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John Paul II's Use of Scripture in His Moral Teaching

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 March 2013

Charles E. Curran
Charles E. Curran
Affiliation:
Southern Methodist University
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Extract

The celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the College Theology Society naturally turns our focus to what has transpired in these fifty years. In terms of Roman Catholic theology, the two most significant historical realities are the Second Vatican Council (1962–65) and the now twenty-five-year pontificate of John Paul II as Bishop of Rome.

In my discipline of moral theology, Vatican II and its document on the training of priests called for the renewal of moral theology with a special emphasis on its Scriptural bases. “Special care is to be taken for the improvement of moral theology. Its scientific presentation, drawing more fully on the teaching of holy Scripture should highlight the lofty vocation of the Christian faithful and their obligation to bring forth fruit and charity for the life of the world.”

John Paul II as pope has written and taught extensively in the area of morality. In the light of the Vatican II mandate to renew moral theology through a greater appreciation of its scriptural roots and bases, this essay will critically evaluate John Paul II's use of scripture in his teaching on morality.

Type
College Theology Society Fiftieth Anniversary Essays
Information
Horizons , Volume 31 , Issue 1 , Spring 2004 , pp. 118 - 134
Copyright
Copyright © The College Theology Society 2004

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References

1 Optatam Totius (Decree on the Training of Priests), 16, in The Basic Documents: Vatican Council II: Constitutions, Decress, Declarations, inclusive language translation, ed. Flannery, Austin (Northport, NY: Costello, 1996), 376.Google Scholar

2 Paul, Pope John II, Veritatis Splendor, 5.1, in Encyclicals of John Paul II, ed. Miller, J. Michael (Huntington, IN: Our Sunday Visitor, 2001), 587.Google Scholar Encyclicals proposing authoritative moral teaching to some extent include the following: Redemptor Hominis (RH), 1979; Dives in Misericordia (DM), 1980; Laborem Exercens (LE), 1981; Dominum et Vivificantem (DV), 1986; Sollicitudo Rei Socialis (SRS), 1987; Centesimus Annus (CA), 1991; Veritatis Splendor (VS), 1993; Evangelium Vitae (EV), 1995; Fides et Ratio (FR), 1998. Subsequent references to these encyclicals will be given in the text to the abbreviation of the document followed by the paragraph number. All these encyclicals can be found in Miller, The Encyclicals of John Paul II.

3 Paul, Pope John II, The Theology of the Body: Human Love in the Divine Plan (Boston: Pauline Books, 1997).Google Scholar

4 Dei Verbum (Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation), 10, in Vatican Council II, ed. Flannery, , 103–04.Google Scholar

5 For this statement of the issues and for a helpful study of John Paul II's use of Scripture, see Prendergast, Terrence, “‘A Vision of Wholeness’: A Reflection on the Use of Scripture in a Cross-Section of Papal Writings,” in The Thought of John Paul II: A Collection of Essays and Studies, ed. McDermott, John M. (Rome: Editrice Pontificia Università Gregoriana, 1993), 69–91.Google Scholar

6 Paul, Pope John II, “General Audience of September 12, 1979,” in Theology of the Body, 27–29.Google Scholar Subsequent references will be given in the text to TB followed by the page numbers.

7 Siker, Jeffrey S., Scripture and Ethics: Twentieth-Century Portraits (New York: Oxford University Press, 1997).Google Scholar

8 Prendergast, , “A Vision of Wholeness,” 84Google Scholar; Kelsey, David H., The Use of Scripture in Recent Theology (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1975), 167–78.Google Scholar

9 See, e.g., Ogletree, Thomas W., The Use of the Bible in Christian Ethics: A Constructive Essay (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1983)Google Scholar; Schneiders, Sandra M., The Revelatory Text: Interpreting the New Testament as Sacred Scripture (San Francisco: HarperCollins, 1991)Google Scholar; McDonald, J.I.H., Biblical Interpretation and Christian Ethics (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994).Google Scholar

10 Spohn, William C., What Are They Saying about Scripture and Ethics?, rev. ed. (New York: Paulist, 1995), 11–13.Google Scholar

11 Miller, J. Michael, “Introduction to the Papal Encyclicals,” in Miller, , Encyclicals of Pope John Paul II, 28.Google Scholar

12 Ibid.

13 For helpful essays on Veritatis splendor's use of Scripture, see Spohn, William C., “Morality on the Way of Discipleship: The Use of Scripture in Veritatis Splendor,” in Veritatis Splendor: American Responses, ed. Allsopp, Michael E. and O'Keefe, John J. (Kansas City, MO.: Sheed and Ward, 1995), 83–105Google Scholar; Donfried, Karl P., “The Use of Scripture in Veritatis Splendor,” in Ecumenical Ventures in Ethics: Protestants Engage John Paul II's Moral Encyclicals, ed. Hutter, Reinhard and Dieter, Theodore (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1998), 38–59.Google Scholar I have used some of their points in my analysis here.

14 See, e.g., Mackin, Theodore, The Marital Sacrament (New York: Paulist, 1989)Google Scholar; Noonan, John T. Jr., Contraception: A History of its Treatment by the Catholic Theologians and Canonists, enlarged ed. (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1986).Google Scholar

15 Paul, Pope John II, Familiaris Consortio, in The Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortations of John Paul II, ed. Miller, J. Michael (Huntington, IN: Our Sunday Visitor, 1998).Google Scholar

16 Pope John Paul II, Christifideles laici, in Miller, , Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortations, 362–462.Google Scholar Subsequent references in the text will be to CL followed by the paragraph number.

17 Paul, Pope John II, Mulieris Dignitatem, in Theology of the Body, 443–92.Google Scholar Subsequent references in the text will be to MD followed by the paragraph number.

18 Noonan, John T. Jr., Power to Dissolve: Lawyers and Marriages in the Courts of the Roman Curia (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1972).CrossRefGoogle Scholar