the theology of the body debate: the pivotal question
Christopher West
Response to Critics
October 22, 2009
When the public
conversation about my work unfolded following my appearance on
Nightline last May, I did not think it was wise for me to
respond until I had submitted the matter to my local bishops.
Now that Cardinal Justin Rigali and Bishop Kevin Rhoades have
issued a statement, it seems appropriate for me to offer some
reflections as well.
First, I want to thank the many men and women - former students,
married couples, catechists, theologians, seminarians, priests,
deacons, religious, and bishops - who contacted me to offer
their encouragement during this time. Your prayers and support
were a tremendous gift to me. I would also like to thank those
scholars and teachers of the faith who wrote in support of me,
especially Janet Smith, Michael Waldstein, Michael Healy, Father
Thomas Loya, Matthew Pinto, and, of course, Cardinal Rigali and
Bishop Rhoades. Your willingness to speak out on my behalf
remains a profound consolation.
Second, I want to thank those of you who offered thoughtful
critiques of my work and helpful suggestions on how to improve
it. I have taken them to heart. Indeed, I have always weighed my
critics' observations carefully and prayerfully. They have
helped me refine my approach a great deal over the years and I
remain very grateful for that.
That said, much of the criticism that appeared after the
Nightline interview significantly misrepresented what I teach.
Rumors were repeated so often that subsequent commentators
simply treated dubious accusations as fact. Although I do not
intend to respond point by point to the various criticisms, it
seems I would be remiss as a teacher of the Theology of the Body
(TOB) not to reflect briefly on what seems to be the pivotal
point of the conversation. It is "pivotal" in the sense that
people's perspective on this point pivots them in very different
directions when evaluating my work. This point is also critical
in as much as it leads us to what I, and many others, consider
to be "the pearl" of John Paul II's TOB.
I offer these reflections in a spirit of humility and love for
all those involved, not in an effort to "defend" myself. I am
well aware that those looking for flaws in me will always be
able to find them. I, like every interpreter of the Pope's
thought, bring my own personal perspectives, gifts, and
shortcomings to the table. That's why I remind my readers and
students often to "test everything; hold fast to what is good"
(1 Thess 5:21). The same applies to what follows.
Of Which Man Are We Speaking?
The pivotal question as I see it is this: What does the grace of
redemption offer us in this life with regard to our disordered
sexual tendencies? From there, the questions multiply: Is it
possible to overcome the pull of lust within us? If not, what
are we to do with our disordered desires? If so, to what degree
can we be liberated from lust and how can we enter into this
grace? Furthermore, what does it actually look like to live a
life of ever deepening sexual redemption?
It is abundantly clear from both Catholic teaching and human
experience that, so long as we are on earth, we will always have
to battle with concupiscence - that disordering of our passions
caused by original sin (see Catechism of the Catholic Church
405, 978, 1264, 1426). In some of my earliest lectures and
tapes, I confess that I did not emphasize this important point
clearly enough. The battle with concupiscence is fierce. Even
the holiest saints can still recognize the pull of concupiscence
within them. Yet, as John Paul II insisted, we "cannot stop at
casting the 'heart' into a state of continual and irreversible
suspicion due to the manifestations of the concupiscence of the
flesh... Redemption is a truth, a reality, in the name of which
man must feel himself called, and 'called with effectiveness'" (TOB
46:4).
Many people seem to doubt this "effectiveness" and thus conclude
that the freedom I hold out is beyond the realm of man's
possibilities. From one perspective, these critics are correct.
"But what are the 'concrete possibilities of man'?" John Paul II
asks. "And of which man are we speaking? Of man dominated by
lust or of man redeemed by Christ" (Veritatis Splendor 103)? For
those dominated by lust, what I hold out is impossible. But
those who enter the "effectiveness" of redemption discover
"another vision of man's possibilities" (TOB 46:6).
The Cry of the New Evangelization
I humbly invite all those who question what I teach about
liberation from concupiscence to take a closer look at the
teaching of John Paul II on the matter (see especially TOB 43:6,
45:3, 46:4, 46:6, 47:5, 48:1, 48:4, 49:4, 49:6, 58:7, 86:6-7,
101:3-5, 107:1-3, 128:3, 129:5). It is a point of utmost
importance. Indeed, in a very real way, debates about what we
are capable of in the battle with concupiscence take us to the
crux of the Gospel itself. "This is what is at stake," John Paul
II maintained, "the reality of Christ's redemption. Christ has
redeemed us! This means he has given us the possibility of
realizing the entire truth of our being; he has set our freedom
free from the domination of concupiscence" (Veritatis Splendor
103).
