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Veritatis Splendor
“THE SPLENDOR OF THE TRUTH”
“The Splendor Of The Truth” is an Encyclical Letter
of Pope Saint John Paul II, October 5, 1993,
on the anniversary of the convening
of Vatican II.
.
The Truth Will. Set You Free
by Fr. Kris D. Stubna, S.T.D. Assistant Secretary for
Education
Editor’s Note: The following is an analysis of that encyclical by the Very
Rev. Kris D. Stubna, S.T.D., from
the Diocese of Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania, USA, and it is
republished here with his
permission.
Pope St. John Paul II shows forth the Splendor of
Truth in his ... encyclical Veritatis Splendor ...
Confronting the array of erroneous and misleading
teachings and interpretations in the field of moral
theology that have plagued the Church for the past
several decades, Veritatis Splendor
encapsulates in one text the whole of the Church’s
conception of morality.
It is a moral masterpiece which will enable the
Church to root itself more firmly in the way set out
by Jesus Christ himself.
·
Crisis in morality
With this encyclical, the Holy Father definitively
addresses the crisis that currently exists in
contemporary Catholic morality. The teachings of the
Magisterium — so often presented to be out of touch
with real life or in discord with the more
“appealing” moral theories proposed by dissident
theologians — are given in this encyclical their
solid foundations in the life and teachings of Jesus
Christ and the whole of God’s law.
It is no wonder that in directly addressing the
bishops of the Church, John Paul II strongly
reasserts the Church’s mandate to authoritatively
articulate and teach the fundamental moral
principles of the faith which he claims “transcends
all eras and cultures.”
Morality remains constant through all generations
because it comes from God. Bishops, he writes, have
“a grave obligation to be personally vigilant to
insure that the faithful are guarded from every
doctrine and theory contrary to official Church
teaching.”
·
Simplicity of Christ’s way
Much of contemporary society has worked to undermine
the moral teachings of the Church. Not only has
Catholic moral teaching been portrayed as too
complicated a topic for most to comprehend, but it
has been heralded as impossible to practice as
well!
In this encyclical, the Holy Father succinctly
points to the inherent simplicity of Catholic
morality. Living a good moral life is, he
asserts, “to follow Jesus, abandon one’s self to
Him, allow one’s self to be transformed by His grace
and mercy.”
This is surely the core of the Gospel message.
Learning the truth, embracing the truth, living the
truth — these actions will indeed lead one to the
fullness of freedom and personal fulfillment in
Christ. The truth will indeed set us free.
The text of Veritatis Splendor is divided
into three main chapters. The first chapter is a
theological and spiritual meditation centered on the
parable of the rich young man. “What must I do to
gain eternal life?” is the question asked by all
desiring to follow Jesus and his Way.
Christ’s response clearly manifests the
understanding that the Law — embodied most
specifically in the Ten Commandments — remains
throughout the ages the fundamental basis for
the moral life. Living these Commandments
faithfully is understandably challenging.
The Pope recognizes the many obstacles confronting
the individual — particularly those imposed by a
culture and society so steeped in materialistic and
secularistic concerns. Nevertheless, our duty to
live these Commandments faithfully, he claims,
remains valid “time and time again.”
The second chapter centers on a more technical and
intricate ethical analysis of those criteria which
in fact make a moral act good or evil. John Paul II
decisively responds to the contemporary moral and
ethical interpretations that are clearly
inconsistent with Church doctrine.
These he summarizes and addresses in three major
divisions:
·
The individualist ethic
1. Some moral theories want to emphasize that human
freedom can never be constrained by any externally
imposed law. Veritatis Splendor makes it
clear that the Law of God and human freedom can
never truly be in conflict. Both are created,
ordained and desired by God.
Far from creating their own values, human
freedom and human reason are called to discover the
divine law that is inherent in the order of the
universe created by God. Discovering this divine
moral law actually makes a person more free to truly
fulfill oneself.
Divine moral law is the only road to true human
freedom. Only by one’s participation in this divine
law can the human person hope to discover the
harmony, happiness and fulfillment toward which the
human person longs.
The pope is clearly condemning the rather prevalent
“individualistic ethic” that would make human
freedom an absolute.
·
Formation of conscience
2. Another erroneous tendency in contemporary moral
theology and practice holds the individual’s
conscience to be the sole moral truth.
While Catholic moral teaching never denies the
freedom and dignity of the individual conscience
(“Each individual has the right to be respected in
his own journey,” the pope writes), Veritatis
Splendor clearly articulates the need for the
conscience to be properly formed.
A right conscience is one that has been led
by the light and guidance of the Church’s moral
teaching to be free from ignorance and error. One
cannot simply appeal to conscience when in many
instances it has been inadequately or erroneously
formed.
A properly formed conscience far transcends one’s
subjective opinion or personal judgment which has
become for many the measuring stick in making moral
choices.
·
What’s wrong
3. In response to prevalent views held by
proportionalists, consequentialists
and relativists (views that
appear in some
works by Richard
McBrien, Richard
McCormick, Charles Curren) that the morality
of any act must
be judged in light of the person’s
intentions or the
moral act’s consequences,
John Paul II clearly states
that the
concrete, material nature of the act itself
can be right or wrong.
Despite what some
dissidents claim,
there are indeed
moral absolutes. The gravity of the act
itself must be
measured by its very nature, not just by its
intended results.
“If acts are intrinsically evil, a good intention or
particular
circumstance can diminish
the evil, but
they cannot remove it,” he
writes. In fact,
the encyclical identifies
some sins which
are “condemned as morally unacceptable.” These
include abortion and euthanasia.
The pope does
affirm Humane Vitae and its
rejection of
contraception and direct
sterilization.
In Veritatis Splendor, the Pope criticizes
strongly those moralists who argue for
exceptions to the
Church’s
prohibitions against premarital
relations, autoeroticism or homosexual
activity.
In quoting St.
Paul, John Paul II says that “idolaters,
adulterers, sexual perverts, thieves,
the greedy and
drunkards” will not
inherit the
Kingdom of God.
· Putting it into practice
In the third chapter, the Pope
examines how
these moral principles
are to be
applied to everyday life. One
has no hopes of
finding true human
freedom without
seeking to know God’s
law and
nourishing oneself in Christ.
While the
challenge is a difficult one,
fidelity to
Christ and the divine law is
not impossible.
John Paul II expresses
his desire for
the faithful to recognize
their weakness
and sinfulness so that
in realizing
human limitation, Christ
may enter in and
show one the path
toward life
eternal.
To this end, the
encyclical Veritatis Splendor provides
the faithful
with a clear articulation of
the Church’s
moral teaching. The Holy
Father exposes
the fallacies involved
with the
theories of dissenting moral
theologians and
much of contemporary
moral discussion.
But he does so in a way that gives guidance and
clarity to
the people of God
in their quest to know God’s law and to practice it
in their
lives faithfully.
·
Everlasting life
“What must I do to gain everlasting
life?” the rich young man asks.
Veritatis Splendor,
in laying bare the
marvelous core of Catholic moral
teaching, re-echoes the very words of Christ
himself: abandon oneself and
follow me; you will be transformed by
my grace and mercy.
There is no other way to
eternal life than the way laid out for us
by Christ
himself. It is this way which
is embodied for
us now in his Church.
How blessed is
the Church to have this
way so clearly
and decisively explained and opened before us by
John Paul II.
Veritatis
Splendor, the moral masterpiece of our
day, is a gift of the most
immense
proportions. May the grace of Christ himself
enable each of us to
recognize the
truth and live it faithfully each day of our
lives.
See
Veritatis Splendor
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