.- Bishop Jean Laffitte is warning against focusing too intently on the sexual aspect of Blessed John Paul II's Theology of the Body, which he says runs the risk of eliminating the depth and “mystery” involved in human and divine love.
“The problem is, if you focus only on sexuality you can't develop beyond that, and you don't see that this beauty is a gift given by the Creator but in a much wider context,” said Bishop Laffitte, secretary of the Vatican's Pontifical Council for the Family, in an interview with CNA.
I'm sure this will bring a new round of discussions.
In an Aug. 3 interview, Bishop Laffitte weighed in on the current debate on how best to interpret the late pontiff's teachings, saying it is essential to first understand God's design in creating man and woman.
Pope John Paul II's teachings on human love and sexuality – a collection of five years’ worth of his Wednesday audiences from 1979 to 1984 – is widely seen as unprecedented in the history of the Church.
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| Tomorrow is the Memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes. This photo was taken following the 7:00pm Latin Novus Ordo Mass at Assumption Grotto on February 11, 2008, which was the 150th anniversary. The priests, deacon and transitional deacon all knelt before the statue of Our Lady of Lourdes and led the Holy Rosary. |
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| Dr. Alice von Hildebrand speaks at Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Wyandotte, MI during the 2007 Call to Holiness Conference. |
Editor's note: Dr. Alice von Hildebrand adds to the debate with Christopher West over Theology of the Body. She addresses his words that Mary ejected a bloody placenta after she gave birth to Jesus
This "harmless" and understandable curiosity rampant today (after all, is one not entitled to ask questions?) can have another serious consequence. Revelation being silent on certain issues, the impatient questioner, eager to find an answer at all cost, might, unwittingly, be tempted to become "creative" and will fall from the supernatural to the purely natural.
Alice von Hildebrand’s recent article entitled “Revelation and Curiosity” goes a long way to place the debate over the true meaning of modesty in the larger context of philosophical and theological thought. She highlights the basic distinction between supernature (God and the order of grace) and nature. The precise character of that distinction has always been essential to theological discourse, and the relation between grace and nature has often been the subject of unfettered speculation, to the detriment of the faith. (See, for example, Pelagianism and Jansenism.)
Editor's note: Dr. Alice von Hildebrand adds to the debate with Christopher West over Theology of the Body. She addresses his words that Mary ejected a bloody placenta after she gave birth to Jesus
In the discernment of spirits there is a hierarchy that is traveled before advancing to analysis of fruits. The thing itself must be examined. A mushroom found in a field may smell good, have a good taste, and even have nutritious value. What needs to be discerned is whether it is of a poisonous variety. Those "good fruits" do not eliminate the fact that a particular mushroom can cause anything from mild sickness to death. 
Overnight, another posting has appeared - this time by Fr. Angelo Mary Geiger - a Franciscan of the Immaculate . He has transcribed an audio recording of Christopher West which follows his sabbatical. I found what West said, disappointing. As one who feels there are things which warrant a closer look and dialogue, his response - even without reading Father's commentary - does not give me much hope that the time away will yield the fruit necessary for a reduction in noise level on the web. If anything, I think it is only escalating frustration that, even if he is listening, he isn't necessarily hearing those concerns.
