You will know the truth and the truth will make you free" (John 8: 32). From the giving of the Decalogue at Sinai, from Aristotle through to the American Founders ("We hold these truths to be self-evident..."), it has been thought that there is a necessary connection between freedom and truth. The apparently new thing about our time is the proposal that freedom can get along without truth. That proposal, John Paul argues, is intellectually unconvincing, spiritually incoherent and morally disastrous.

Clear thinking about moral truth founders on the rocks of relativism and subjectivism. In a radically individualistic culture, we do not discern and obey what is objectively true. Rather; each of us decides what is "true for me." We create the truth. This, however, is really not so new, according to the pope. It is a way of thinking and acting that began with the unfortunate afternoon in the Garden of Eden and has resulted in herds of independent minds marching toward moral oblivion with Frank Sinatra's witless boast on their lips, "I did it my way." .

The "postmodernist" twist on this is to argue that all morality is created by culture. We are socially constructed, it is said, "all the way down."

Freedom may be high among your "values," but that is only because you are the product of a culture that values freedom. Ergo, your freedom is a delusion.. In fact, you are as captive to your culture as somebody else who is the product of a culture that values collectivism, or child sacrifice, or whatever. John Paul knows these arguments inside out, but he is not buying.

'The human person, he contends, truly is free. ~e is created for freedom and, although hindered

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Father Richard John Neuhaus

by the wound of sin, he is capable of freedom.

That is the truth about the human person without which all talk about morality makes no sense.

John Paul readily acknowledges the insights of psychology, anthropology and the behavioral sciences into the ways we are "conditioned" by culture, genes and factors yet unknown. But deep within each "acting person" (a key phrase in the thought of this pope) is an aspiration toward the good that he either follows or defies.

Veritatis Splendor opens with an extended and intriguing reflection on the rich young man who comes to Jesus and asks, "Teacher, what good must I do to have eternal life?" (Mt 19: 16) That, says the pope, is the question of everyman, no matter how tentatively or confusedly it is asked.

And the answer of Jesus is the answer to everyman. "If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments." Life is to know the truth and do the truth. In the Christian account of things, life is ultimately fulfilled jn the following the One who said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life."

(In 14: 6)

But, it may be objected, this is impossibly ethereal and offputtingly religious. Anyway, there is no going back to "simpler days" when it was possible to assert that '~We hold these truths" as though there are actually truths to hold, and to be held by. We live in a pluralistic society; there is not agreement on what truths we hold; and so forth. Just so, says John Paul, and that is precisely why we need so urgently to engage in argument about the truth that undergirds human freedom and dignity. Our differences notwithstanding, we can make sense to one another because we have in common our human nature and the capacity to reason, and these are universal.

The pope is keenly aware that in contending for universal nature and reason he is going up against regnant views in many of our elite institutions-views that have metastasized with remarkable virulence in popular culture. As freedom has turned against itself, so also reason has turned against itself, with the result that confidence in what is distinctively human has been severely undermined.

The idea that at the end of the second millennium the Catholic Church has turned out to be the premier institutional champion of. humanism and reason in the contemporary world will strike many as improbable, if' not preposterous. They should read Veritatis Splendor and other writings of this philosopher pope. Or, for that matter, they might consult again, or consult for the first time, Augustine and Aquinas.

John Paul is for sure no friend of "secular humanism," nor is his defense of reason to be confused with the truncated and reductionist rationalism of the Enlightenment philosophes. True humanism, he contends, is directed toward the ultimate 'good, who is God. And reason participates in the fullness of truth through revelation. But to those who are made nervous by references to God and revelation, the pope is saying in this encycli. cal that we still have a lot to talk about. And we had better get on with it before humanity staggers more deeply into the night of moral nothingness.

Some might think John Paul's sense of urgency

slightly apocalyptic; others, more alert to the intellectual and cultural drift of our time, will welcome his argument as a bracing call to reaffirm reason and human dignity in the face of nihilism both theoretical and practical.

Human rights and duties, says the pope, are "universal and immutable." That is the position the U.S. has taken against countries claiming that the idea of universal human rights reflects the "cultural imperialism" of the West. In fact, such countries may have a case. The human rights agenda is no more than an ideological imposition by the West, if the cause of freedom is divorced from the claims of truth.'

The contention that there is no objective or universal truth has achieved a measure of -official status among us by fiat of the Supreme Court. In Planned Parenthood vs. Casey, for example, the court declared that it is up to each individual to determine "the concept of existence, of meaning, of the universe and of the mystery of human life."

