VERITATIS SPLENDOR

ADDRESSED BY THE SUPREME PONTIFF POPE JOHN PAUL II
TO ALL THE BISHOPS OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

REGARDING CERTAIN FUNDAMENTAL QUESTIONS OF THE CHURCH'S MORAL TEACHING

LIBRERIA EDITRICE VATICANA
VATICAN CITY

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

Jesus Christ, the true light that enlightens everyone (Nos. 1-3)

The purpose of the present Encyclical (Nos. 4-5)


CHAPTER ONE: "TEACHER, WHAT GOOD MUST I DO ...?" (Mt. 19:16)
<Christ and the answer to the question about morality>


"Someone came to him..." (Mt 19:16) (Nos. 6-7)

"Teacher, what good must I do to have eternal life?" (Mt 19:16) (No. 8)

"There is only one who is good" (Mt 19:17) (Nos. 9-11)

"If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandment" (Mt 19:17 (Nos. 12-
15)

"If you wish to be perfect" (Mt 19:21) (Nos. 12-15)

"Come, follow me" (Mt 19:21) (Nos 19-21)

"With God all things are possible"(Mt 19:26) (Nos. 22-24)

"Lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age" (Mt 28:20) (Nos. 25-27)


CHAPTER TWO: "DO NOT BE CONFORMED TO THIS WORLD" (Rom 12:2)
<The Church and the discernment of certain tendencies in present-day moral
theology>


Teaching what befits sound doctrine (cf. Tit 2:1) (Nos. 28-30)

"You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free" (Jn 8:32) (Nos
31-34)

I. FREEDOM AND LAW

"Of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat" (Gen
2:17) (Nos. 35-37)

"God left man in the power of his own counsel" (Sir 15:14) (Nos 38-41)

Blessed is the man who takes delight in the law of the Lord (cf. Ps 1:1-2)
(Nos. 42-45)

"What the law requires is written on their hearts" (Rom 2:15) Nos. 46-50)

"From the beginning it was not so" (Mt 19:8) (Nos. 51-53)

II. CONSCIENCE AND TRUTH

Man's sanctuary (Nos. 54-56)

The judgment of conscience (Nos. 57-61)

Seeking what is true and good (Nos. 62-64)

III. FUNDAMENTAL CHOICE AND SPECIFIC KINDS OF BEHAVIOUR

"Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh" (Gal 5:13)
(Nos. 65-68)

Mortal and venial sin (Nos. 69-70)

IV. THE MORAL ACT

Teleology and teleologism (Nos. 71-75)

The object of the deliberate act (Nos. 71-75)

"Intrinsic evil": it is not licit to do evil that good may come of it (cf.
Rom 3:8) Nos 79-83)


CHAPTER THREE:"LEST THE CROSS OF CHRIST BE EMPTIED OF ITS POWER"(1 Cor 1:17)
<Moral good for the life of the Church and of the world>


"For freedom Christ has set us free" (Gal 5:1) (Nos 84-87)

Walking in the light (cf. 1 Jn 1:7) (Nos 88-89)

Martyrdom, the exaltation of the inviolable holiness of God's law (Nos. 90-
94)

Universal and unchanging moral norms at the service of the person and of
society (Nos. 95-97)

Morality and the renewal of social and political life (Nos. 98-101)

Grace and obedience to God's law (Nos. 102-105)

Morality and new evangelization (Nos. 106-108)

The service of moral theologians (Nos. 109-113)

Our own responsibilities as Pastors (Nos. 114-117)


CONCLUSION

Mary, Mother of Mercy (Nos. 118-120)


Venerable Brothers in the Episcopate, Health and the Apostolic Blessing!

THE SPLENDOUR OF TRUTH shines forth in all the works of the Creator and, in
a special way, in man, created in the image and likeness of God (cf. Gen
1:26). Truth enlightens man's intelligence and shapes his freedom, leading
him to know and love the Lord. Hence the Psalmist prays: "Let the light of
your face shine on us, O Lord" (Ps 4:6).


INTRODUCTION: JESUS CHRIST, THE TRUE LIGHT THAT ENLIGHTENS EVERYONE

Called to salvation through faith in Jesus Christ "the true light that
enlightens everyone" (Jn 1:9), people become "light in the Lord" and
"children of light" (Eph 5:8), and are made holy by "obedience to the
truth" (1 Pet 1:22).

This obedience is not always easy. As a result of that mysterious original
sin, committed at the prompting of Satan, the one who is "a liar and the
father of lies" (Jn 8:44), man is constantly tempted to turn his gaze away
from the living and true God in order to direct it towards idols (cf. 1
Thes 1:9), exchanging "the truth about God for a lie" (Rom 1:25). Man's
capacity to know the truth is also darkened, and his will to submit to it
is weakened. Thus, giving himself over to relativism and scepticism (cf. Jn
18:38), he goes off in search of an illusory freedom apart from truth
itself.

But no darkness of error or of sin can totally take away from man the light
of God the Creator. In the depths of his heart there always remains a
yearning for absolute truth and a thirst to attain full knowledge of it.
This is eloquently proved by man's tireless search for knowledge in all
fields. It is proved even more by his search for <the meaning of life.> The
development of science and technology, this splendid testimony of the human
capacity for understanding and for perseverance, does not free humanity
from the obligation to ask the ultimate religious questions. Rather, it
spurs us on to face the most painful and decisive of struggles, those of
the heart and of the moral conscience.

2. No one can escape from the fundamental questions: <What must I do? How
do I distinguish good from evil?> The answer is only possible thanks to the
splendour of the truth which shines forth deep within the human spirit, as
the Psalmist bears witness: "There are many who say: 'O that we might see
some good! Let the light of your face shine on us, O Lord"' (Ps 4:6).

The light of God's face shines in all its beauty on the countenance of
Jesus Christ, "the image of the invisible God" (Col 1:15), the "reflection
of God's glory" (Heb 1:3), "full of grace and truth" (Jn 1:14). Christ is
"the way, and the truth, and the life" (Jn 14:6). Consequently the decisive
answer to every one of man's questions, his religious and moral questions
in particular, is given by Jesus Christ, or rather is Jesus Christ himself,
as the Second Vatican Council recalls: "In fact, <it is only in the mystery
of the Word incarnate that light is shed on the mystery of man.> For Adam,
the first man, was a figure of the future man, namely, of Christ the Lord.
It is Christ, the last Adam, who fully discloses man to himself and unfolds
his noble calling by revealing the mystery of the Father and the Father's
love".[1]

Jesus Christ, the "light of the nations", shines upon the face of his
Church, which he sends forth to the whole world to proclaim the Gospel to
every creature (cf. Mk 16:15).[2] Hence the Church, as the People of God
among the nations,[3] while attentive to the new challenges of history and to
mankind's efforts to discover the meaning of life, offers to everyone the
answer which comes from the truth about Jesus Christ and his Gospel. The
Church remains deeply conscious of her "duty in every age of examining the
signs of the times and interpreting them in the light of the Gospel, so
that she can offer in a manner appropriate to each generation replies to
the continual human questionings on the meaning of this life and the life
to come and on how they are related".[4]

3. The Church's Pastors, in communion with the Successor of Peter, are
close to the faithful in this effort; they guide and accompany them by
their authoritative teaching, finding ever new ways of speaking with love
and mercy not only to believers but to all people of good will. The Second
Vatican Council remains an extraordinary witness of this attitude on the
part of the Church which, as an "expert in humanity",[5] places herself at
the service of every individual and of the whole world.[6]

The Church knows that the issue of morality is one which deeply touches
every person; it involves all people, even those who do not know Christ and
his Gospel or God himself. She knows that it is precisely <on the path of
the moral life that the way of salvation is open to all.> The Second
Vatican Council clearly recalled this when it stated that "those who
without any fault do not know anything about Christ or his Church, yet who
search for God with a sincere heart and under the influence of grace, try
to put into effect the will of God as known to them through the dictate of
conscience... can obtain eternal salvation". The Council added: "Nor does
divine Providence deny the helps that are necessary for salvation to those
who, through no fault of their own have not yet attained to the express
recognition of God, yet who strive, not without divine grace, to lead an
upright life. For whatever goodness and truth is found in them is
considered by the Church as a preparation for the Gospel and bestowed by
him who enlightens everyone that they may in the end have life".[7]

