Joy of Married Love was issued by the Canadian bishops on the 50th anniversary of Humanae Vitae. It says the message of Humanae Vitae should be seen as an emphatic ‘Yes!’ to the fullness of life promised to us by Jesus Christ.” (CNS photo/Mike Crupi, Catholic Courier)
While teaching an ethics class, the section on “conscience” came up in the prescribed text book.
The emphatic presentation on conscience was somewhat problematic, as if the subjective conscience were the only barometer with which we are equipped to make moral judgments.
Human beings possess “natural law.” But even natural law relies on
the moral “formation” of the individual to develop an enlightened conscience. From
a Catholic perspective our conscience is illuminated by the teaching
Magisterium of the Church.
The fact is, the conscience can and does err, especially given the human inclination towards concupiscence – one of the consequences of the Fall.
As I thought about the subjective problem of conscience, I also considered the interior light of natural law, and the objective power of the enlightened conscience thanks to the Magisterium; so, I decided to have the class examine parts of Humane Vitae promulgated July 25, 1968, to show students the value of natural law in ethics (paragraphs §4, §10-12, §23).
Many of the faithful do not realize Roman Catholic morals build on natural law principles. St. Thomas Aquinas (Summa Theologiae, I-II, q. 94) has played a pivotal role in affirming natural law. The recognition of an interior law in response to the order of an external world is also present in St. Augustine (De Libero Arbitrio) and can be traced back to the Roman Stoics (Marcus Aurelius, Meditations), Aristotle’s writings (Nicomachean Ethics) and, significantly, the Pauline Scriptures (Rom 2:14).
I also asked the class to read the problematic Winnipeg Statement issued by the Conference of Canadian Catholic Bishops (CCCB) in September 1968 precisely because of the statement’s emphasis on “conscience.”
The Catholic students immediately picked up on the subjective risks of the conscience. In 1971 the CCCB issued a letter on “conscience formation.” The 1971 letter provides an excellent follow-up to the problematic Winnipeg Statement due to the “confusion” in the Church, a term the CCCB repeated (1968, 1971).
The 1971 letter clearly states the role of the Magisterium in guiding consciences, and the letter provides superb insight on conscience formation and the authoritative role of the Magisterium. Furthermore, the 1971 letter on conscience formation makes reference to natural law whose source is inseparable from an eternal law deriving from God (§50, also, §8-9, §25) – this means that natural law cannot be violated; nobody is above natural law because it comes from God.
I asked the class to read “Liberating Potential” issued by the CCCB on the 40th anniversary of Humanae Vitae in 2008. A significant reflection of Liberating Potential is the eschatological dimension of our faith. Eternal Life is too often neglected in theological circles and even catechetical teaching.
Humane Vitae (§25) reminds us of our biblical faith, “the form of this world is passing away” (1 Cor 7:31). Similarly, Liberating Potential (§4) drawing from Humanae Vitae (§7), reconnects us with our Christian identity: “‘the whole man and the whole mission to which he is called … both its natural, earthly aspects, and its supernatural, eternal aspects.’”
Liberating Potential echoes the rich teachings of St. John Paul II on the “Theology of the Body” affirming the human being not only material, but both a bodily and spiritual being. Only this composite can make sense of the person’s ultimate vocation which is God.
Liberating Potential asserts that John Paul II’s 129 Wednesday audiences between 1979 and 1984 offered “wealth of 27 years of pastoral experience with young couples.” Pope John Paul II presented a personalist approach and biblical anthropology leading to a “language of the body”: the body, male and female, communicates in conjugal union; the body gives, or refuses to give.
Liberating Potential (§18) also makes reference to the papal encyclical of Pope Benedict XVI, Deus Caritas Est, affirming both body and spirit as one, “a unified creature composed of body and soul.” Love matures from eros to agape only when love is no longer self-seeking, but rather, seeks the good of the beloved” (Deus Caritas Est, §16). The students noticed the deepened reflection on the Humanae Vitae in Liberating Potential under the guidance of the pontificates of Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI.
I mentioned to the students the CCCB would most likely issue a message/letter/statement for the 50th anniversary and, “we’ll see what it says” – (classes ended in April).
Joy of Married love was issued on July 25th, the 50th anniversary of Humanae Vitae. At the outset the CCCB Statement asserts, “… we reaffirm that the message of Humanae Vitae should be seen as an emphatic ‘Yes!’ to the fullness of life promised to us by Jesus Christ.”
The statement further echoes St. John Paul II from the Theology of the Body and Amoris Laetiae of Pope Francis. The continuity with Humanae Vitae and Liberating Potential is to be found in the eschatological implications of our choices and actions, and especially the love humans seek: “we are made for an infinite love – the very kind that led Jesus to offer his life freely on the cross for us. Nothing less than his infinite love can fill the deepest aspirations of our hearts.” This CCCB statement captures the essence of Humanae Vitae.
In both the 40th anniversary and 50th anniversary message and letter, less emphasis is placed on the conscience and more attention is given to human nature – a nature that is composite, bodily and spiritual, a nature that has male or female written on the body, a nature that seeks the fullness of love, a nature that is redeemed and sanctified by Christ.
Father David Bellusci is a Dominican priest and assistant professor of philosophy at Catholic Pacific College in Langley, B.C.
fr.david.bellusci @catholicpacific.ca