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V e r i t a t i s S p l e n d o r
THE VATICAN ON VERITATIS SPLENDOR
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This Rock
Volume 4, Number 8
 August 1993 
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IN coming months we'll take a closer
look at sections of Pope John Paul II's latest encyclical, Veritatis
Splendor (The Splendor of Truth). Before we do that, here
is the official Vatican-released summary of the encyclical, which
we publish on the assumption that your local newspaper has not provided
its readers with a clear idea of what Veritatis Splendor covers.
Purpose of the Encyclical
In the encyclical Veritatis Splendor,
Pope John Paul II treats certain fundamental.aspects of Catholic
moral doctrine. The pope had already announced his intention to write
such an encyclical in the apostolic letter Spiritus Domini (August
1, 1987), issued on the second centenary of the death of St. Alphonsus
Liguori, patron of confessors and moralists.
After lengthy preparation, the encyclical is being published
only now because the pope thought it best that it be preceded by the
Catechism of the Catholic Church, which contains a complete and systematic
presentation of Christian moral teaching. Pointing to the catechism
as a "sure and authentic reference text for teaching Catholic
doctrine," the encyclical is able to limit itself to dealing
with certain fundamental questions regarding the Church's moral teaching,
in the form of a discernment made by the Church's magisterium with
regard to certain controversial problems of present-day moral theology.
Those the Encyclical Addresses
The pope has addressed the encyclical
specifically to the bishops. As those who share with the successor
of Peter, and under his primatial authority, the responsibility of
preserving "sound teaching" (2 Tim. 4:3), bishops must be
vigilant that the word of God to be believed and lived is faithfully
taught.
This is part of the mandate originally given by Jesus
to the apostles (Matt. 28:16-20), and it is one which must be constantly
taken up anew, in the power of the Holy Spirit, for the promotion
of ecclesial communion and evangelization as well as for that dialogue
about the truth and the good which the Church seeks to carry on with
all individuals and peoples.
The Reasons for This Encyclical
Stimulated by the papal magisterium
of the last two centuries, the Church has continued to develop her
rich tradition of moral reflection on many different spheres of human
life. That heritage is now confronted by the challenge of a new situation
in society and in the Christian community itself. Alongside praiseworthy
attempts at the renewal of moral theology in accordance with the wishes
of the Second Vatican Council, doubts and various objections with
regard to the Church's moral teaching have arisen, even within Catholic
moral theology.
It has become increasingly evident that this is no longer
a matter of limited and occasional dissent from certain specific moral
norms, but rather a general and systematic calling into question of
traditional moral doctrine as such, on the basis of certain anthropological
and ethical concepts.
Specifically, in certain currents of theology, the traditional doctrine
with regard to the natural law and the universality and the permanent
validity of its precepts has been rejected. It is called into question
whether the magisterium is competent to intervene in matters of morality
and to teach authoritatively the binding requirements of God's commandments.
Moreover, it is maintained that one can love God and neighbor without
being obliged always and everywhere, in all situations, by the commandments
taught by the Church. Doubt is raised about the intrinsic and unbreakable
bond between faith and morality, to the extent of theorizing the possibility
of forms of pluralism which are in fact incompatible with ecclesial
communion. As these ideas become more widespread, no one can fail
to see that they have extremely important repercussions for the Church,
for the life of the faithful and for human coexistence itself. The
pastoral and social problems which have emerged on every level make
it possible to speak of a genuine crisis. For this reason the papal
magisterium has deemed it necessary to clarify the points of doctrine
crucial for the successful resolution of this crisis.
Heart of the Problem
At the root of the dissent mentioned
above, and of solutions which are at odds with Catholic doctrine,
is the influence of currents of thought which ultimately separate
the exercise of human freedom from its essential and constitutive
relationship with truth. An extreme notion of the autonomy of freedom
tends to make freedom into an absolute, a source of values, apart
from any dependence on truth.
Certainly it must be acknowledged that such extreme
positions are not found in Catholic theology. It must also be acknowledged
that, in developing a more personalistic approach, Catholic theology
has come to a renewed appreciation of the best of the classical doctrinal
tradition regarding the value of personal responsibility and the role
of reason and conscience in establishing moral obligation. Nevertheless,
in certain instances, there has been a radical rethinking of the mutual
roles of faith and reason in identifying moral norms which refer to
specific "inner-worldly" kinds of behavior. There has been
a tendency to assign to autonomous reason (quite apart from revelation,
tradition and the magisterium, and even from an antecedent truth)
the task of creatively establishing norms relative to the "human
good."