THE PURPOSE OF THE PRESENT ENCYCLICAL

4. At all times, but particularly in the last two centuries, the Popes,
whether individually or together with the College of Bishops, have
developed and proposed a moral teaching regarding the <many different
spheres of human life.> In Christ's name and with his authority they have
exhorted, passed judgment and explained. In their efforts on behalf of
humanity, in fidelity to their mission, they have confirmed, supported and
consoled. With the guarantee of assistance from the Spirit of truth they
have contributed to a better understanding of moral demands in the areas of
human sexuality, the family, and social, economic and political life. In
the tradition of the Church and in the history of humanity, their teaching
represents a constant deepening of knowledge with regard to morality.[8]

Today, however, it seems <necessary to reflect on the whole of the Church's
moral teaching,> with the precise goal of recalling certain fundamental
truths of Catholic doctrine which, in the present circumstances, risk being
distorted or denied. In fact, a new situation has come about <within the
Christian community itself,> which has experienced the spread of numerous
doubts and objections of a human and psychological, social and cultural,
religious and even properly theological nature, with regard to the Church's
moral teachings. It is no longer a matter of limited and occasional
dissent, but of an overall and systematic calling into question of
traditional moral doctrine, on the basis of certain anthropological and
ethical presuppositions. At the root of these presuppositions is the more
or less obvious influence of currents of thought which end by detaching
human freedom from its essential and constitutive relationship to truth.
Thus the traditional doctrine regarding the natural law, and the
universality and the permanent validity of its precepts, is rejected;
certain of the Church's moral teachings are found simply unacceptable; and
the Magisterium itself is considered capable of intervening in matters of
morality only in order to "exhort consciences" and to "propose values", in
the light of which each individual will independently make his or her
decisions and life choices.

In particular, note should be taken of the <lack of harmony between the
traditional response of the Church and certain theological positions,>
encountered even in Seminaries and in Faculties of Theology, <with regard
to questions of the greatest importance> for the Church and for the life of
faith of Christians, as well as for the life of society itself. In
particular, the question is asked: do the commandments of God, which are
written on the human heart and are part of the Covenant, really have the
capacity to clarify the daily decisions of individuals and entire
societies? Is it possible to obey God and thus love God and neighbour,
without respecting these commandments in all circumstances? Also, an
opinion is frequently heard which questions the intrinsic and unbreakable
bond between faith and morality, as if membership in the Church and her
internal unity were to be decided on the basis of faith alone, while in the
sphere of morality a pluralism of opinions and of kinds of behaviour could
be tolerated, these being left to the judgment of the individual subjective
conscience or to the diversity of social and cultural contexts.

5. Given these circumstances, which still exist, I came to the decision--as
I announced in my Apostolic Letter <Spiritus Domini> issued on 1 August
1987 on the second centenary of the death of Saint Alphonsus Maria de'
Liguori--to write an Encyclical with the aim of treating "more fully and
more deeply the issues regarding the very foundations of moral theology",[9]
foundations which are being undermined by certain present day tendencies.

I address myself to you, Venerable Brothers in the Episcopate, who share
with me the responsibility of safeguarding "sound teaching" (2 Tim 4:3),
with the intention of <clearly setting forth certain aspects of doctrine
which are of crucial importance in facing what is certainly a genuine
crisis,> since the difficulties which it engenders have most serious
implications for the moral life of the faithful and for communion in the
Church, as well as for a just and fraternal social life.

If this Encyclical, so long awaited, is being published only now, one of
the reasons is that it seemed fitting for it to be preceded by the
<Catechism of the Catholic Church,> which contains a complete and
systematic exposition of Christian moral teaching. The Catechism presents
the moral life of believers in its fundamental elements and in its many
aspects as the life of the "children of God": "Recognizing in the faith
their new dignity, Christians are called to lead henceforth a life 'worthy
of the Gospel of Christ' (Phil 1:27). Through the sacraments and prayer
they receive the grace of Christ and the gifts of his Spirit which make
them capable of such a life".[10] Consequently, while referring back to the
Catechism "as a sure and authentic reference text for teaching Catholic
doctrine",[11] the Encyclical will limit itself to dealing with <certain
fundamental questions regarding the Church's moral teaching,> taking the
form of a necessary discernment about issues being debated by ethicists and
moral theologians. The specific purpose of the present Encyclical is this:
to set forth, with regard to the problems being discussed, the principles
of a moral teaching based upon Sacred Scripture and the living Apostolic
Tradition,[12] and at the same time to shed light on the presuppositions and
consequences of the dissent which that teaching has met.


ENDNOTES

1. Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World "Gaudium et
Spes," 22.

2. Cf. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Dogmatic Constitution on the
Church "Lumen Gentium," 1.

3. Cf. ibid., 9.

4. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Pastoral Constitution on the Church
in the Modern World "Gaudium et Spes," 4.

5. PAUL VI, "Address" to the General Assembly of the United Nations (4
October 1965), 1: AAS 57 (1965), 878; cf. Encyclical Letter "Populorum
Progressio" (26 March 1967), 13: AAS 59 (1967), 263-264.

6. Cf. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Pastoral Constitution
on the Church in the Modern World "Gaudium et Spes," 16.

7. Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium, 16.

8. Pius XII had already pointed out this doctrinal development: cf. "Radio
Message" for the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Encyclical Letter "Rerum
Novarum" of Leo XIII (1 June 1941): AAS 33 (1941), 195-205. Also JOHN
XXIII, Encyclical Letter "Mater et Magistra" (15 May 1961): AAS 53 (1961),
410-413.

9. Apostolic Letter "Spiritus Domini" (1 August 1987): AAS 79(1987), 1374.

10. "Catechism of the Catholic Church," No. 1692.

11. Apostolic Constitution "Fidei Depositum" (11 October 1992), 4.

12. Cf. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Dogmatic Constitution on Divine
Revelation "Dei Verbum," 10.


CHAPTER ONE: "TEACHER, WHAT GOOD MUST I DO...?" (Mt 19:16).

CHRIST AND THE ANSWER TO THE QUESTION ABOUT MORALITY

<Someone came to him...> (Mt 19:16)

6. <The dialogue of Jesus with the rich young man,> related in the
nineteenth chapter of Saint Matthew's Gospel, can serve as a useful guide
<for listening once more> in a lively and direct way to his moral teaching:
"Then someone came to him and said, 'Teacher, what good must I do to have
eternal life?' And he said to him, 'Why do you ask me about what is good?
There is only one who is good. If you wish to enter into life, keep the
commandments.' He said to him, 'Which ones?' And Jesus said, 'You shall not
murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not
bear false witness; Honour your father and mother; also, You shall love
your neighbour as yourself.' The young man said to him, 'I have kept all
these; what do I still lack?' Jesus said to him, 'If you wish to be
perfect, go, sell your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you
will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me'" (Mt 19:16-21).[13]

7. "<Then someone came to him. . .>". In the young man, whom Matthew's Gospel
does not name, we can recognize every person who, consciously or not,
<approaches Christ the Redeemer of man and questions him about morality.>
For the young man, the "question" is not so much about rules to be
followed, but <about the full meaning of life.> This is in fact the
aspiration at the heart of every human decision and action, the quiet
searching and interior prompting which sets freedom in motion. This
question is ultimately an appeal to the absolute Good which attracts us and
beckons us; it is the echo of a call from God who is the origin and goal of
man's life. Precisely in this perspective the Second Vatican Council called
for a renewal of moral theology, so that its teaching would display the
lofty vocation which the faithful have received in Christ,[14] the only
response fully capable of satisfying the desire of the human heart.