Oh, what a powerful proclamation! If we listen carefully to it,
it seems we can almost sense John Paul II's participation in the
potency with which Christ proclaimed the words of the prophet
Isaiah: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because the Lord has
anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to
heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and
release from darkness for the prisoners,... to comfort all who
mourn,... to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise
instead of despair" (Isaiah 61: 1-3; see also Lk 4:18-19). John
Paul II, it seems, was precisely the herald "anointed by the
Lord" to bring the good news of liberation to our sexually
enslaved world. Let all who are thirsty come - come and drink
the water of life (see Rev 22:17).
What is the alternative to an effective sexual redemption? If
man remains bound by his lusts, is he even capable of loving
with a pure heart? Marriage, in this view, comes to be seen and
lived as a "legitimate outlet" for indulging our disordered
desires and the celibate life comes to be seen and lived as a
life of hopeless repression. And we end up "holding the form of
religion" while "denying the power of it" (2 Tim 3:5). "Ne
evacuetur Crux!"- John Paul II exclaims, "Do not empty the Cross
of its power!" (see 1 Cor 1:17). "This," he said, "is the cry of
the new evangelization." For "if the cross of Christ is emptied
of its power, man no longer has roots, he no longer has
prospects: he is destroyed" (Orientale Lumen 3).
Mature Purity
The teaching of John Paul II is clear: liberation from
concupiscence - or, more precisely, from the domination of
concupiscence (John Paul II used both expressions) - is not only
a possibility, it is a necessity if we are to live our lives "in
the truth" and experience the divine plan for human love (see
TOB 43:6, 47:5). Indeed, Christian sexual ethos "is always
linked... with the liberation of the heart from concupiscence" (TOB
43:6). And this liberation is just as essential for consecrated
celibates and single people as it is for married couples (see
TOB 77:4).
It is precisely this liberation that allows us to discover what
John Paul II called "mature purity." In mature purity "man
enjoys the fruits of victory over concupiscence" (TOB 58:7).
This victory is gradual and certainly remains fragile here on
earth, but it is nonetheless real. For those graced with its
fruits, a whole new world opens up - another way of seeing,
thinking, living, talking, loving, praying. But to those who
cannot imagine freedom from concupiscence, such a way of seeing,
living, talking, loving, and praying not only seems unusual -
but improper, imprudent, dangerous, or even perverse.
Why, we should ask ourselves, does such a cloud of negativity
and suspicion seem to hover over the realm of sexuality? The
distortions of sin are, of course, very real. But through the
grace of redemption, can our sexuality not become in our
practical, lived experience the realm of the sacramental and the
holy? Can it not become the realm of a truly sacred
conversation? "To the pure all things are pure," St. Paul said
(Titus 1:15). But to those bound by lust, even the pure seems
impure. Oh, how tragic when we label as ugly that which is
beautiful!
Some people say the redemption of the body is something reserved
only for the resurrection at the end of time. While it is
certainly true that the fullness of our redemption awaits us
only in the final resurrection, John Paul II insists that the
"'redemption of the body'... expresses itself not only in the
resurrection as victory over death. It is present also in the
words of Christ addressed to 'historical' man ... [when] Christ
invites us to overcome concupiscence, even in the exclusively
inner movements of the human heart" (TOB 86:6).
And here we enter the tension of what theologians call the
"already - but not yet" of redemption. The not yet aspect means
we must be cognizant of the many distortions of our fallen
nature and the ease with which we can be lured into temptations.
The already aspect means there is also a power at work within us
which is able to do "far more than we ever think or imagine," as
St. Paul said (see Eph 3:20). Both truths must be held together.
When it comes to questions of sexuality, it seems that many
teachers and spiritual advisors focus almost exclusively on the
not yet. We can hear so much about the "dangers" of sexuality
that we conclude there is no escape from the ever present risk
of sin. John Paul II is very critical of this kind of
"determinism in the sexual sphere," as he called it in a
pre-papal essay. Such determinism tends "to limit the
possibility of virtue and magnify the 'necessity of sin' in this
sphere." John Paul II's approach, however, entails "the opposite
tendency," as he himself wrote. It upholds "the possibility of
virtue, based on self-control and sublimation [which means to
raise up, make sublime]" ("The Problem of Catholic Sexual
Ethics," Person and Community, p. 286).
The Journey of the Interior Life
Virtue, however, in the full Christian sense of the term, is
only possible as we journey through the "purgative" way of the
interior life and into what the mystical tradition calls the
"illuminative" and "unitive" ways. It is here, in these further
stages of the journey, that we discover "mature purity." In the
purgative stage, purity basically means "avoiding the occasion
of sin" by "gaining custody of the eyes." This is a very
important step on the journey. But it is an essentially
"negative" step, John Paul II says, in as much as it involves
learning how to say no to lustful passions and learning how to
abstain from unchastity. John Paul II, in keeping with the
authentic tradition of the Church, teaches that there is much
more to the virtue of purity than this.