Even more radically, the acceptance of a certain concept
of autonomy has called into question the intrinsic connection between
faith and morality. Faith, it must be said, is not
merely an intellectual assent to certain abstract truths; it also
possesses a moral content. Faith gives rise to and calls for a consistent
life commitment; it entails and brings to perfection the keeping of
the commandments. "Not everyone who says to me `Lord, Lord' shall
enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father
who is in heaven" (Matt. 7:21).
Christ, the Light of the Nations
In view of these problems and the urgent
need of a discernment aimed at safeguarding the deposit of Catholic
doctrine, the pope turns to Jesus Christ, the "light of the nations"
(Lumen Gentium, 1). Christ has shown us the way of authentic
freedom: "The truth will make you free" (John 8:32). He
himself has told us: "I am the way, and the truth, and the life"
(John 14:6).
Contrary to all those distortions and misrepresentations
which under the guise of exalting freedom actually empty it of meaning,
authentic freedom is only discovered in relation to the truth, to
that truth which was present "in the beginning" and shines
forth in all its splendor ("veritatis splendor") on
the face of Jesus Christ (cf. 2 Cor. 3:5-18).
The purpose of this encyclical, then, is not merely
or even principally to warn against errors, so much as to proclaim
anew, in all its power, the message of Christian freedom. At the heart
of this message is the conviction that only in the truth does man's
freedom become truly human and responsible. But the encyclical also
desires to speak to all people of good will, so that in the present
moment of history it can shed the light of faith on the path of freedom
toward the good, the road to an authentically good human life in its
personal and social dimensions.
Contents of the Encyclical
The encyclical is divided into three
parts. It begins with a biblical meditation on the dialogue of Jesus
with the rich young man (Matt. 19:16-22); this helps to bring out
the essential elements of Christian morality. Then, in the middle
chapter, which is doctrinal in nature, it proceeds to make a critical
discernment of certain trends in contemporary moral theology, in the
light of sacred Scripture and the Church's living tradition, with
particular reference to the Second Vatican Council. Finally, in the
third chapter, which is pastoral in nature, it points out the relevance
of Catholic teaching on the moral good for the life of the Church
and of the world.
Gospel Meditation on Dialogue of
Jesus With Rich Young Man
The question asked of Jesus by the
rich young man is a question present in the heart of everyone: "Teacher,
what good must I do to have life?" At the deepest level the question
about good and evil is also about the meaning of life and about happiness.
The Church was willed by Christ precisely for this purpose: so that
people in every age might come to know him and discover in him the
only answer fully capable of satisfying all their questions about
life.
Jesus' response to the young man concisely expresses
the very heart and spirit of Christian morality, bringing out the
essential elements of Old and New Testament revelation with regard
to moral action: first, the subordination of human action to God,
to the one who "alone is good"; second, the close relationship
between the moral good of human actions and eternal life, since the
commandments of God, which Jesus confirms and takes up into the new
law of love, are the path of life; third, the way of perfection, which
consists in a readiness to leave everything in order to follow Jesus
in imitation of his own gift of self to God the Father and to his
brothers and sisters in service and in love. Christian morality is
thus revealed as the complete fulfillment of the law, made possible
by the free gift of the Holy Spirit, the source and means of the moral
life of the "new creation." The Church's living tradition,
which includes her magisterium, her growing doctrinal understanding,
her liturgy and the lived holiness of her members, has always preserved
the harmony between faith and life. In particular, the magisterium
of the Church's pastors, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, has
developed an authoritative interpretation of the law of the Lord over many centuries and amid changing historical situations.
Critical Discernment of Certain Trends
in Theology
As part of this ongoing task, the pope
undertakes a critical discernment of certain trends in contemporary
moral theology.
First of all, he reaffirms the constitutive relationship
between freedom and truth. Genuine moral autonomy, as understood by
Catholic doctrine, means that human freedom and God's law meet each
other and intersect. Indeed, the "natural" law, the participation
of God's eternal law in the rational creature, implies that reason
and the moral precepts which derive from it are essentially subordinated
to divine wisdom. In opposition to every kind of relativism, it must
be affirmed that the precepts of the moral law possess a universal
and permanent character. They express the original truth about the
good of the person, indicating the path which leads to the authentic
realization of freedom. These precepts are ultimately grounded in
Jesus Christ, who is always the same, yesterday and today and forever
(cf. Heb.13:8; Gaudium et Spes, 10).