<In order to make this "encounter" with Christ possible, God willed his
Church.> Indeed, the Church "wishes to serve this single end: that each
person may be able to find Christ, in order that Christ may walk with each
person the path of life."[15]

<Teacher, what good must I do to have eternal life?> (Mt 19:16)

8. The question which the rich young man puts to Jesus of Nazareth is one
which rises from the depths of his heart. It is <an essential and
unavoidable question for the life of every man,> for it is about the moral
good which must be done, and about eternal life. The young man senses that
there is a connection between moral good and the fulfilment of his own
destiny. He is a devout Israelite, raised as it were in the shadow of the
Law of the Lord. If he asks Jesus this question, we can presume that it is
not because he is ignorant of the answer contained in the Law. It is more
likely that the attractiveness of the person of Jesus had prompted within
him new questions about moral good. He feels the need to draw near to the
One who had begun his preaching with this new and decisive proclamation:
"The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and
believe in the Gospel" (Mk 1:15).

<People today need to turn to Christ once again in order to receive from
him the answer to their questions about what is good and what is evil.>
Christ is the Teacher, the Risen One who has life in himself and who is
always present in his Church and in the world. It is he who opens up to the
faithful the book of the Scriptures and, by fully revealing the Father's
will, teaches the truth about moral action. At the source and summit of the
economy of salvation, as the Alpha and the Omega of human history (cf. Rev
1:8; 21:6; 22:13), Christ sheds light on man's condition and his integral
vocation. Consequently, "the man who wishes to understand himself
thoroughly--and not just in accordance with immediate, partial, often
superficial, and even illusory standards and measures of his being--must
with his unrest, uncertainty and even his weakness and sinfulness, with his
life and death, draw near to Christ. He must, so to speak, enter him with
all his own self; he must 'appropriate' and assimilate the whole of the
reality of the Incarnation and Redemption in order to find himself. If this
profound process takes place within him, he then bears fruit not only of
adoration of God but also of deeper wonder at himself".[16]

If we therefore wish to go to the heart of the Gospel's moral teaching and
grasp its profound and unchanging content, we must carefully inquire into
the meaning of the question asked by the rich young man in the Gospel and,
even more, the meaning of Jesus' reply, allowing ourselves to be guided by
him. Jesus, as a patient and sensitive teacher, answers the young man by
taking him, as it were, by the hand, and leading him step by step to the
full truth.

<There is only one who is good> (Mt 19:17)

9. Jesus says: "Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who
is good. If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments" (Mt 19:17).
In the versions of the Evangelists Mark and Luke the question is phrased in
this way: "Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone" (Mk
10:18; cf. Lk 18:19).

Before answering the question, Jesus wishes the young man to have a clear
idea of why he asked his question. The "Good Teacher" points out to him--
and to all of us--that the answer to the question, "What good must I do to
have eternal life?" can only be found by turning one's mind and heart to
the "One" who is good: "No one is good but God alone" (Mk 10:18; cf. Lk
18:19). <Only God can answer the question about what is good, because he is
the Good itself.>

<To ask about the good,> in fact, <ultimately means to turn towards God,>
the fullness of goodness. Jesus shows that the young man's question is
really a <religious question,> and that the goodness that attracts and at
the same time obliges man has its source in God, and indeed is God himself.
God alone is worthy of being loved "with all one's heart, and with all
one's soul, and with all one's mind" (Mt 22:37). He is the source of man's
happiness. Jesus brings the question about morally good action back to its
religious foundations, to the acknowledgment of God, who alone is goodness,
fullness of life, the final end of human activity, and perfect happiness.

10. The Church, instructed by the Teacher's words, believes that man, made
in the image of the Creator, redeemed by the Blood of Christ and made holy
by the presence of the Holy Spirit, has as the <ultimate purpose> of his
life <to live "for the praise of God's glory"> (cf. Eph 1:12), striving to
make each of his actions reflect the splendour of that glory. "Know, then,
O beautiful soul, that you are <the image of God>", writes Saint Ambrose.
"Know that you are <the glory of God> (1 Cor 11:7). Hear how you are his
glory. The Prophet says: <Your knowledge has become too wonderful for me>
(cf. Ps. 138:6, Vulg.). That is to say, in my work your majesty has become
more wonderful; in the counsels of men your wisdom is exalted. When I
consider myself, such as I am known to you in my secret thoughts and
deepest emotions, the mysteries of your knowledge are disclosed to me. Know
then, O man, your greatness, and be vigilant".[17]

<What man is and what he must do becomes clear as soon as God reveals
himself.> The Decalogue is based on these words: "I am the Lord your God,
who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage" (Ex
20:2-3). In the "ten words" of the Covenant with Israel, and in the whole
Law, God makes himself known and acknowledged as the One who "alone is
good"; the One who despite man's sin remains the "model" for moral action,
in accordance with his command, "You shall be holy; for I the Lord your God
am holy" (Lev 19:2); as the One who, faithful to his love for man, gives
him his Law (cf. Ex 19:9-24 and 20:18-21) in order to restore man's
original and peaceful harmony with the Creator and with all creation, and,
what is more, to draw him into his divine love: "I will walk among you, and
will be your God, and you shall be my people" (Lev 26:12).

<The moral life presents itself as the response> due to the many gratuitous
initiatives taken by God out of love for man. It is a response of love,
according to the statement made in Deuteronomy about the fundamental
commandment: "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord; and you shall
love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and
with all your might. And these words which I command you this day shall be
upon your heart; and you shall teach them diligently to your children" (Dt
6:4-7). Thus the moral life, caught up in the gratuitousness of God's love,
is called to reflect his glory: "For the one who loves God it is enough to
be pleasing to the One whom he loves: for no greater reward should be
sought than that love itself; charity in fact is of God in such a way that
God himself is charity".[18]

11. The statement that "There is only one who is good" thus brings us back
to the "first tablet" of the commandments, which calls us to acknowledge
God as the one Lord of all and to worship him alone for his infinite
holiness (cf. Ex 20:2-11). <The good is belonging to God, obeying him,>
walking humbly with him in doing justice and in loving kindness (cf. Mic
6:8). <Acknowledging the Lord as God is the very core, the heart of the
Law,> from which the particular precepts flow and towards which they are
ordered. In the morality of the commandments the fact that the people of
Israel belongs to the Lord is made evident, because God alone is the One
who is good. Such is the witness of Sacred Scripture, imbued in every one
of its pages with a lively perception of God's absolute holiness: "Holy,
holy, holy is the Lord of hosts" (Is 6:3).

But if God alone is the Good, no human effort, not even the most rigorous
observance of the commandments, succeeds in "fulfilling" the Law, that is,
acknowledging the Lord as God and rendering him the worship due to him
alone (cf. Mt 4:10). <This "fulfilment" can come only from a gift of God:>
the offer of a share in the divine Goodness revealed and communicated in
Jesus, the one whom the rich young man addresses with the words "Good
Teacher" (Mk 10:17; Lk 18:18). What the young man now perhaps only dimly
perceives will in the end be fully revealed by Jesus himself in the
invitation: "Come, follow me" (Mt 19:21).