Delaney, the academic dean of the Mexican American Catholic College, has a doctorate in systematic theology from the Catholic University of America. He teaches the Theology of the Body at the undergraduate and graduate levels and presents it popularly at parishes. He is currently broadcasting a series on Guadalupe Radio and Catholic television in San Antonio
The public war over Christopher West's interpretation and presentation of Pope John Paul II's, "theology of the body" (ToB) is escalating, with each side digging in their heals. Note, that what you see on the surface publicly is nothing in contrast to what has likely been bubbling below the surface for many years. Before a volcano blows, there is considerable pressure below the surface. The magma we see flowing out is only a fraction of what is contained deeper down. This war on the interpretation and presentation of theology of the body is not about the now infamous Nightline invertivew. That was merely a catalyst which set into motion the eruption, and subsequent lava flow. Rather, what I am seeing is a deep set of philisophical and theological differences of opinion by well-respected people who uphold the Church's teaching on things like contraception. Hugo Rahner’s words, although written several years before the revision of the liturgy, neatly summarize the theology behind the Consilium’s revision: “What we witness here [in the candle immersion] is a symbol of Christ crucified giving to the water the illuminating power of the Spirit[,] and those who insist on seeing a phallic symbol in the candle appear to be completely oblivious to what not only the Roman, but all other liturgies have to declare on this particular point, of what, in point of fact, they declare with considerable emphasis. It is that the baptismal font is immaculatus uterus, and that, like Mary, the Church bears her children solely by the power of the Spirit."
My master's thesis critiquing Christopher West now available for free from Catholic News Agency
Following Cardinal Justin Rigali's homily at the Theology of the Body urging that the "rich content" of John Paul II's Wednesday catecheses "be mined and proclaimed," I have decided to make my master's thesis, "Towards a 'Climate of Chastity': Bringing Catechesis on the Theology of the Body into the Hermeneutic of Continuity," available to all, free of charge. The thesis critiques the presentation of John Paul II's theology of the body that has been popularized by Christopher West and the Theology of the Body Institute, which was founded to promote West's presentation.
Catholic News Agency has generously agreed to host the thesis on its Web site so that the paper may be downloaded for free. The link for downloading the thesis may be found at the end of CNA's interview with me. That article also has space for comments, if you would like to add your own thoughts to the discussion.
The version of my thesis available from CNA is a brand new revision that includes a new preface in which I answer some criticisms that have arisen since I first made the work available. In addition, since some West fans have claimed I do not give his teachings sufficient context, I have included additional examples from his work.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has encouraged me in my research, as well as everyone who has shown their support by donating to support my doctoral studies. (As I have previously noted, my goal is to become a professor of moral theology at a small Catholic college.) If you have benefited from my thesis and would like to support my studies, you may click here to donate.
Thanks also to those who have written me with any kind of feedback on my thesis, whether supportive or not. Submitting my work for public discussion has been a great learning experience. If you would like to contact me, I invite you to do so via my feedback form. Also, I am grateful for any and all "knee-mail"--that is, prayer. I am sending it heaven-ward daily for everyone who reads my thesis, and for everyone involved in the TOB discussion.
Eden’s thesis—which gained public attention in June when she published her official defense on her blog—has sparked controversy among some Catholics, as it critically examines popular speaker Christopher West’s presentation of John Paul II’s teachings.And, with good reason. You'll have to read the thesis to learn more.
Among the assertions made by West that she faulted was his claim that the Church’s liturgy “is modeled on the union of spouses,” which he supports by saying the Easter Candle is “truly” intended to be a phallic symbol. Eden countered this by citing documentation from the Consilium—the body of experts charged with revising the liturgy following Vatican II—showing that theologians appointed by the Magisterium had rejected the phallic interpretation of the candle
Crestview Hills, Ky., Aug 7, 2010 / 08:02 am (CNA).- Writing for this week's edition of the Thomas More College journal, Catholic professor Mary Shivanandan addressed the topic of feminine beauty, explaining that a woman's physical and spiritual attributes find their fullest expression in “spousal love,” whether in motherhood or consecrated celibacy.This is an area that I believe is developing with regards to what is commonly referred to as, "Theology of the Body". I think the next few years are going to yield some fruitful discussion about this topic in some areas that have been neglected. This is one of them.
On Aug. 5, The Thomas More College of Liberal Arts released its latest journal issue, Second Spring: an International Journal of Faith and Culture. This recent edition is dedicated to exploring the Theology of the Body from several perspectives.