John Paul, by contrast, warns against "the risk of an alliance between democracy and ethical relativism." When truth itself is democratized-when truth is no more than the will of each individual or a majority of individuals-democracy, deprived of the claim to truth, stands naked to its enemies.

Thus does freedom, when it is not "ordered to truth," undo freedom. .

Moral truth, evident in a "natural law;' that is accessible to all reasonable persons, includes commands both positive and negative. But not for nothing are the "10 words" delivered at Sinai framed in the negative. We cannot always do the good that we would, but we can always refuse to do evil.

Some acts are intrinsically evil, evil per sealways and everywhere, without exception. As examples, the pope cites homicide, genocide, abortion, slavery, prostitution, and trafficking in women and children. He quotes Pope Paul VI: "Though it is true that sometimes it is lawful to tolerate a lesser moral evil in order to avoid a greater evil or in order to promote a greater good, it is never' lawful, even for the gravest reasons, to do evil that good may come of it." Evil must never be called good, nor good evil.

Here John Paul II takes on those moralists, including Catholic theologians, who say that an evil act may be justified by the end to which it is directed ("consequentialism") or by weighing the other goods at stake ("proportionalism"). It is never licit to do evil- in order to achieve good. To those of a contrary view the question might be put: When is rape morally justified? Or the torture of children? Or Auschwitz? John Paul's answer is never. Intentions may be noble, people may claim that they are acting "in good conscience," circumstances may mitigate personal responsibility, but the act remains, always and everywhere, evil.

The moral person is prepared to die rather than do evil. The words of the Latin poet Juvenal, says John Paul, apply to everyone: ."Consider it the greatest of crimes to prefer survival to honor and, out of love of physical life, to lose the very reason for living." The encyclical includes an extended meditation on the meaning of martyrdom, drawing examples from the Hebrew Scriptures, the New Testament, and the chronicle of courageous resistance to tyranny. Martyr means witness. We are not all called to martyrdom but we are called to bear witness to the truth that makes, and keeps, us free. And that, according to Veritatis Splendor, is the splendor of living in the truth.

Father Neuhaus is a priest of the Archdiocese of New York and editor-in-chief of First Things: A Monthly Journal of Religion and Public Life. This article was reprinted with permission from the Wall Street Journal of Oct. 8, 1993.

THE WIFE OF Haitian Justice Minister Guy Mallary arrives at the scene of her husband's Oct. 14 assassination moments after he and two bodyguards were shot. The killings took place outside a Port·-au-Prince Catholic church where another supporter of exiled president Father Jean-Bertrand Aristide, had been killed the previous month. (eNS/ Reuters photo)

Haiti, churc:h leaders await tomorrow's U.N. deadline WASHINGTON(CNS)- V.S. bishops and the Vatican reiterated support for reste,ring democracy in Haiti as tomorrow's V.N. dea.dline for the return of the country's deposed presidem neared.

In Haiti, the nation's bishops urged citizens to avoid succum bing to fear as vioknce increased.

CRS officials in the capital of Port-au-Prince, meanwhile, said they were closing :heir office early to get off the streets to avoid possible run-ins with roving gunmen.

Some V.S. and Canadian nuns have vowed to remain in the Caribbean nation with the poor, despite the troubles.

Diplomats said they hoped to get a V. N.-brokered plan back on track for returning Haiti's ousted president, Father Jean-Bertrand Aristide, to power Oct. 30. Father Aristide was elected in the country's first democratic elections and served seven monl hs - February to September 1991 - before being deposed in a military coup.

Following the collapse of a peace plan to return th(: president, the V.N. Security Council impo~ed economic sanctions on Haiti.

As a result of the economic quarantine, gasoline supplies have evaporated, elect'ical blackouts have become mort: frequent, (ood prices have soared "nd public transportation has beell curtailed. The impoverished nat on's telephone service is said near collapse due to lack of fuel.

In Washin'gtoll, Archbishop John R. Roach, head of the V.S. bishops' Committee on International Policy, reiterated support for Father Aristide's government. but cautioned outsiders against seeking to impose an outcome to the crisIs. Without mentioning Father Aristide, Archbishop Roach emphz.sized that the Haitian people, who

"had previously l:5een able only to dream ofa democratic order, have expressed themselves through the ballot; their will must be respected."

H is statement reiterated insistence on "a more compassionate response by our government to the pleas of the Haitian boat people for refuge, a safe haven from the danger and persecution they fear in Haiti."