<If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments> (Mt 19:17)

12. Only God can answer the question about the good, because he is the
Good. But God has already given an answer to this question: he did so <by
creating man and ordering him> with wisdom and love to his final end,
through the law which is inscribed in his heart (cf. Rom 2:15), the
"natural law". The latter "is nothing other than the light of understanding
infused in us by God, whereby we understand what must be done and what must
be avoided. God gave this light and this law to man at creation".[19] He also
did so <in the history of Israel,> particularly in the "ten words", the
<commandments of Sinai,> whereby he brought into existence the people of
the Covenant (cf. Ex 24) and called them to be his "own possession among
all peoples", "a holy nation" (Ex 19:5-6), which would radiate his holiness
to all peoples (cf. Wis 18:4; Ez 20:41). The gift of the Decalogue was a
promise and sign of the <New Covenant,> in which the law would be written
in a new and definitive way upon the human heart (cf. Jer 31:31-34),
replacing the law of sin which had disfigured that heart (cf. Jer 17:1). In
those days, "a new heart" would be given, for in it would dwell "a new
spirit", the Spirit of God (cf. Ez 36:24-28).[20]

Consequently, after making the important clarification: "There is only one
who is good", Jesus tells the young man: "If you wish to enter into life,
keep the commandments" (Mt 19:17). In this way, a close connection is made
<between eternal life and obedience to God's commandments:> God's
commandments show man the path of life and they lead to it. From the very
lips of Jesus, the new Moses, man is once again given the commandments of
the Decalogue. Jesus himself definitively confirms them and proposes them
to us as the way and condition of salvation. <The commandments are linked
to a promise.> In the Old Covenant the object of the promise was the
possession of a land where the people would be able to live in freedom and
in accordance with righteousness (cf. Dt 6:20-25). In the New Covenant the
object of the promise is the "Kingdom of Heaven", as Jesus declares at the
beginning of the "Sermon on the Mount"--a sermon which contains the fullest
and most complete formulation of the New Law (cf. Mt 5-7), clearly linked
to the Decalogue entrusted by God to Moses on Mount Sinai. This same
reality of the Kingdom is referred to in the expression "eternal life",
which is a participation in the very life of God. It is attained in its
perfection only after death, but in faith it is even now a light of truth,
a source of meaning for life, an inchoate share in the full following of
Christ. Indeed, Jesus says to his disciples after speaking to the rich
young man: "Every one who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father
or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a
hundredfold and inherit eternal life" (Mt 19:29).

13. Jesus' answer is not enough for the young man, who continues by asking
the Teacher about the commandments which must be kept: "He said to him,
'Which ones?"' (Mt 19:18). He asks what he must do in life in order to show
that he acknowledges God's holiness. After directing the young man's gaze
towards God, Jesus reminds him of the commandments of the Decalogue
regarding one's neighbour: "Jesus said: 'You shall not murder; You shall
not commit adultery; You shall not bear false witness; Honour your father
and mother; also, You shall love your neighbour as yourself " (Mt 19:18-
19).

From the context of the conversation, and especially from a comparison of
Matthew's text with the parallel passages in Mark and Luke, it is clear
that Jesus does not intend to list each and every one of the commandments
required in order to "enter into life", but rather wishes to draw the young
man's attention to the <"centrality" of the Decalogue> with regard to every
other precept, inasmuch as it is the interpretation of what the words "I am
the Lord your God" mean for man. Nevertheless we cannot fail to notice
which commandments of the Law the Lord recalls to the young man. They are
some of the commandments belonging to the so-called "second tablet" of the
Decalogue, the summary (cf. Rom 13:8-10) and foundation of which is <the
commandment of love of neighbour:> "You shall love your neighbour as
yourself" (Mt 19:19; cf. Mk 12:31). In this commandment we find a precise
expression of <the singular dignity of the human person,> "the only
creature that God has wanted for its own sake".[21] The different
commandments of the Decalogue are really only so many reflections of the
one commandment about the good of the person, at the level of the many
different goods which characterize his identity as a spiritual and bodily
being in relationship with God, with his neighbour and with the material
world. As we read in the <Catechism of the Catholic Church,> "the Ten
Commandments are part of God's Revelation. At the same time, they teach us
man's true humanity. They shed light on the essential duties, and so
indirectly on the fundamental rights, inherent in the nature of the human
person".[22]

The commandments of which Jesus reminds the young man are meant to
safeguard <the good> of the person, the image of God, by protecting his
<goods.> "You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall
not steal; You shall not bear false witness" are moral rules formulated in
terms of prohibitions. These negative precepts express with particular
force the ever urgent need to protect human life, the communion of persons
in marriage, private property, truthfulness and people's good name.

The commandments thus represent the basic condition for love of neighbour;
at the same time they are the proof of that love. They are the <first
necessary step on the journey towards freedom,> its starting-point. "The
beginning of freedom", Saint Augustine writes, "is to be free from
crimes... such as murder, adultery, fornication, theft, fraud, sacrilege
and so forth. When once one is without these crimes (and every Christian
should be without them), one begins to lift up one's head towards freedom.
But this is only the beginning of freedom, not perfect freedom...".[23]

14. This certainly does not mean that Christ wishes to put the love of
neighbour higher than, or even to set it apart from, the love of God. This
is evident from his conversation with the teacher of the Law, who asked him
a question very much like the one asked by the young man. Jesus refers him
to <the two commandments of love of God and love of neighbour> (cf. Lk
10:25-27), and reminds him that only by observing them will he have eternal
life: "Do this, and you will live" (Lk 10:28). Nonetheless it is
significant that it is precisely the second of these commandments which
arouses the curiosity of the teacher of the Law, who asks him: "And who is
my neighbour?" (Lk 10:29). The Teacher replies with the parable of the Good
Samaritan, which is critical for fully understanding the commandment of
love of neighbour (cf. Lk 10:30-37).

These two commandments, on which "depend all the Law and the Prophets" (Mt
22:40), are profoundly connected and mutually related. <Their inseparable
unity> is attested to by Christ in his words and by his very life: his
mission culminates in the Cross of our Redemption (cf. Jn 3:14-15), the
sign of his indivisible love for the Father and for humanity (cf. Jn 13:1).

Both the Old and the New Testaments explicitly affirm that <without love of
neighbour,> made concrete in keeping the commandments, <genuine love for
God is not possible.> Saint John makes the point with extraordinary
forcefulness: "If anyone says, 'I love God', and hates his brother, he is a
liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love
God whom he has not seen" (1 Jn 4:20). The Evangelist echoes the moral
preaching of Christ, expressed in a wonderful and unambiguous way in the
parable of the Good Samaritan (cf. Lk 10:30-37) and in his words about the
final judgment (cf. Mt 25:31-46).

15. In the "Sermon on the Mount", the <magna charta> of Gospel morality,[24]
Jesus says: "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law and the
Prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfil them" (Mt 5:17).
Christ is the key to the Scriptures: "You search the Scriptures...; and it
is they that bear witness to me" (Jn 5:39). Christ is the centre of the
economy of salvation, the recapitulation of the Old and New Testaments, of
the promises of the Law and of their fulfilment in the Gospel; he is the
living and eternal link between the Old and the New Covenants. Commenting
on Paul's statement that "Christ is the end of the law" (Rom 10:4), Saint
Ambrose writes: "end not in the sense of a deficiency, but in the sense of
the fullness of the Law: a fullness which is achieved in Christ (<plenitudo
legis in Christo est>), since he came not to abolish the Law but to bring
it to fulfilment. In the same way that there is an Old Testament, but all
truth is in the New Testament, so it is for the Law: what was given through
Moses is a figure of the true law. Therefore, the Mosaic Law is an image of
the truth".[25]

<Jesus brings God's commandments to fulfilment,> particularly the
commandment of love of neighbour, <by interiorizing their demands and by
bringing out their fullest meaning.> Love of neighbour springs from <a
loving heart> which, precisely because it loves, is ready to live out <the
loftiest challenges.> Jesus shows that the commandments must not be
understood as a minimum limit not to be gone beyond, but rather as a path
involving a moral and spiritual journey towards perfection, at the heart of
which is love (cf. Col 3:14). Thus the commandment "You shall not murder"
becomes a call to an attentive love which protects and promotes the life of
one's neighbour. The precept prohibiting adultery becomes an invitation to
a pure way of looking at others, capable of respecting the spousal meaning
of the body: "You have heard that it was said to the men of old, <'You shall
not kill;> and whoever kills shall be liable to judgment'. <But I say to you
that every one who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment...
You have heard that it was said, <'You shall not commit adultery'. But I say
to you> that every one who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed
adultery with her in his heart" (Mt 5:21-22,27-28). <Jesus himself is the
living "fulfilment" of the Law> inasmuch as he fulfils its authentic
meaning by the total gift of himself: <he himself becomes a living and
personal Law,> who invites people to follow him; through the Spirit, he
gives the grace to share his own life and love and provides the strength to
bear witness to that love in personal choices and actions (cf. Jn 13:34-
35).

