SUMMARY OF THE ENCYCLICAL LETTER, VERITATIS SPLENDOR

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.