Archbishop William H. Keeler of Baltimore, president of the National Conference of Catholic .Bishops, said that the church in the United States has a deep interest in Haiti for several reasons: it is a V.S. neighbor; there are many Haitians in the Vnited States, and the situation .01' Haitian refugees has prompted several statements

by V.S. bishops.

In addition, he said, some local churches have "partnerships" with Haitian dioceses, and so are acutely aware of how much the people are suffering there.

At the Vatican Oct. 20, Pope John Paul II met with the papal nuncio in Haiti, Archbishop Lorenzo Baldisseri, to discuss the growing crisis.

The Vatican released no details of the papal meeting, but said it had not received any official request for mediation. The head of Haitian armed forces, Gen. Raoul Cedras, reportedly had suggested in an interview that the pope might personally intercede to help find a solution to the political impasse.

As the pope discussed the situation in Haiti, his aides said theVatican supports a restoration of democracy and is ready to deal with Father Aristide as the country's legitimate leader if he returns to power.

At the same time, the Vatican maintains some reservations about Father Aristide, who was expelled from the Salesian religious order

in 1988 for his political activities, the officials said. Father Aristide has not practiced his priestly ministry since then.

One official said the Vatican cannot forget that "people around" Father Aristide were responsible for 1991 attacks on church personnel and property. The attacks included destruction of church buildings and stripping the papal nuncio to his underwear. Father Aristide later expressed regret over the happenings.

But when the Vatican replaced the papal nuncio in 1992, four months after Father Aristide's ouster, there was another disagreement with the priest. The Vatican said it was merely replacing a nuncio who had been transferred to Africa. But Father Aristide interpreted the move as recognition of the army-backed government and condemned the Vatican in a speech at the V nited Nations.

A Vatican official said the speech' was deeply disturbing to the Vatican.

Human rights activists have criticized most of Haiti's bishops for failing to speak out in support of Father Aristide.

However. Detroit Auxiliary Bishop Thomas J. Gumbleton, who has actively campaigned for Haitian human rights, explained that Haiti's bishops were appointed at a time when. former dictator JeanClaude Duvalier exercised the right to approve such nominations.

Bishop Gumbleton said he believes that, in part, explains the reluctance of bishops' conferences from other parts of the world to speak out about the situation.

"They just never want to appear critical of another bishops' conference," he said.

In Port-au-Prince, Catholic Relief Services country representative Douglas Greene said the volatile political situation has blocked the CRS food program and forced the agency to suspend business travel by its staff outside the Haitian capital.

The office, across the street from the presidential palace, is "closing up early these days," he said.

Staffers come in "around 7 [a.m.) and leave before 2 [p.m.)," he said.

"I n the afternoons, the roads start getting more deserted," he said, and there is sporadic gunfire.

"Right now it could be as normal as possible ... then all of a sudden these T oyotas could come by and people would' scatter," he said. The reference to T oyotas is to pickup trucks full of gunslinging "attaches" - plainclothes police auxiliaries said to be used byantidemocratic elements of the police and army leadership to terrorize the population.

He said CRS has changed license plates on its vehicles from international plates to private to avoid attracting the attention of the attaches.

Nevertheless, in Haitian villages and the countryside, where V.S. and Canadian missionaries work, eight Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary decided to remain, despite government warnings and recommendations to leave.

"It is bad if, when everything is bad, you will leave the people you work with,' said Sister Denise Girard, a spokeswoman for the order in Montreal. S he added that the nuns "love these people."

Full Value "Grief can take care of itself, but to get the full value of joy, you must have somebody to share it with." - Mark Twain

THE ANCHOR-Diocese of Fall

River-F:~i"

Oct. 29, 1993 A 5

Gets media post WASHINGTON (CNS) Mercy Sister Mary Ann Walsh, who coordi'nated media relations when Pope John Paul' II visited Denver this summer, has been appointed to the U.S. Catholic Conference Office of Media Relations. A Catholic News Service reporter and editor since 1983, for the past year she was on leave from CNS to be communications direc-

tor for WDrid Youth Day '93, In that post she handled credentials, facilities and information services for some 3.500 journalists who covered the Denver gathering and the yearlong preparations for it.

