They quote George Weigel in the article, and I couldn't agree more with his assessment. The most important reason why we have a Magesterium is so that the authentic truth of faith and morals will not be compromised.
I was at a conference once where the priest made an interesting observation. Karol Wojtyla was on Pope Paul VI's commission that led him to issue Humanae Vitae.
Wojtyla was supposed to draft the encyclical for him, but instead he returned to his Diocese of Krakow. As a result Paul's letter has its basis in the Church's teaching authority and its claim to obedience. The priest pointed out that when Karol was elected to become Pope John Paul II, he based his letter on the subject (Evangelium Vitae), on the theology of the body.
The priest pointed out that there was no contradiction between the two and that Paul made a perfectly legitimate appeal to authority. But the priest said that if he instead took JP2's approach of explaining the rationality of the position first as tied to the overall nature of the human person and the theology of the human body, then we may not have had as much dissent.
I don't know if the priest was right or not, but I find it interesting to think about.
82% of American Catholics do not see a moral problem with contraception. Tomorrow's essay will be about dissent and the Catholic Church.
I am going to have to read about Humanea Vitae, you've recommended it more than once.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like the harder but more worthy approach to sex, love, and the human condition.