Following the teaching of the Second Vatican Council
(cf. Gaudium et Spes, 16). the
moral conscience is treated as "man's sanctuary," in which
there echoes the voice of God, who always calls us to love and to
do good and avoid evil. Nevertheless, in opposition to all subjectivism,
it is reaffirmed that conscience is not a tribunal which creates the
good; conscience itself must be formed in the light of truth. The
final judgment of conscience must be enlightened by the divine law,
the universal and objective norm of morality.
While acknowledging that there are certain choices
in life which are fundamental, particularly the choice of faith, the
encyclical rejects any separation between a "fundamental option"
of a transcendental character and the deliberate choices of concrete
acts. The fundamental choice which characterizes and sustains the
Christian's moral life is revoked every time the person uses his freedom
in conscious and free choices contrary to that fundamental choice,
where morally grave matter is concerned (mortal sin).
In opposition to the moral theories called teleologism, consequentialism
and proportionalism, the encyclical states that the
moral evaluation of human acts is not drawn solely from the weighing
of their foreseeable consequences or from the proportion of "premoral"
goods or evils resulting from them. Even a good intention is not enough
to justify the goodness of a choice. The morality of an act, while
certainly taking into account both its subjective intention and consequences,
depends primarily on the object of the choice which reason g.asps
and proposes to the will.
Consequently it is affirmed that it is possible to hold
as "intrinsically evil" certain kinds of behavior opposed
to the truth and the good of the person. The choice by which they
are made can never be good, even if that choice is made with a subjectively
good intention and with a view to positive consequences. It is not
licit, even for the most grave reasons, to do evil that good may come
of it (cf. Rom. 3:8; Humanae Vitae, 14). There thus exist
"negative" moral precepts (precepts, in other words, forbidding
certain kinds of behavior), which have universal value and are valid
without exception.
Moral Good for the Life
of the Church and the World
By looking always to the Lord Jesus,
the Church comes to discover the authentic meaning of freedom: the
gift of self, inspired by love, for the sake of serving God and one's
brothers and sisters. It discovers that God's law expresses, in the
commandments and in their absoluteness, the demands of love. Universal
and unchanging moral norms are at the service of the person and of
society. The profound renewal of social and political life, which
is increasingly desired by people today, can only occur if freedom
is once more linked to truth. Ethical relativism, despite its appearances,
inevitably leads to a totalitarianism which denies the truth about
man. To promote morality is to promote man and his freedom, but this
can never take place in opposition to the truth and in opposition
to God.
In the history of salvation, the martyrs, by preferring
death to sin, have borne witness to the inviolable holiness of God's
law and the unconditional respect which is due to the requirements
of the dignity of each person. In bearing this witness 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.
The concrete possibilities of acting according to moral
truth, despite the weakness of human freedom caused by sin, are entirely
found in the mystery of Christ's redemption. In Christ, God the Father
offers us not only the truth about the good (the commandment of love,
which sums up in itself the Ten Commandments), but also that "new
law," which is his Spirit within us, and his grace, which enables
us to love and to do good. In Christ we encounter the mercy of God,
who understands our human weakness yet never falsifies the standard
of good and evil by accepting compromises which would adapt it to
particular situations.
For this reason, the preaching of Christian morality,
so closely linked to the new evangelization, must heed the warning
of the apostle Paul: "that the cross of Christ not be emptied
of its power" (1 Cor. 1:17). In the task of proclaiming in all
their fullness the justice and mercy which shine forth from the cross,
the ministry of moral theologians is crucial; they perform a genuine
ecclesial service, in communion with the bishops. Bishops themselves
have the task of being vigilant that the word of God is faithfully
proclaimed and applied to life, whether in preaching addressed to
the faithful, in efforts at evangelization, in teaching imparted in
seminaries and faculties of theology, and in the practices of Catholic
institutions.
Appeal to Mary,
Mother of Mercy
At the conclusion of his encyclical,
the Holy Father turns to Mary, mother of mercy and model of true Christian
freedom. He prays that through her intercession the truth of her son
will shine forth in the moral life of the faithful, "for the
glory of God." The pope recalls, in this final section, the "extraordinary
simplicity" of Christian morality, which consists in "following
Christ," letting oneself be transformed by his grace and renewed
by his mercy, which comes to us in the communion of his Church.
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