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The Anchor Friday, Oct. 29, 1993

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THE 39th ANNU AL Bishop's Charity Ball will take place 8 p.m. to midnight Jan. 14 at Venus de Milo restaurant, Swansea, with dancing to the music of Al Rainone and his orchestra. New Bedford area members of the Ball Committee are shown, front row, from left, Mrs. V. Vincent Gerardi, hospitality; Miss Dorothy A. Curry, presentees; Miss Theresa Lewis, 2nd vice-president, Diocesan Council of ·Catholic Women; back, from left, Mrs. Ella Dutra, hospitality; Rev. Maurice O. Gauvin, New Bedford area Ball director; Rev. Daniel W. Lacroix, assistant area director. (Gaudette photo)

IRA bombing condemned, called disaster

not to turn their backs on his diaBELFAST. Northern Ireland (CNS) - The leader of the Irish logue. saying: "I still believe there Republican Army's political wing is real hope of achieving lasting peace." has condemned a botched and British Prime Minis.ter John bloody IRA bomb attack as a Banking Sim:e 1825 Major said of the Hume-Adams disaster.

MEMBER FDICIDIFM dialogue: "I have read about it. I Sinn Fein President Gerry EQUAL HOUSI!"G G:J' LENDER have heard about it but I have not Adams, using his strongest lanse.en it." guage since an Irish Republican Major described the IRA apolArmy bomb killed II Protestants ogy for the Belfast bombing as at a war memorial ceremony in 1987, said of the Oct. 23 blast: "It "cold comfort" for the victims and was wrong. It cannot be excused." denounced the attack as "premeditated murder."

The bomb killed 10 people and Sales And Service Protestant extremists who have injured 59 in a Protestant area of killed 30 Catholics this year vowed Belfast.

The IRA. battling to oust Fall River's Largest Britain from Northern Ireland, that the IRA would "pay a very heavy price" for the bombing. apologized for the carnage it caused Display of TVs Sixteen-year-old Suzanne Walkamong shoppers. er, whose fingers were blown off RCA - ZENITH -SYLVANIA It said its intended target was a by the Oct. 23 blast. and later sewn nearby meeting of leaders of an 1196 BEDFORD STREET back on, said of the IRA: "It is not outlawed protestant extremist 673-9721 group which it said has been mur- worth their while living if they are dering Catholics in a campaign going to do things like that. They are scum. just scum." that began in August.

"I hate them for what they have Adams has been negotiating with the provi nce's moderate Irish done." said Gina. Murray. whose MARRIAGE 13-year-old daughter was blown nationalist leader, John Hume.

Nationalists are those generally to bits.

PREPARATION Catholic residents of Northern IreThe bomb. planted by two IRA AT ITS BEST! men disguised as butchers. went land who favor. to a greater or (.il·.. :t Gift off prematurely, causing carnage lesser degree, reunion with the among shoppers on Shankill Road. (·(-r'ifif."o'eFor :, Irish Republic.

It· .-(-k(-tid :, 1('0 y Hume has hailed the talks as the the heartland of Belfast Protestants.

Mrs. Murray. clutching the best chance for peace after a quarFor Info Contact ter century of conflict in Northern favorite teddy bear of her dead TIM & BARBARA Ireland in which more than 3.000 . daughter Leanne. gulped back tears HAYDEN as she said of the born bers: "I have people have been killed.

TEL. 336-4381 He urged Britain and Ireland no love for them. I kno'wpeople say you should forgive and forget but I can't. not after what they have done."

She said·of Leanne: "She was a • . VIDEO RENTAL PROGRAM quiet little girl who hardly ever went out. She never left my side."

• RELIGION TEXTBOOKS But the young girl had made a FOR CLASSES trip to a fish shop and was there when the bomb exploded.

• AIDS FOR 'RELIGIOUS Michelle Williamson's elderly EDUCATION CLASSES parents were killed after they decided to go out at the last moment • BIBLES to buy some curtain material for their new home. '... will never get over this. The bombers are nothing but scum.

AND evil bastards. Innocent people were killed. Why, why. why. why?" she . asked.

423 HIGHLAND AVENUE. FALL RIVER Michael Morrison. his wife and 7-year-old daughter had gone to the Shankill Road to buy a wreath OPEN MONDA Y THROllGH FRIDA Y • 10 A.M .• 4 P.M. for the funeral of Michael's father.

They died in the explosion.

