THE MAGISTERIUM OF POPE JOHN PAUL II

Msgr. William Smith

Elected in October 1978, Pope John Paul II is now in the 18th year of his pontificate. He has been Pope one year longer than Pius XI (1922-1939), one year less that Pius XII (1939-1958) and three years longer than Paul VI (1963-1978).

Now fulfilling one of the longer pontificates of the 20th century, John Paul II has produced a doctrinal moral patrimony which is not yet completed but already is extensive - very extensive. Not only is his pastoral papal teaching extensive, it is remarkable for the continuity and developed consistency with his predecessors and with the central ecclesial event of the century - Vatican Council II.

In a biographical entry in the New Catholic Encyclopedia, one author asserts of Pope Pius XII that the volume and scope of his teaching "surpassed any of his predecessors" (NCE. V. 6, p. 417). Surely it is fair to say that the extensive teaching of Pius XII was both a precursor and necessary contribution to Vatican II. Cardinal A. Bea has stated that Vatican II would not have been possible without the long and fruitful preparation provided by Pius XII.

For example, consider how three great encyclicals of Pius XII prepared the way for three central documents of the Council: Mystici Corporis (1943), Divino Afflante Spiritu (1943) and Mediator Dei (1947) touching respectively: the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church (Lumen Gentium), on Divine Revelation (Dei Verbum) and on the Sacred Liturgy (Sacrosanctum Concilium). Moreover, the Council document, The Church and the Modern World (Gaudium et Spes) would not have addressed successfully so many pastoral questions and problems if the teaching ministry of Pius XII had not thrown so much light on so many pressing problems.

A case can be made that the moral teaching of Vatican II is, in large part, the moral teaching of Pius XII. And surely, the moral teaching of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (1992) is, for all practical purposes, the moral teaching of the same Council.

Karol Wojtyla was born in 1920. Given the Euro-centric focus of ecclesiastical training and seminary education. John Paul II's philosophical and theological education began very much in the "school" of Pope Pius XII. The same is true of his Roman graduate studies in theology immediately after WWII.

Further, he has often referred to Pope Paul VI as his "spiritual father" and it was Paul VI who presided over and directed three of the four sessions of Vatican II (1963-1965) and the same Paul VI who immediately set about the implementation of Vatican Council II.

John Paul himself was an active and attentive participant in every session of the Council - from its opening to its closing day (Crossing the Threshold of Hope, 1994, pp. 157-160). Aware of and explicit about the need to interpret the Council correctly "and defend it from tendentious interpretations" (ibid., p. 157), John Paul II, I would argue, is the most faithful expositor, even champion, of the true teaching of Vatican Council II.

There are some tendentious faddists who, either ignorant of, or antagonistic to, the Council's true teaching, popularize the deceit that the Pope and the current Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith are trying, somehow, to reverse the Council. Some of these people are so blinded by personal ideologies and self-serving agendas that they accuse the Pope of trying today to restore "minority" positions set aside at the Council and replace the "majority" position actually taught by the Council.

This distorted claim, often fostered by a complicit media, could not be further from the truth.

In his Apostolic Letter Tertio Millennio Adveniente (1994), John Paul II teaches that the best preparation for the new millennium can "only be expressed in a renewed commitment to apply, as faithfully as possible, the teaching of Vatican II to the life of every individual and of the whole Church" (no. 20).

Indeed, as a first phase of individual and ecclesial preparation for the new millennium, John Paul II suggests a serious examination of conscience. A conscientious exam that considers the actual reception of the Council: To what extent has the Word of God become the "soul of theology" and Christian living as Dei Verbum taught? Is the Sacred Liturgy the "origin and summit" of Church life as Sacrosanctum Concilium taught? Is the ecclesiology of "communio" lived as Lumen Gentium taught? Are careful discernment and courageous witness to the truth lived as Gaudium et Spes taught? (TMA, no. 36)

Consistent with his papal predecessors whose teaching prepared for the Council, who directed and immediately implemented the Council, John Paul II has no peer as a teacher and faithful expositor of Vatican Council II.

Now with and within the perspective of his eighteen year pontificate, I think it is fair to say that the doctrinal-moral teaching patrimony of John Paul II has approached and perhaps surpassed the volume and scope even of Pope Pius XII.

The mentions that follow are just that - mentions. They are not meant to be commentaries nor adequate expositions but merely mentions that can serve to outline the enormous range and depth of the doctrinal-moral patrimony of John Paul II.

Consider first the subject matter of his major encyclicals. Three full encyclicals, one on each Person of the Blessed Trinity. The first encyclical, Redemptor Hominis (1979), on Jesus Christ, the center piece and center Person of all his subsequent teaching. Even the terms, redemptor and hominis, will pervade all his teachings and writings. Convinced as he is, as was the Council, that the "Redeemer of man, Jesus Christ, is the center of the universe and of history" (RH, no. 1), it is only in Christ that man can learn the truth about man (GS, no. 22) and only by following Christ's example that one can live the truth about the human person (GS, no. 24).

Dives in Misericordia (1980) teaches about God the Father and the nature of our Father's love and life; Dominum et Vivificantem (1986) teaches about the central and active agency of the Holy Spirit.

Another full encyclical on the Blessed Virgin Mary, Redemptoris Mater (1987), a profound and rich exposition of Lumen Gentium, chapter 8, nos. 58-69. Then an Apostolic Exhortation on St. Joseph, Redemptoris Custos (1989), and another encyclical on two pivotal saints, Slavorum Apostoli (1985).