<If you wish to be perfect> (Mt 19:21)

16. The answer he receives about the commandments does not satisfy the
young man, who asks Jesus a further question. "I have kept all these; <what
do I still lack?>" (Mt 19:20). It is not easy to say with a clear
conscience "I have kept all these", if one has any understanding of the
real meaning of the demands contained in God's Law. And yet, even though he
is able to make this reply, even though he has followed the moral ideal
seriously and generously from childhood, the rich young man knows that he
is still far from the goal: before the person of Jesus he realizes that he
is still lacking something. It is his awareness of this insufficiency that
Jesus addresses in his final answer. Conscious of <the young man's yearning
for something greater, which would transcend a legalistic interpretation of
the commandments,> the Good Teacher invites him to enter upon the path of
perfection: "If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give
the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come,
follow me" (Mt 19:21).

Like the earlier part of Jesus' answer, this part too must be read and
interpreted in the context of the whole moral message of the Gospel, and in
particular in the context of the Sermon on the Mount, the Beatitudes (cf.
Mt 5:3-12), the first of which is precisely the Beatitude of the poor, the
"poor in spirit" as Saint Matthew makes clear (Mt 5:3), the humble. In this
sense it can be said that the Beatitudes are also relevant to the answer
given by Jesus to the young man's question: "What good must I do to have
eternal life?". Indeed, each of the Beatitudes promises, from a particular
viewpoint, that very "good" which opens man up to eternal life, and indeed
is eternal life.

<The Beatitudes> are not specifically concerned with certain particular
rules of behaviour. Rather, they speak of basic attitudes and dispositions
in life and therefore they <do not coincide exactly with the commandments.>
On the other hand, <there is no separation or opposition> between the
Beatitudes and the commandments: both refer to the good, to eternal life.
The Sermon on the Mount begins with the proclamation of the Beatitudes, but
also refers to the commandments (cf. Mt 5:20-48). At the same time, the
Sermon on the Mount demonstrates the openness of the commandments and their
orientation towards the horizon of the perfection proper to the Beatitudes.
These latter are above all <promises,> from which there also indirectly
flow <normative indications> for the moral life. In their originality and
profundity they are a sort of <self-portrait of Christ,> and for this very
reason are <invitations to discipleship and to communion of life with
Christ.>[26]

17. We do not know how clearly the young man in the Gospel understood the
profound and challenging import of Jesus' first reply: "If you wish to
enter into life, keep the commandments". But it is certain that the young
man's commitment to respect all the moral demands of the commandments
represents the absolutely essential ground in which the desire for
perfection can take root and mature, the desire, that is, for the meaning
of the commandments to be completely fulfilled in following Christ. Jesus'
conversation with the young man helps us to grasp <the conditions for the
moral growth of man, who has been called to perfection:> the young man,
having observed all the commandments, shows that he is incapable of taking
the next step by himself alone. To do so requires mature human freedom ("If
you wish to be perfect") and God's gift of grace ("Come, follow me").

<Perfection demands that maturity in self-giving to which human freedom is
called.> Jesus points out to the young man that the commandments are the
first and indispensable condition for having eternal life; on the other
hand, for the young man to give up all he possesses and to follow the Lord
is presented as an invitation: "If you wish...". These words of Jesus
reveal the particular dynamic of freedom's growth towards maturity, and at
the same time <they bear witness to the fundamental relationship between
freedom and divine law.> Human freedom and God's law are not in opposition;
on the contrary, they appeal one to the other. The follower of Christ knows
that his vocation is to freedom. "You were called to freedom, brethren"
(Gal 5:13), proclaims the Apostle Paul with joy and pride. But he
immediately adds: "only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the
flesh, but through love be servants of one another" (ibid.). The firmness
with which the Apostle opposes those who believe that they are justified by
the Law has nothing to do with man's "liberation" from precepts. On the
contrary, the latter are at the service of the practice of love: "For he
who loves his neighbour has fulfilled the Law. The commandments, <You shall
not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall
not covet,> and any other commandment, are summed up in this sentence, <"You
shall love your neighbour as yourself "> (Rom 13:8-9). Saint Augustine,
after speaking of the observance of the commandments as being a kind of
incipient, imperfect freedom, goes on to say: "Why, someone will ask, is it
not yet perfect? Because 'I see in my members another law at war with the
law of my reason' ... In part freedom, in part slavery: not yet complete
freedom, not yet pure, not yet whole, because we are not yet in eternity.
In part we retain our weakness and in part we have attained freedom. All
our sins were destroyed in Baptism, but does it follow that no weakness
remained after iniquity was destroyed? Had none remained, we would live
without sin in this life. But who would dare to say this except someone who
is proud, someone unworthy of the mercy of our deliverer?... Therefore,
since some weakness has remained in us, I dare to say that to the extent to
which we serve God we are free, while to the extent that we follow the law
of sin, we are still slaves".[27]

18. Those who live "by the flesh" experience God's law as a burden, and
indeed as a denial or at least a restriction of their own freedom. On the
other hand, those who are impelled by love and "walk by the Spirit" (Gal
5:16), and who desire to serve others, find in God's Law the fundamental
and necessary way in which to practise love as something freely chosen and
freely lived out. Indeed, they feel an interior urge--a genuine "necessity"
and no longer a form of coercion--not to stop at the minimum demands of the
Law, but to live them in their "fullness". This is a still uncertain and
fragile journey as long as we are on earth, but it is one made possible by
grace, which enables us to possess the full freedom of the children of God
(cf. Rom 8:21) and thus to live our moral life in a way worthy of our
sublime vocation as "sons in the Son".

This vocation to perfect love is not restricted to a small group of
individuals. <The invitation,> "go, sell your possessions and give the
money to the poor", and the promise "you will have treasure in heaven",
<are meant for everyone,> because they bring out the full meaning of the
commandment of love for neighbour, just as the invitation which follows,
"Come, follow me", is the new, specific form of the commandment of love of
God. Both the commandments and Jesus' invitation to the rich young man
stand at the service of a single and indivisible charity, which
spontaneously tends towards that perfection whose measure is God alone:
"You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Mt
5:48). In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus makes even clearer the meaning of this
perfection: "Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful" (Lk 6:36).

"Come, follow me" (Mt 19:2 1)

19. The way and at the same time the content of this perfection consist in
the following of Jesus, <sequela Christi,> once one has given up one's own
wealth and very self. This is precisely the conclusion of Jesus'
conversation with the young man: "Come, follow me" (Mt 19:21). It is an
invitation the marvellous grandeur of which will be fully perceived by the
disciples after Christ's Resurrection, when the Holy Spirit leads them to
all truth (cf. Jn 16:13).

It is Jesus himself who takes the initiative and calls people to follow
him. His call is addressed first to those to whom he entrusts a particular
mission, beginning with the Twelve; but it is also clear that every
believer is called to be a follower of Christ (cf. Acts 6:1). <Following
Christ is thus the essential and primordial foundation of Christian
morality:> just as the people of Israel followed God who led them through
the desert towards the Promised Land (cf. Ex 13:21), so every disciple must
follow Jesus, towards whom he is drawn by the Father himself (cf. Jn 6:44).

This is not a matter only of disposing oneself to hear a teaching and
obediently accepting a commandment. More radically, it involves <holding
fast to the very person of Jesus,> partaking of his life and his destiny,
sharing in his free and loving obedience to the will of the Father. By
responding in faith and following the one who is Incarnate Wisdom, the
disciple of Jesus truly becomes <a disciple of God> (cf. Jn 6:45). Jesus is
indeed the light of the world, the light of life (cf. Jn 8:12). He is the
shepherd who leads his sheep and feeds them (cf. Jn 10:11-16); he is the
way, and the truth, and the life (cf. Jn 14:6). It is Jesus who leads to
the Father, so much so that to see him, the Son, is to see the Father (cf.
Jn 14:6-10). And thus to imitate the Son, "the image of the invisible God"
(Col 1:15), means to imitate the Father.