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Those who think our church

By FATHER ROGER doesn't need constant reform obviKARBAN ously have not read today's Gospel passage. ans, "we were as gentle as any We Catholics simply do not folnursing mother fondling her little low these commands of the Lord. ones." Paul's style of leadership Secure in the authority structures guaranteed "that in receiving his we've accumulated over the cen- [God's] message from us you took turies, we prefer to maintain our it, not as the w.ord of men, but as it cozy compromise with "the world" truly is, the word of God at work instead of striving to achieve the within you who believe." The goals Jesus set for his community. power of such a message could What makes the Lord's demand- only have come from the most ing words even more significant is impractical of all forces: love. that the early Christian communAgainst this background of the ity had almost 45 years to develop Lord's commands, Paul's practice, its leadership patterns before Matand our reluctance to reform our thew composed his Gospel. The present structures, Malachi's words evangelist is not just writing about echo in our ears: "You have turned something untried; a dream still to aside from the way, and have , be implemented. For the most part caused many to falter by your this pericope seems to be a reflecinstruction... Have we not all the tion on mistakes which have alone Father? Has not the one God ready been made! In other words, created us? Why then do we break Jesus isn't just saying, "Don't do faith with each other, violating the this!" He's actually telling his covenant of our fathers?" church, "Stop doing this!" ,We who follow the Lord must There's no way to water down always be willing to return to the this passage. Ifwe accept the Lord's original "way" he laid out for his words literally, we're never to use community. No matter how effiany titles which show the presence cient our newfangled structures of a hierarchical classification of are, they're simply not the ones he persons in the Christian communwanted us to spend our time and ity. (Actually, "Rabbi," "Father" effort developing. and "Teacher" are quite harmless compared to "Excellency," "Eminence," "Holiness.") On the other hand, if we take the Lord's commands symbolically, then our comVATICANCITY(CNS) Pope munities should never be struc- J(Yhn Paulll recently thanked the tured in such a way as to create a Knights of Columbus for the organneed for distinctive titles. (Sure ization's generosity to church-rewould feel strange to call everyone lated sen'ice and education proin our parish and diocese "Sister" jects throughout the world. or "Brother" - and mean it!) .. A K of C delegation. led by Jesus wants to build his com- Supreme Knight Virgil Dechant. munity on a unique principle of went to Rome to prescnt the pope unity. That's why he first strikes with a check for $2 million. the out at the "holier than thou" atti- proceeds of its Vicarius Christi tude of the religious leaders of his fund. day; an attitude which shows a In welcoming the group. the total lack of solidarity with the pope praised the U.S.-based orpeople to whom they minister. ganization for its "outstanding Their-love of power a,nd prestige fidelitv to the successor of Peter" stops them from truly becoming and iis deep commitment to the one with those they serve. They church's universal mission. He also prefer to "bind up heavy loads" to cited K of C support of the Washplace on others' shoulders rather ington. DC. John Paul II Institute than to help those people expe- for Studies on Marriage and the rience the freedom God offers.

Family as another invaluable conIn the Lord's plan, "the greatest tribution. among you will be the one who serves the rest." After all, "whoever DAILY READINGS exalts himself shall be humbled, but whoever humbles himself shall', be exalted." Jesus obviously be- ", " Nov.. l' Rv 7'2 . - 4, 9- 14 ; Ps lieves thfe problemhs wh!ch rItfight 24:1-6; 1In 3:1-3; Mt 5:1-12 develop rom sue a 'umque orm "of leadership would be nothingN-ov. 2: Dn 12:1-3; Ps 23: compared to those which had al1-6; Rom 6:3-9; In 6:37-40 ready developed from adoption of "the Roman Empire's leadership Nov. 3: Rom 13:8-10; Ps structures. Always emphasizing the 112:1-2,4-5,,9; Lk 14:25-33 importance of the individual, he Nov. 4: Rom 14:7-1t Ps encourages us constantly to fall 27 1 4 13 14 Lk 15 1 10 back on the power of love, "the : " - ; . :only force," Teilhard de Chardin Nov. 5: Rom 15:14-21; Ps taught, "which can make us one, 98: 1-4; Lk 16:1-8 ' yet still maintain our individuality."

Nov. 6: Rom 16:3-9,16,22Before we scoff ~t Jesus' dream and label it impractical, we must 27; Ps 145:2-5,10-11; Lk perusetoday'ssecondreading. This 16:9-15 part of the earliest of Christian P writings makes sense only because Nov. 7: Wis 6:12-16; s Paul based his ministry on such 63:2-8; 1 Thes 4:13-18; Mt ideals. "While we were among 25:1-13 you," he reminds the Thessaloni-

Pope thanks K of C

THE ANCHOR-Diocese of Fall River-Fri., Oct. 29, 1993

I

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our schools

TRUCK TOPICS: Kt:vin McCann, left, and "Driver John" of Consolidated Freightways recently visited St. Jean Baptiste School, Fall River, to speak on safety, substance abuse awareness and vocational training. First- and third-graders had the opportunity to climb into the cab of McCann's tractor trailer.