In her article titled, “The Spousal Nature of Feminine Beauty in John Paul II,” Mary Shivanandan – a professor of Theology at the John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and the Family at the Catholic University of America – explores the theme of the purpose of a woman's beauty and where it finds its fullest expression
“Feminine bodily beauty!” Shivanandan began in her article. “Is this not a topic more suitable to a fashion magazine than a serious journal? What does it have to do with theology?”
“But John Paul II takes feminine beauty very seriously,” the professor underscored.
“Right away,” she added, “we have a perspective on the feminine body that is not characteristic of our culture, which either favors the thin straight silhouette of the fashion model or the dress open and showing curves to the navel.”
In modern society, woman “is presented either without sexual attributes or as a sex object,” the professor lamented. “How is it even possible to address a culture that treats the feminine body in this way?”
However, “John Paul II does not hesitate to rise to the challenge,” she wrote.She now mentions "spousal love" in another context - a vocation open to some women which is probably unknown to many Catholics.
“When John Paul II links the visible bodily aspect of a woman with its power of perennial attraction 'in strict accordance with motherhood,' he may seem to be limiting the often wondrous visible beauty of woman to one dimension.”
Yet, “the mystery of femininity manifests and reveals itself in its full depth through motherhood,” Shivanandan said, quoting the late Pontiff.
“This mystery, as he explains in his Apostolic Letter Mulieris Dignitatem, involves 'a special openness to the new person' on the part of woman through which she discovers her own identity precisely as woman.”
In this gift of self through the openness of bringing new life into the world, a woman not only realizes her identity as female, but reaches the fullest expression of what feminine beauty is, explained Shivanandan
“Beauty, feminine beauty, which, as John Paul II says, is in strict accordance with motherhood, is both a source and fruit of spousal love lived sacramentally in the family,” she noted. “From it radiates the beauty of the civilization of love.”
“It is the great challenge of our time to recover this sense of feminine beauty as intrinsically
spousal,” Shivanandon wrote.
In addition to a woman expressing her beauty as a gift of self through spousal love in marriage, the professor added, in “the consecrated virgin the spousal form is also present but expressed in a different way, as signifying the priority of personhood over bodily sexual attraction.”What exactly is a consecrated virgin? From the code of canon law:
“Espoused to the Lord, she points to the eschaton (heavenly reality) where there is no giving in human marriage. Thus the woman has to be affirmed in her role as person, oriented to self-gift, spouse and mother in a correct order.”
Can. 604 §1 The order of virgins is also to be added to these forms of consecrated life. Through their pledge to follow Christ more closely, virgins are consecrated to God, mystically espoused to Christ and dedicated to the service of the Church, when the diocesan Bishop consecrates them according to the approved liturgical rite.
Shivinandan reflected that this “way of approaching feminine beauty is almost entirely foreign to our culture, which isolates feminine bodily beauty as a thing in itself, using it to sell products or titillate the senses.”
Pope John Paul II, however, “finds the search for what he calls 'integral beauty' or 'purity free from stain' in the bridegroom’s search in the Song of Songs,” the professor observed.
“He notes that the Song of Songs refers to the bride as 'a garden closed,' a 'fountain sealed,' because, in the Pope’s words, she is 'the master of her own mystery.'”
“The authentic gift of the woman, which is essential to her personal dignity, is revealed in the gift of self as spouse and mother.”
The 80-page, heavily footnoted thesis is a critique of Christopher West's presentation that reveals the substance behind recent criticisms of his approach, contains new information (including how the fathers of Vatican II condemned the Jungian phallic interpretation of the Easter Candle ritual), and makes positive suggestions for improving instruction on the TOB.
Christopher West Takes Sabbatical to Reflect on Approach
By Patrick B. Craine
Does "anything go" as long as it is open to life?
EXTON, Pennsylvania, April 12, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Renowned Catholic writer and speaker Christopher West has taken a six-month sabbatical to consider his approach in presenting the Church's teaching on sexuality.