Four other major encyclicals on topics of supreme importance: on the missionary nature of the Church, Redemptoris Missio (1990) which, in his own words, sets forth the main problems facing evangelization, identifies by name the obstacles of evangelization and clarifies certain concepts often misused in journalistic language (CTH, p. 114).

Next, the moral masterpiece on fundamental moral theology, Veritatis Splendor (1993), whose purpose is as clear as it is specific: "The specific purpose of the present encyclical is this: to set forth, with regard to the problem being discussed, the principles of a moral teaching based on Sacred Scripture and the living Apostolic Tradition, and at the same time to shed light on the presuppositions and consequences of the dissent which that teaching has met" (no. 5).

Then the formal teaching on life and the life issues (especially abortion and euthanasia) in Evangelium Vitae (1995). Even critics of the Pope inside and outside the Church cannot refute nor even challenge his accurate description of the "Culture of Death" into which the Western and other societies are sinking and to which only a "Culture of Life" is a viable answer (EV, nos. 78-101). Within the same calendar year, the same Pope issued a major and extensive encyclical on ecumenism, Ut Unum Sint (1995).

At the same time, it is clear that the social doctrine of the Church has not been neglected; three full encyclicals are devoted to it: Laborem Exercens (1981), Sollicitudo Rei Socialis (1987), and the magisterial summary of 100 years of Catholic social teaching, together with present analysis and future indications, in Centesimus Annus (1991).

If we consider not only the encyclicals but also his much expanded Apostolic Exhortations, there are the extensive follow-ups and follow-throughs of the World Synods of Bishops: Catechesi Tradendae (1979) on catechetics; his personal vademecum on marriage and family life, Familiaris Consortio (1981); the Sacrament of Penance, Reconciliatio et Paenitentia (1984); the Christian Faithful and faithful apostolate, Christifideles Laici (1988); the full plan for priestly formation and priestly life, Pastores Dabo Vobis (1992); and the extensive treatment of religious life in Vita Consecrata (1996).

Three Apostolic Letters of profound importance are rarely read or mentioned although they deal with critical issues touching the fault lines of contemporary moral confusion and societal chaos: Salvifici Doloris (1984) on the Christian understanding of suffering, which if understood could arrest the advance of assisted suicide. Mulieris Dignitatem (1988), a key document that details the dignity and vocation of women, along with the Pope's personal Letter to Families (1994), that summarizes central themes of his whole priestly and papal apostolate.

The Apostolic Exhortation, Ex Corde Ecclesiae (1990), not only recapitulates the relevant universal law of the Church but offers as well ways and means to provide a juridic link with Catholic higher education.

Of particular doctrinal importance is the Apostolic Letter On Reserving Priestly Ordination to Men Alone (Ordinatio Sacerdotalis, 5/22/94).

During the same pontificate, the sixteen year effort at the recodification of the universal law of the Western Church was promulgated by John Paul II in the Codex Iuris Canonici (1983). Also, for the first time, a complete codification of the canon laws of the Eastern Church was promulgated, Codex Canonum Ecclesiarum Orientalium (1990). This double legal renewal fulfilled a request and requirement of the Fathers of Vatican Council II.

Although John Paul II gives generous credit to Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger for the publication of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (1992), the Holy Father views the Catechism as indispensable "in order that all the richness of the teaching of the Church following the Second Vatican Council could be preserved in a new synthesis and be given a new direction" (CTH, p. 164). While not explicitly called for by that Council, the Catechism is the Catechism of Vatican Council II and completes the teaching and implementation of the Council.

Under the same Pope's approval and direction, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) has promulgated instructions and letters in detail on the most contemporary problems: the Declaration on Euthanasia (5/5/80), the Instruction on Infant Baptism (10/20/80) and the letter on The Minister of the Eucharist (8/6/83).

A two-part development was promulgated in 1984 beginning with a concise critique of Certain Aspects of the Theology of Liberation (Liberatis Nuntius, 8/6/84, nos. 1-17) and the fuller Catholic perspective in the instruction On Christian Freedom and Liberation (Libertatis Conscientia, 3/22. 86, nos. 1-100).

The CDF Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on the Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons (10/1/86) remains to this day the most complete and concise treatment of that question and its implications in Catholic history.

The CDF instruction, Donum Vitae (2/22/87), on bioethics and bioethical issues, presents clearly the moral status of the human embryo and all the needed distinctions and moral guidance necessary for resolving pressing and future questions.

In 1989, the same Congregation issued a letter On Some Aspects of Christian Meditation that is both a useful warning and useful guide for not fusing Christian and non-Christian prayers and prayer forms.

Lastly, a CDF letter gave a definitive response to the question of Reception of Communion: Divorced and Re-Married Catholics (1994), while a formal reply of that same Congregation stated that the teaching of Ordinatio Sacerdotalis was infallible (10/28/95).

Again, these are all mentions; they are not expositions or even explanations. Nonetheless, the scope and depth and continuity of the enormous doctrinal-moral patrimony that John Paul II has bequeathed to the Church is clear even in outline. I suspect that it will not be until well into the next century that this theological treasure will be assimilated or fully appreciated. It is not within my competence to bestow titles on anyone, but it would not surprise me if in the future this Pope was referred to as John Paul II - Teacher and Mystic. v

Monsignor William B. Smith, S.T. D. is Professor of Moral Theology at St. Joseph's Seminary in Dunwoodie, Yonkers, N.Y.