SUMMARY OF THE ENCYCLICAL LETTER,
VERITATIS SPLENDOR,
Summarized by Fr Anyanwu
chukwuemeka cmf.
This one of the encyclical
letter of His Holiness Pope John Paul II. 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. He presented Jesus as the light of all the
nations and the source of all truth and which no darkness could quench. 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.
BACKGROUND TO THE 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. 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.The pope observes specifically, that 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.
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. It is equally
observed that 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.
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.
THE ENCYCLICAL PROPER
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. 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.
Furthermore, 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. 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 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.
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. By looking always to
the Lord Jesus, the Church comes to discover the authentic meaning of freedom. It
discovers that God's law expresses, in the commandments and in their
absoluteness, the demands of love. 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 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 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. 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.
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.
A CRITICAL EVALUATION
One could
simply say that Veritatis Splendor is the finest of Pope John Paul's encyclicals.
It is the best in terms of theological content as well as its ability to enrich
one spiritually. This document addresses head on many of the abuses found in
today's Catholic universities and seminaries; abuses ranging from a failure to
recognize the Magisterium of Christ's Church to the preponderance of such
philosophical schools as proportionalism, relativism, and pragmatism which tend
to deny the existence of absolute norms and therefore lead to eventually to
lawlessness. It is the law that the Holy Father sets forth as the means of
fulfilling the Christian faith. The natural law is the expression of the Divine
Law within creation and can be known by men through right reason. The law,
unable to be fulfilled by man without God's grace, is now capable of being
fulfilled through the power of the Holy Spirit unleashed through the Gospel and
made available to us through the sacraments. The Holy Father eloquently
expresses how it is through living out the law, even in extremely difficult
circumstances that the Christian manifests Christ's presence and power in the
world today and proclaims His Kingdom most effectively. Ultimately, the Holy
Father firmly confirms the Church's constant teaching that there exist negative
moral norms that can never be broken even with the intention of attaining some
contingent good. For example, one may never rob in order to feed the poor. Yet
Christ's mercy is ever present to forgive and strengthen anew those who fail to
live the law and turn to Him for help. Reading this encyclical made me want to
live the law, to seek virtue, to know the power of Christ at work in me.
Besides being an excellent work of moral theology and Magisterial teaching, it
is above all in my estimation an uplifting spiritual treatise.
But on
the other hand, some theologians see the Veritatis Splendor as the most often and most thoroughly rejected teaching
document of John Paul II. According to this school of thought, Veritatis
Splendor teaches the faithful on the subject of the basic principles of ethics.
Subsequent to the publication of this document, moral theologians should have
incorporated this teaching into the very foundation of their approach to
morality. But the vast majority have not done so. Many moral theologians
completely ignore Veritatis Splendor. Some will quote from Veritatis Splendor
on a few particular points, but the document’s teachings on the basic
principles of ethics are not relied upon in any systematic or foundational
manner. Some sources have it that,in online discussions on ethics, in Catholic
blogs and forums, Veritatis Splendor is rarely mentioned at all. And even if it
is mentioned, its teaching is not the fundamental basis for the moral analysis
of the vast majority of commentators. Many Catholic blogs deal frequently with
questions on morality, and yet they feel free to analyze the morality of various
acts on any basis that they see fit, without little or no regard for the
teachings of Veritatis Splendor on the basic principles of any moral analysis.
Nevertheless,
few moral theologians, have given Veritatis Splendor its proper place as the
pre-eminent magisterial document on ethics. The traditional principle of double
effect and the traditional approach to cooperation with evil are understood and
explained in terms of the three fonts of morality as taught by Veritatis
Splendor. Even the teachings of the Catechism of the Catholic Church are viewed
in terms of the three fonts of morality. For Veritatis Splendor offers a full
in-depth presentation on basic principles in ethics, whereas the CCC has only a
terse summary on particular points.
The rejection
of the encyclical Veritatis Splendor by theologians, priests, lay teachers,
commentators, and the laity in general is one of the gravest problems
threatening the Faith today. Why are there so many disagreements among priests,
theologians, and the laity in general about questions of morality, abortion and
contracetion issues? It is because they have rejected the common ethical
framework offered to them by the Magisterium in Veritatis Splendor, most moral
theologians and most Catholic hospital ethicists, physicians, and
administrators do not based their moral analysis on Veritatis Splendor and because
Veritatis Splendor has not been incorporated into the daily moral thinking of
the faithful.
Having
seen all these two positions, I will like to appreciate the depth, openness and
objectivity of the Veritatis Splendor. It is what one may call a light to the
truth in the darkness of our world encapsulated in and with Modernity crisis.