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Bishop Connolly

ELECTED to the Father Damien Student Council at St. Joseph's School, Fairhaven, are Sarah Powers, Brian Bevilacqua, Bethany Stephens, Danielle Tullis, Mathieu Santos, Stefanie Polchlopek, Jessica Froh, Lee Desrosiers, Kristen Dzialo, Peter Luca~., Nicholas Collins, Kalee Ann Dutra, Jacqueline Jozapaitis, Timothy Whitehead.

Kathryn Marino of Warren, RI, and Matthew Tracy of Fall River are Teenagers of the Month for October at Bishop Connolly High School, Fall River.

Miss Marino is a semifinalist in the National Merit Scholarship program, recipient of the Bausch and Lomb Award and a Tandy Technology Scholar. She is president of the National Honor Society and a participant in drama club and varsity volleyball, tennis and basketball.

Tracy is a commended scholar in the National Merit Scholarship program and a Tandy Technology Scholar. He is a member of the National Honor Society, ,drama club and winter and spring track teams.

The Teenager of the Month program is sponsored by Fall River Elks Lodge 118 in order to bring recognition to outstanding area youth.

Jaime Caron of Swansea and Erik Reis of Westport were athletes of the month for September.

Miss Caron "is the heart and soul of the girls' varsity soccer team," said wach Tony Presto.

"Her skill level is far above everyone in this league - not just this team. She is invaluable on both offense and defense. The team wou'ld not be as successful without her."

Reis is a four-year member and three-year varsity player on the boys' soccer team. He is 1993 cocaptain of the squad and in 12 games earned 12 goals and three assists.

"Eric has an outstanding knowledge of the game and is a leader on and off the field," said coach David Audet. "He is considered one of the top plaYI~rs in the Eastern Athletic Conference."

Disarm, says prelate

EIGHTH GRADE class officers recently elected at Holy ,Name School, Fall River, are (standing, from left): Amy Levesque, secretary; Michelle Boutin, vice president; Jocelyn Costa, president; and Riley Canuel, treasurer. Richard Grundy and Jennifer Clark (kneeling) are in charge of public relations.

The officers' duties include communication with the school administration, directing service activities and planning class activities.

SAN SAL VADOR (CNS) Archbishop Arturo Rivera Damas has called on authorities to disarm Salvadoran society, in the midst of a rising and violent crime wave.

The archbishop said the problem of-civilian possession of weapons "must be resolved in a convincing manner." Under the 1992 peace accords that ended El Salvador's 12-year civil war, the government agreed to confiscate all weapons that the army distributed to civilians during the conflict. Unofficial estimates put the figure at more than 30,000 weapons.

A7

Stonehill College Stonehill College, North Easton, will host a six-part series, "Changes, Challenges and Choices," examining areas of hatred and prejudice.

Sessions will be held at 4 p.m. in the Martin Institute, beginning Nov. 7 with a panel discussion on sexism moderated by Janet Jeghelian of Boston radio station WHDH. A second session Nov. 21 wiIl examine homophobia. Information on the ~,eries is available from Judith Cruz, 230-1120.

Other upcom:ng programs include a presentation by John Stewart, director of education at the John F. Kennedy Library, on "John F. Kennedy: A Thirty-Year Perspective" 4 p.m. Nov. 8 in room 105 of the Martin Institute.

For information call Professor James Kenneally, 230-1128.

Richard J. Grant, assistant dean for academic services at Stonehill, will give a lecture and slide presentation, "A Field Guide to the Birds of Easton," 7 p.m. Nov. 10 at

COLLINS COtISTRUCTION CO., INC. GENERAL CONTRACTORS 55 Highland Avenue Fall River, MA 02720

Alumni Hall. For information call Grant at 230-1306.

Douglas Calnan, evening division faculty member and investment broker, will speak on socially and environmentally responsible investing in the presentation "Green lnvesting" 4 p.m. Nov. 15 in room 105 of the Martin Institute. For information, contact Ms. Cruz as listed above.

All even~s are free, open to the public and accessible to persons with disabilities.