Seeking “personal and professional renewal,” West will cease teaching and has cancelled his speaking engagements for the period. The announcement came from the Theology of the Body Institute, where West serves as a research fellow and faculty member, and indicates that the decision was mutual between West and the Institute's board of directors.
The time away is intended to allow West “to reflect more deeply on fraternal and spiritual guidance he has received in order to continue developing his methodology and praxis as it relates to the promulgation of the Theology of the Body.” The announcement also indicates that West must “attend to family needs.”
While no direct reference is made to it, the sabbatical follows a controversy over an alleged lack of modesty in West's approach that began last spring....[continue reading West at LSN]
Union and Procreation
12. This particular doctrine, often expounded by the magisterium of the Church, is based on the inseparable connection, established by God, which man on his own initiative may not break, between the unitive significance and the procreative significance which are both inherent to the marriage act.
The reason is that the fundamental nature of the marriage act, while uniting husband and wife in the closest intimacy, also renders them capable of generating new life—and this as a result of laws written into the actual nature of man and of woman. And if each of these essential qualities, the unitive and the procreative, is preserved, the use of marriage fully retains its sense of true mutual love and its ordination to the supreme responsibility of parenthood to which man is called. We believe that our contemporaries are particularly capable of seeing that this teaching is in harmony with human reason.
Faithfulness to God's Design
13. Men rightly observe that a conjugal act imposed on one's partner without regard to his or her condition or personal and reasonable wishes in the matter, is no true act of love, and therefore offends the moral order in its particular application to the intimate relationship of husband and wife. If they further reflect, they must also recognize that an act of mutual love which impairs the capacity to transmit life which God the Creator, through specific laws, has built into it, frustrates His design which constitutes the norm of marriage, and contradicts the will of the Author of life. Hence to use this divine gift while depriving it, even if only partially, of its meaning and purpose, is equally repugnant to the nature of man and of woman, and is consequently in opposition to the plan of God and His holy will. But to experience the gift of married love while respecting the laws of conception is to acknowledge that one is not the master of the sources of life but rather the minister of the design established by the Creator. Just as man does not have unlimited dominion over his body in general, so also, and with more particular reason, he has no such dominion over his specifically sexual faculties, for these are concerned by their very nature with the generation of life, of which God is the source. "Human life is sacred—all men must recognize that fact," Our predecessor Pope John XXIII recalled. "From its very inception it reveals the creating hand of God." (13)
Consequences of Artificial Methods
17. Responsible men can become more deeply convinced of the truth of the doctrine laid down by the Church on this issue if they reflect on the consequences of methods and plans for artificial birth control. Let them first consider how easily this course of action could open wide the way for marital infidelity and a general lowering of moral standards [we often wonder just how low those moral standards can go - I don't even think Pope Paul could fully comprehend them all back then]. Not much experience is needed to be fully aware of human weakness and to understand that human beings—and especially the young, who are so exposed to temptation—need incentives to keep the moral law, and it is an evil thing to make it easy for them to break that law. Another effect that gives cause for alarm is that a man who grows accustomed to the use of contraceptive methods may forget the reverence due to a woman, and, disregarding her physical and emotional equilibrium, reduce her to being a mere instrument for the satisfaction of his own desires, no longer considering her as his partner whom he should surround with care and affection.
Finally, careful consideration should be given to the danger of this power passing into the hands of those public authorities who care little for the precepts of the moral law. Who will blame a government which in its attempt to resolve the problems affecting an entire country resorts to the same measures as are regarded as lawful by married people in the solution of a particular family difficulty? Who will prevent public authorities from favoring those contraceptive methods which they consider more effective? Should they regard this as necessary, they may even impose their use on everyone. It could well happen, therefore, that when people, either individually or in family or social life, experience the inherent difficulties of the divine law and are determined to avoid them, they may give into the hands of public authorities the power to intervene in the most personal and intimate responsibility of husband and wife [thus hindering the actions of God, the author of life].