20. <Jesus asks us to follow him and to imitate him along the path of love,
a love which gives itself completely to the brethren out of love for God:>
"This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you" (Jn
15:12). The word "as" requires imitation of Jesus and of his love, of which
the washing of feet is a sign: "If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have
washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have
given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you" (Jn 13:14-
15). Jesus' way of acting and his words, his deeds and his precepts
constitute the moral rule of Christian life. Indeed, his actions, and in
particular his Passion and Death on the Cross, are the living revelation of
his love for the Father and for others. This is exactly the love that Jesus
wishes to be imitated by all who follow him. It is <the "new" commandment:>
"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have
loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that
you are my disciples, if you have love for one another" (Jn 13:34-35).

The word "as" also indicates the <degree> of Jesus' love, and of the love
with which his disciples are called to love one another. After saying:
"This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you" (Jn
15:12), Jesus continues with words which indicate the sacrificial gift of
his life on the Cross, as the witness to a love "to the end" (Jn 13:1):
"Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his
friends" (Jn 15:13).

As he calls the young man to follow him along the way of perfection, Jesus
asks him to be perfect in the command of love, in "his" commandment: to
become part of the unfolding of his complete giving, to imitate and
rekindle the very love of the "Good" Teacher, the one who loved "to the
end". This is what Jesus asks of everyone who wishes to follow him: "If any
man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and
follow me" (Mt 16:24).

21. <Following Christ> is not an outward imitation, since it touches man at
the very depths of his being. Being a follower of Christ means <becoming
conformed to him> who became a servant even to giving himself on the Cross
(cf. Phil 2:5-8). Christ dwells by faith in the heart of the believer (cf.
Eph 3:17), and thus the disciple is conformed to the Lord. This is the
<effect of grace,> of the active presence of the Holy Spirit in us.

Having become one with Christ, the Christian <becomes a member of his Body,
which is the Church> (cf. 1 Cor 12:13,27). By the work of the Spirit,
Baptism radically configures the faithful to Christ in the Paschal Mystery
of death and resurrection; it "clothes him" in Christ (cf. Gal 3:27): "Let
us rejoice and give thanks", exclaims Saint Augustine speaking to the
baptized, "for we have become not only Christians, but Christ (...). Marvel
and rejoice: we have become Christ!".[28] Having died to sin, those who are
baptized receive new life (cf. Rom 6:3-11): alive for God in Christ Jesus,
they are called to walk by the Spirit and to manifest the Spirit's fruits
in their lives (cf. Gal 5:16-25). Sharing in the <Eucharist,> the sacrament
of the New Covenant (cf. 1 Cor 11:23-29), is the culmination of our
assimilation to Christ, the source of "eternal life" (cf. Jn 6:51-58), the
source and power of that complete gift of self, which Jesus--according to
the testimony handed on by Paul--commands us to commemorate in liturgy and
in life: "As often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim
the Lord's death until he comes" (1 Cor 11:26).

<With God all things are possible> (Mt 19:26)

22. The conclusion of Jesus' conversation with the rich young man is very
poignant: "When the young man heard this, he went away sorrowful, for he
had many possessions" (Mt 19:22). Not only the rich man but the disciples
themselves are taken aback by Jesus' call to discipleship, the demands of
which transcend human aspirations and abilities: "When the disciples heard
this, they were greatly astounded and said, 'Then who can be saved?"' (Mt
19:25). <But the Master refers them to God's power:> "With men this is
impossible, but with God all things are possible" (Mt 19:26).

In the same chapter of Matthew's Gospel (19:3-10), Jesus, interpreting the
Mosaic Law on marriage, rejects the right to divorce, appealing to a
"beginning" more fundamental and more authoritative than the Law of Moses:
God's original plan for mankind, a plan which man after sin has no longer
been able to live up to: "For your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to
divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so" (Mt 19:8). Jesus'
appeal to the "beginning" dismays the disciples, who remark: "If such is
the case of a man with his wife, it is not expedient to marry" (Mt 19:10).
And Jesus, referring specifically to the charism of celibacy "for the
Kingdom of Heaven" (Mt 19:12), but stating a general rule, indicates the
new and surprising possibility opened up to man by God's grace. "He said to
them: 'Not everyone can accept this saying, but only those to whom it is
given"' (Mt 19:11).

To imitate and live out the love of Christ is not possible for man by his
own strength alone. He becomes <capable of this love only by virtue of a
gift received.> As the Lord Jesus receives the love of his Father, so he in
turn freely communicates that love to his disciples: "As the Father has
loved me, so have I loved you; abide in my love" (Jn 15:9). <Christ's gift
is his Spirit,> whose first "fruit" (cf. Gal 5:22) is charity: "God's love
has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been
given to us" (Rom 5:5). Saint Augustine asks: "Does love bring about the
keeping of the commandments, or does the keeping of the commandments bring
about love?" And he answers: "But who can doubt that love comes first? For
the one who does not love has no reason for keeping the commandments".[29]

23. "The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the
law of sin and death" (Rom 8:2). With these words the Apostle Paul invites
us to consider in the perspective of the history of salvation, which
reaches its fulfilment in Christ, <the relationship between the> (Old) <Law
and grace> (the New Law). He recognizes the pedagogic function of the Law,
which, by enabling sinful man to take stock of his own powerlessness and by
stripping him of the presumption of his self-sufficiency, leads him to ask
for and to receive "life in the Spirit". Only in this new life is it
possible to carry out God's commandments. Indeed, it is through faith in
Christ that we have been made righteous (cf. Rom 3:28): the "righteousness"
which the Law demands, but is unable to give, is found by every believer to
be revealed and granted by the Lord Jesus. Once again it is Saint Augustine
who admirably sums up this Pauline dialectic of law and grace: "The law was
given that grace might be sought; and grace was given, that the law might
be fulfilled".[30]

Love and life according to the Gospel cannot be thought of first and
foremost as a kind of precept, because what they demand is beyond man's
abilities. They are possible only as the result of a gift of God who heals,
restores and transforms the human heart by his grace: "For the law was
given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ" (Jn 1:17).
The promise of eternal life is thus linked to the gift of grace, and the
gift of the Spirit which we have received is even now the "guarantee of our
inheritance" (Eph 1:14).

24. And so we find revealed the authentic and original aspect of the
commandment of love and of the perfection to which it is ordered: we are
speaking of a <possibility opened up to man exclusively by grace,> by the
gift of God, by his love. On the other hand, precisely the awareness of
having received the gift, of possessing in Jesus Christ the love of God,
generates and sustains <the free response> of a full love for God and the
brethren, as the Apostle John insistently reminds us in his first Letter:
"Beloved, let us love one another; for love is of God and knows God. He who
does not love does not know God; for God is love... Beloved, if God so
loved us, we ought also to love one another.. . We love, because he first
loved us" (1 Jn 4:7-8,11,19).

This inseparable connection between the Lord's grace and human freedom,
between gift and task, has been expressed in simple yet profound words by
Saint Augustine in his prayer: <"Da quod iubes et iube quod vis"> (grant what
you command and command what you will).[31]

<The gift does not lessen but reinforces the moral demands of love:> "This
is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus
Christ and love one another just as he has commanded us" (1 Jn 3:32). One
can "abide" in love only by keeping the commandments, as Jesus states: "If
you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my
Father's commandments and abide in his love" (Jn 15:10).

Going to the heart of the moral message of Jesus and the preaching of the
Apostles, and summing up in a remarkable way the great tradition of the
Fathers of the East and West, and of Saint Augustine in particular,[32] Saint
Thomas was able to write that "the New Law is the grace of the Holy Spirit
given through faith in Christ.>[33] The external precepts also mentioned in
the Gospel dispose one for this grace or produce its effects in one's life.
Indeed, the New Law is not content to say what must be done, but also gives
the power to "do what is true" (cf. Jn 3:21). Saint John Chrysostom
likewise observed that the New Law was promulgated at the descent of the
Holy Spirit from heaven on the day of Pentecost, and that the Apostles "did
not come down from the mountain carrying, like Moses, tablets of stone in
their hands; but they came down carrying the Holy Spirit in their hearts...
having become by his grace a living law, a living book".[34]

<Lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age> (Mt 28:20)

25. Jesus' conversation with the rich young man continues, in a sense, <in
every period of history, including our own.> The question: "Teacher, what
good must I do to have eternal life?" arises in the heart of every
individual, and it is Christ alone who is capable of giving the full and
definitive answer. The Teacher who expounds God's commandments, who invites
others to follow him and gives the grace for a new life, is always present
and at work in our midst, as he himself promised: "Lo, I am with you
always, to the close of the age" (Mt 28:20). <Christ's relevance for people
of all times is shown forth in his body, which is the Church.> For this
reason the Lord promised his disciples the Holy Spirit, who would "bring to
their remembrance" and teach them to understand his commandments (cf. Jn
14:26), and who would be the principle and constant source of a new life in
the world (cf. Jn 3:5-8; Rom 8:1-13).