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THE ANCHOR-Diocese of Fall River-Fri., Oct. 29, 1993

ST. ANTHONY OF DESERT, FR Exposition of Blessed Sacrament noon to 6 p.m.; holy hour 5 to 6 p.m.

Nov. 7, St. Sharbel Chapel, 300 North Eastern Ave. It's going to be Sister Alban ST. MARY, FAIRHAVEN Kerwick's 23rd year to organize Boy Scout Troop 52 is in need of the annual fund raising dinner at adult committee members; informathe Venus de Milo restaurant, tion: Father Benedict Folger, 992Swansea, in support of Mt. S1.

7300.

Rita Healthcare Center in CumCORPUS CHRISTI, SANDWICH berland, RI. The center cares for The book Prayer to Entrust Our Unborn Children to God's Love is retired Sisters of Mercy.

This year's dinner, to be folavailable in parish center for parents lowed by dancing, will be at 12:30 who have lost unborn children.

Names of unborn children may be p.m. Sunday, Nov. 7, and will inscribed in a prayer book. honor Sister Alban's near quarter century of masterminding the event.

ST. MARY, SEEKONK When she is asked how the Hospice of Community Visiting Nurse Agency mem~rial service for dinner project began, she rememdeceased patients 2 p.m. Nov. 7; bers it as if it were yesterday. information: Pat Potter, 222-0118.

"Sister Marietta Walsh and I,:' Canned goods drive at all Masses she explains, "under the provincial Nov. 6 an~ 7, at the time, who was Sister Kieran The pansh prayer group and proFlynn, were challenged with maklife committee will sponsor an evening the novitiate at M t. St. Rita ing of prayer and enrichment 7:30 to into a healthcare center. This was 9 p.m. Nov. 4, CCD center. All prompted by a study Sister Marwelcome. ietta did as a thesis at Salve Regina PRO-LIFE PROGRAMS, College [now Salve Regina UniCAPE CABLE TV versity) in Newport."

Pro-life films sponsored by Cape Cod Citizens for Life will be shown The thesis, "A Study of the Peron Cape Cod Cable TV channel 3 at ceptions of Older Sisters Regard4 p.m. each Tuesday of November. ing Their Health and Social Needs," The channel serves Barnstable, Yar- indicated there would be a large mouth, Dennis, Harwich and Chatpopulation of elderly sisters by the ham. year 2000.

O.L. CAPE, BREWSTER But as the sisters worked to set Healing Mass with Father Dick_ up the healthcare center, "We ran Lavoie, MS, 7:30 p.m. Nov. 3. out of money," said Sister Alban.

HOLY NAME, FR "So I had this idea that we would Mr. and Mrs. Rudolph LaVault ,have a dinner and invite our'old are founding donors of a tuition aid fund for Holy Name School stu- and good friends."

The event was successful and dents.

Monsour Ferris, the late owner of O.L. GRACE, WESTPORT Pro-life vigil 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. today, including readings, rosary, SC.,OO C exposition of Blessed Sacrament.

WASHINGTON(CNS)-With All welcome. 'such heavy hitters as former SecreST. JULIE BILLIART, tary of Education Lamar AlexN. DARTMOUTH ander and former Vatican ambasVincentians will begin collecting sadorThomas Melady behind it. a

Sisters of Mercy set 23rd annual dinner

Iteering pOintl PUBLICITY CHAIRMEN are asked to submit news Items for this column to The Anchor, P.O. Box 7, Fall River, 02722. Name of city or town should be Included, as well as full dates of all activities. Please sen'd news of future rather than past events.

Due to limited space and also because notices of strictly parish affairs normally appear In a parish's own bulletin, we are forced to limit Items to events of general.'

Interest. Also, we do not normally carry' notices of fundraising activities, which may be advertised at our regular rates, obtainable from The Anchor business office, telephone (508) 675-7151.

On Steering' Points Items, FR Indicates Fall River; NB Indicates New Bedford.

CHURCH WOMEN UNITED, CAPE COD World Community Day 9:30 a.m.

Nov. 5, Eastham United Methodist Church. Child care provided; participants should bring brown bag lunch.

LaSALETTE SHRINE, ATTLEBORO Shrine Ministerial Team and Pas. toral Counseling Center will present workshop "Is It Still a Sin?" 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. tomorrow, Shrine theater.

Information: 222-5410.

LEARY PRESS MAILERS

LaSALETTE CENTER, ATTLEBORO Sister Elaine Twitchell, SND, will present "Beginning Steps Towaro Contemplation: Contemplative Retreat I" Nov. 26-28; information: 222-8530.