In the language of St. Thomas Aquinas, a person who can
successfully restrain himself from sin is "continent" but not
yet virtuous. Continence falls short of virtue since virtue
presupposes a right desire, and this is lacking in the continent
person (see Summa, Prima Secundae, q. 58, a. 3, ad 2). As the
Catechism observes, "The perfection of the moral good consists
in man's being moved to the good not only by his will but also
by his 'heart'" and even "by his sensitive appetite" (CCC 1770,
1775). Human virtues do not suppress or tyrannize our passions.
They "order our passions... They make possible ease,
self-mastery, and joy in leading a morally good life" (CCC
1804).
"The task of purity," as John Paul II observed, "is not only
(and not so much) abstaining from 'unchastity' and from ...
'lustful passions'." In the illuminative and unitive stages of
the journey, we discover "another function of the virtue of
purity... another dimension – one could say – that is more
positive than negative" (TOB 54:3). In this "positive"
dimension, we come to experience "a singular ability to
perceive, love, and realize those meanings of the 'language of
the body' that remain completely unknown to concupiscence
itself' (TOB 128:3). We "come to an ever greater awareness of
the gratuitous beauty of the human body, of masculinity and
femininity" in such a way, John Paul II wrote, that other people
"not only regain their true light ... but, so to speak, they
lead us to God himself" (Memory and Identity, p. 30).
This is "the glorious freedom of the children of God" (Rom 8:21)
to which Christ invites us all. Admittedly, it is a very
different vision than that with which many Catholics are
familiar. Perhaps it's simply that "unfamiliarity" that causes
some to doubt its authenticity. For those who have been formed
to think primarily in terms of the "dangers" of sexuality and
the "constant risk of sin," I invite you to meditate prayerfully
on the following hope-filled words of John Paul II. Of course,
they refer not only to the sexual sphere, but are certainly
inclusive of that sphere, as he indicates.
With the passage of time, if we persevere in following Christ
our Teacher, we feel less and less burdened by the struggle
against sin, and we enjoy more and more the divine light which
pervades all creation. This is most important, because it allows
us to escape from a situation of constant inner exposure to the
risk of sin - even though, on this earth, the risk always
remains present to some degree - so as to move with ever greater
freedom within the whole created world. This same freedom and
simplicity characterizes our relations with other human beings,
including those of the opposite sex... Christ, supreme Teacher
of the spiritual life, together with all those who have been
formed in his school, teaches that even in this life we can
enter onto the path of union with God... [This union allows us
to] find God in everything, we can commune with him in and
through all things. Created things cease to be a danger for us
as once they were, particularly while we were still at the
purgative stage of our journey. (Memory and Identity, pp. 29-30)
In Conclusion
One of the most common responses I receive when I present this
beautifully challenging and hopeful vision of human life and
sexuality is this: I've been a Catholic my whole life - why
haven't I ever heard this!? The truth of the matter is that it
is rarely taught, a fact that only underscores the urgency of
sharing this vision with the world. But we cannot give what we
do not have. As Pope Paul VI said in his apostolic exhortation
on evangelization, "The Church is an evangelizer, but she begins
by being evangelized herself" (Evangelii Nuntiandi 15).
The fundamental message of the TOB is nothing new. In essence,
it's what the saints and mystics have been telling us for
centuries about the "great mystery" of Christ's infinite love
for his Bride, the Church. Yet John Paul II has penetrated that
same Mystery with new clarity, new insight, new depth - giving
us a new language with which to reach the modern world with the
Gospel of Jesus Christ. Still, relatively few in the Church know
enough about John Paul II's "new language" to employ it in their
efforts to communicate the faith. It is my hope that the
Nightline interview and the spirited debate it triggered will
spur us all on as Catholics to study the TOB more intently,
"receive" its contents more deeply, and share its liberating
message more effectively.
I encourage those who find John Paul II's text difficult to turn
to those teachers and authors whose approach you find most
helpful in making it accessible. There are so many fine books
and resources now available on the TOB, all with valuable
contributions to make. I certainly do not claim to be the
definitive voice on the subject. Thank God that there are
different people and organizations doing this important work!
For the approach of others will reach people I never will, just
as my approach will reach people theirs never will. What is
important is that we make a concerted effort to reach people.
The world is starved for the banquet presented in our late
Pope's teaching. Woe to us if we do not take it up, make it our
own, and share it with the world. Mary, star of the New
Evangelization, pray for us!
Republished
with permission from:
http://www.christopherwest.com
original article:
http://www.christopherwest.com//page.asp?ContentID=129