The moral prescriptions which God imparted in the Old Covenant, and which
attained their perfection in the New and Eternal Covenant in the very
person of the Son of God made man, must be <faithfully kept and continually
put into practice> in the various different cultures throughout the course
of history. The task of interpreting these prescriptions was entrusted by
Jesus to the Apostles and to their successors, with the special assistance
of the Spirit of truth: "He who hears you hears me" (Lk 10:16). By the
light and the strength of this Spirit the Apostles carried out their
mission of preaching the Gospel and of pointing out the "way" of the Lord
(cf. Acts 18:25), teaching above all how to follow and imitate Christ: "For
to me to live is Christ" (Phil 1:21).

26. In the <moral catechesis of the Apostles,> besides exhortations and
directions connected to specific historical and cultural situations, we
find an ethical teaching with precise rules of behaviour. This is seen in
their Letters, which contain the interpretation, made under the guidance of
the Holy Spirit, of the Lord's precepts as they are to be lived in
different cultural circumstances (cf. Rom 12-15; 1 Cor 11-14; Gal 5-6; Eph
4-6; Col 3-4; 1 Pt and Jas). From the Church's beginnings, the Apostles, by
virtue of their pastoral responsibility to preach the Gospel, <were
vigilant over the right conduct of Christians,>[35] just as they were
vigilant for the purity of the faith and the handing down of the divine
gifts in the sacraments.[36] The first Christians, coming both from the
Jewish people and from the Gentiles, differed from the pagans not only in
their faith and their liturgy but also in the witness of their moral
conduct, which was inspired by the New Law.[37] The Church is in fact a
communion both of faith and of life; her rule of life is "faith working
through love" (Gal 5:6).

No damage must be done to the <harmony between faith and life: the unity of
the Church> is damaged not only by Christians who reject or distort the
truths of faith but also by those who disregard the moral obligations to
which they are called by the Gospel (cf. 1 Cor 5:9-13). The Apostles
decisively rejected any separation between the commitment of the heart and
the actions which express or prove it (cf. 1 Jn 2:3-6). And ever since
Apostolic times the Church's Pastors have unambiguously condemned the
behaviour of those who fostered division by their teaching or by their
actions.[38]

27. Within the unity of the Church, promoting and preserving the faith and
the moral life is the task entrusted by Jesus to the Apostles (cf. Mt
28:19-20), a task which continues in the ministry of their successors. This
is apparent from the <living Tradition,> whereby--as the Second Vatican
Council teaches--"the Church, in her teaching, life and worship,
perpetuates and hands on to every generation all that she is and all that
she believes. This Tradition which comes from the Apostles, progresses in
the Church under the assistance of the Holy Spirit".[39] In the Holy Spirit,
the Church receives and hands down the Scripture as the witness to the
"great things" which God has done in history (cf. Lk 1:49); she professes
by the lips of her Fathers and Doctors the truth of the Word made flesh,
puts his precepts and love into practice in the lives of her Saints and in
the sacrifice of her Martyrs, and celebrates her hope in him in the
Liturgy. By this same Tradition Christians receive "the living voice of the
Gospel",[40] as the faithful expression of God's wisdom and will.

Within Tradition, <the authentic interpretation> of the Lord's law
develops, with the help of the Holy Spirit. The same Spirit who is at the
origin of the Revelation of Jesus' commandments and teachings guarantees
that they will be reverently preserved, faithfully expounded and correctly
applied in different times and places. This constant "putting into
practice" of the commandments is the sign and fruit of a deeper insight
into Revelation and of an understanding in the light of faith of new
historical and cultural situations. Nevertheless, it can only confirm the
permanent validity of revelation and follow in the line of the
interpretation given to it by the great Tradition of the Church's teaching
and life, as witnessed by the teaching of the Fathers, the lives of the
Saints, the Church's Liturgy and the teaching of the Magisterium.

In particular, as the Council affirms, <"the task of authentically
interpreting the word of God, whether in its written form or in that of
Tradition, has been entrusted only to those charged with the Church's
living Magisterium, whose authority is exercised in the name of Jesus
Christ.">[41] The Church, in her life and teaching, is thus revealed as "the
pillar and bulwark of the truth" (1 Tm 3:15), including the truth regarding
moral action. Indeed, "the Church has the right always and everywhere to
proclaim moral principles, even in respect of the social order, and to make
judgments about any human matter in so far as this is required by
fundamental human rights or the salvation of souls."[42]

Precisely on the questions frequently debated in moral theology today and
with regard to which new tendencies and theories have developed, the
Magisterium, in fidelity to Jesus Christ and in continuity with the
Church's tradition, senses more urgently the duty to offer its own
discernment and teaching, in order to help man in his journey towards truth
and freedom.


ENDNOTES

13. Cf. Apostolic Epistle "Parati semper" to the Young People of the World
on the occasion of the International Year of Youth (31 March 1985), 2-8:
AAS 77 (1985), 581-600.

14. Cf. Decree on Priestly Formation "Optatam Totius," 16.

15. Encyclical Letter "Redemptor Hominis" (4 March 1979), 13: AAS 71
(1979), 282.

16. Ibid 10; loc. cit., 274.

17. "Exameron," Dies VI, Sermo IX, 8, 50: CSEL 32, 241.

18. SAINT LEO THE GREAT, "Sermo XCII," Chap. III PL 54 454.

19. SAINT THOMAS AQUINAS, "In Duo Praecepta Caritatis et in Decem Legis
Praecepta. Prologus: Opuscula Theologica," II, NO. 1129, Ed. Taurinen.
(1954), 245; cf. "Summa Theologiae," I-II, q. 91, a. 2; "Catechism of the
Catholic Church," NO. 1955.

20. Cf. SAINT MAXIMUS THE CONFESSOR, "Quaestiones ad Thalassium," Q. 64: PG
90, 723-728.

21. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Pastoral Constitution on the Church
in the Modern World "Gaudium et Spes," 24.

22. "Catechism of the Catholic Church," NO. 2070.

23. "In Johannis Evangelium Tractatus," 41, 10: CCL 36, 363.

24. Cf. SAINT AUGUSTINE, "De Sermone Domini in Monte," I, 1, 1: CCL 35, 1-
2.

25. "In Psalmum CXVIII Expositio", Sermo 18 37 PL 15, 1541; cf. SAINT
CHROMATIUS OF AQUILEIA, "Tractatus in Matthaeum," XX, I, 1-4: CCL 9/A, 291-
292.

26. Cf. "Catechism of the Catholic Church," NO. 1717.

27. "In Johannis Evangelium Tractatus," 41, 10: CCL 36, 363.

28. Ibid, 21, 8 CCL 36 216.

29. Ibid., 82, 3: CCL 36, 533.

30. "De Spiritu et Littera," 19, 34: CSEL 60 187.

31. "Confessiones," X, 29 40 CCL 27, 176; cf "De Gratia el Libero
Arbitrio," XV: PL 44 899.

32. Cf. "De Spiritu et Littera," 21, 36; 26, 46: CSEL 60, 189-190 200-201 .

33. Cf. "Summa Theologiae," I-II, q. 106, a. 1 conclusion and ad 2um.

34. "In Matthaeum," Hom. I, 1: PG 57, 15.