ST. JOSEPH, TAUNTON Bishop O'Malley will preside at evening prayer 7 p:m. Nov. 3.

CATHEDRAL CAMP, E. FREETOWN Tres Dias Women's Retreat continues through Sunday. Our Lady of Grace, Westport, confirmation retreat tomorrow.

ST. ANTHONY, MATTAPOISETT Memorial Mass for Legion of Mary founder Frank Duff 7:30 p.m.

Nov. 3 celebrated by Father Barry Wall, diocesan director of the Legion, and Father Matthew Sullivan, SS.Ce., NB curia spiritual director.

Refreshments follow. All welcome.

BISHOP FEEHAN H.S., ATTLEBORO Seventh- and eighth-graders and their families are invited to open house 2 p.m. Nov. 7; information: 226-6223.

CATHOLIC WOMAN'S CLUB, NB Guest Night 7:30 p.m. Nov. 3, Wamsutta Club, NB; information: Diane Shenk, 999-2882.

D. of I., ATTLEBORO Father Kevin Harrington will celebrate Mass for deceased members of Daughters of Isabella Alcazaba Circle 65 6 p.m. Nov. 4, K. of e. Hall, Hodges St., Attleboro. Andre Jay will demonstrate rosary-making at meeting following.

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tributed Nov. 21.

ST. DOMINIC, SWANSEA Deacon Gene Food Bank IS In need of donations; collection bins are located at church and center entrances.

~

Oct. 30 1992, Msgr. Robert L. Stanton, Retired Pastor. St. Paul, Taunton Nov. I 1924, Rev. William H. McNamara, Pastor, St. Mary, Mansfield 1927, Rev. Louis N. Blanchet, Assistant, St. Jean Baptiste, Fall River .

1944. Rt. Rev. Msgr. John F. Ferraz, Pastor, St. Michael, Fall River 1953, Rt. Rev. Msgr. George F. Cain. Pastor, St. Mathieu, Fall River 1987, Rev. William E. Farland, Pastor, St. Joseph, Taunton ,1988. Rev. William F. Gartland, CSC, Stone hill College, North Easton Nov.2 A memento for the repose of the souls of our bishops, priests and permanent deacons not on this list 1923, Rev. Joseph S. Fortin, Founder, St. Jean Baptiste, Fall River 1933, Rev. Michael V. McDonough, Chaplain, St. Mary's Home, New Bedford Nov. 3 1988, Rev. Jose M. 'Bettencourt E. Avila, Retired Pastor, O.L. Mt. Carmei, New Bedford Nov. 4 1990, Permanent Deacon James M.O'Gara

...

SISTER KERWICK the Venus de Milo, suggested that it become a yearly event.

"We found out that people enjoyed coming together and so we kept adding to the guest list," said Sister Alban, adding. however, that many of the dinner's original patrons are now gone, 'therefore new friends are needed to attend the dinner and also to support its program booklet.

Dinner tickets are $50 per person and program advertisements range in cost from $ 100 to $5000.

Donors of $100 receive a complimentary dinner ticket; donors of over $100 receive two tickets.

Further information on tickets and program space is available from Sister Alban at (401)333-6352 or Sister Marie Lourdette at 6798511, ext. 319.

I h olce . group se t sagen d a

, . new group, Americans for School Choice. has been launched to promote school choice at the state level.

At a recent press conference. the group said it favors creating charter schools. and said it would also assist proponents of California's school voucher ballot proposal.

Charter schools would need to be created, according to a scenario offered by the group, because there would not be enough available space in existing nonpublic schools to accQmmodate the numbers of students who would be taken out of public schools under choice plans.

"I think this idea is inevitable." said Alexander, education secretary under President Bush. of school choice. "We must be doing a pretty lousy job in promoting it if we haven't been able to do it in what's supposed to be the freest country in the world."

Ohio Rep . .John Bo'ehner said the decision on school choice is "whether to empower governments and bureaucracies more. or empower parents to do what's right for their children."

Michael Guerra. executive director of the secondary school department for the National Catholic Educational Association, told Catholic News Service that Americans for School Choice is "a very exciting and positive movement. I think it demonstrates the maturity of the movement."

INDEFATIGABLE Mother Teresa greets a well-wisher upon her arrival in Singapore Oct. 19, en route to China to open a home for the poor. She had been released from a Calcutta hospital just weeks previously following heart surgery.

(CNS/ Reuters photo)