35. Cf. SAINT IRENAEUS, "Adversus Haereses," IV, 26, 2-5: SCh 100/2, 718-
729.

36. Cf. SAINT JUSTIN, "Apologia," I, 66: PG 6, 427-430.

37. Cf. I Pt 2: 12 ff.; Cf. "Didache," II, 2: "Patres Apostolici;" ed. F.
X. Funk, I, 6-9; CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA, "Paelagogus," I, 10; II, 10: PG 8,
355-364; 497-536; TERTULLIAN, "Apologeticum," IX, 8: CSEL, 69, 24.

38. Cf. SAINT IGNATIUS OF ANTIOCH, "Ad Magnesios," VI, 1-2: "Patres
Apostolici," ed. F. X. Funk, I, 234-235; SAINT IRENAEUS, "Adversus
Haereses," IV, 33: 1, 6, 7: SCh 100/2, 802-805; 814-815; 816-819.

39. Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation "Dei Verbum," 8.

40. Cf. ibid.

41. Ibid, 10.

42. "Code of Canon Law," Canon 747, 2.


CHAPTER TWO: "DO NOT BE CONFORMED TO THIS WORLD" (Rom 12:2)

THE CHURCH AND THE DISCERNMENT OF CERTAIN TENDENCIES
IN PRESENT-DAY MORAL THEOLOGY

<Teaching what befits sound doctrine> (cf. Tit 2:1)

28. Our meditation on the dialogue between Jesus and the rich young man has
enabled us to bring together the essential elements of revelation in the
Old and New Testament with regard to moral action. These are: the
<subordination of man and his activity to God,> the One who "alone is
good"; the <relationship between the moral good> of human acts <and eternal
life; Christian discipleship,> which opens up before man the perspective
of perfect love; and finally the <gift of the Holy Spirit,> source and
means of the moral life of the "new creation" (cf. 2 Cor 5:17).

In her reflection on morality, <the Church> has always kept in mind the
words of Jesus to the rich young man. Indeed, Sacred Scripture remains the
living and fruitful source of the Church's moral doctrine; as the Second
Vatican Council recalled, the Gospel is "the source of all saving truth and
moral teaching".[43] The Church has faithfully preserved what the word of God
teaches, not only about truths which must be believed but also about moral
action, action pleasing to God (cf. 1 Th 4:1)); she has achieved a
<doctrinal development> analogous to that which has taken place in the
realm of the truths of faith. Assisted by the Holy Spirit who leads her
into all the truth (cf. Jn 16:13), the Church has not ceased, nor can she
ever cease, to contemplate the "mystery of the Word Incarnate", in whom
"light is shed on the mystery of man".[44]

29. The Church's moral reflection, always conducted in the light of Christ,
the "Good Teacher", has also developed in the specific form of the
theological science called <moral theology>, a science which accepts and
examines Divine Revelation while at the same time responding to the demands
of human reason. Moral theology is a reflection concerned with "morality",
with the good and the evil of human acts and of the person who performs
them; in this sense it is accessible to all people. But it is also
"theology", inasmuch as it acknowledges that the origin and end of moral
action are found in the One who "alone is good" and who, by giving himself
to man in Christ, offers him the happiness of divine life.

The Second Vatican Council invited scholars to take <"special care for the
renewal of moral theology,"> in such a way that "its scientific
presentation, increasingly based on the teaching of Scripture, will cast
light on the exalted vocation of the faithful in Christ and on their
obligation to bear fruit in charity for the life of the world".[45] The
Council also encouraged theologians, "while respecting the methods and
requirements of theological science, to look for <a more appropriate way of
communicating> doctrine to the people of their time; since there is a
difference between the deposit or the truths of faith and the manner in
which they are expressed, keeping the same meaning and the same
judgment".[46] This led to a further invitation, one extended to all the
faithful, but addressed to theologians in particular: "The faithful should
live in the closest contact with others of their time, and should work for
a perfect understanding of their modes of thought and feelings as expressed
in their culture".[47]

The work of many theologians who found support in the Council's
encouragement has already borne fruit in interesting and helpful
reflections about the truths of faith to be believed and applied in life,
reflections offered in a form better suited to the sensitivities and
questions of our contemporaries. The Church, and particularly the Bishops,
to whom Jesus Christ primarily entrusted the ministry of teaching, are
deeply appreciative of this work, and encourage theologians to continue
their efforts, inspired by that profound and authentic "fear of the Lord,
which is the beginning of wisdom" (cf. Prov 1:7).

At the same time, however, within the context of the theological debates
which followed the Council, there have developed <certain interpretations
of Christian morality which are not consistent with "sound teaching"> (2 Tm
4:3). Certainly the Church's Magisterium does not intend to impose upon the
faithful any particular theological system, still less a philosophical one.
Nevertheless, in order to "reverently preserve and faithfully expound" the
word of God,[48] the Magisterium has the duty to state that some trends of
theological thinking and certain philosophical affirmations are
incompatible with revealed truth.[49]

30. In addressing this Encyclical to you, my Brother Bishops, it is my
intention to state <the principles necessary for discerning what is
contrary to "sound doctrine",> drawing attention to those elements of the
Church's moral teaching which today appear particularly exposed to error,
ambiguity or neglect. Yet these are the very elements on which there
depends "the answer to the obscure riddles of the human condition which
today also, as in the past, profoundly disturb the human heart. What is
man? What is the meaning and purpose of our life? What is good and what is
sin? What origin and purpose do sufferings have? What is the way to
attaining true happiness? What are death, judgment and retribution after
death? Lastly, what is that final, unutterable mystery which embraces our
lives and from which we take our origin and towards which we tend?"[50] These
and other questions, such as: what is freedom and what is its relationship
to the truth contained in God's law? what is the role of conscience in
man's moral development? how do we determine, in accordance with the truth
about the good, the specific rights and duties of the human person?--can
all be summed up in the fundamental question which the young man in the
Gospel put to Jesus: "Teacher, what good must I do to have eternal life?"
Because the Church has been sent by Jesus to preach the Gospel and to "make
disciples of all nations..., teaching them to observe all" that he has
commanded (cf. Mt 28:19-20), <she today once more puts forward the Master's
reply,> a reply that possesses a light and a power capable of answering
even the most controversial and complex questions. This light and power
also impel the Church constantly to carry out not only her dogmatic but
also her moral reflection within an interdisciplinary context, which is
especially necessary in facing new issues.[51]

It is in the same light and power that the <Church's Magisterium continues
to carry out its task of discernment,> accepting and living out the
admonition addressed by the Apostle Paul to Timothy: "I charge you in the
presence of God and of Christ Jesus who is to judge the living and the
dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word, be urgent in
season and out of season, convince, rebuke, and exhort, be unfailing in
patience and in teaching. For the time will come when people will not
endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for
themselves teachers to suit their own likings, and will turn away from
listening to the truth and wander into myths. As for you, always be steady,
endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfil your ministry" (2
Tim 4:1-5; cf. Tit 1:10,13-14).

<You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free> (Jn 8:32)

31. The human issues most frequently debated and differently resolved in
contemporary moral reflection are all closely related, albeit in various
ways, to a crucial issue: <human freedom.>

Certainly people today have a particularly strong sense of freedom. As the
Council's Declaration on Religious Freedom <Dignitatis Humanae> had already
observed, "the dignity of the human person is a concern of which people of
our time are becoming increasingly more aware".[52] Hence the insistent
demand that people be permitted to "enjoy the use of their own responsible
judgment and freedom, and decide on their actions on grounds of duty and
conscience, without external pressure or coercion".[53] In particular, the
right to religious freedom and to respect for conscience on its journey
towards the truth is increasingly perceived as the foundation of the
cumulative rights of the person.[54]

This heightened sense of the dignity of the human person and of his or her
uniqueness, and of the respect due to the journey of conscience, certainly
represents one of the positive achievements of modern culture. This
perception, authentic as it is, has been expressed in a number of more or
less adequate ways, some of which however diverge from the truth about man
as a creature and the image of God, and thus need to be corrected and
purified in the light of faith.[55]

32. Certain currents of modern thought have gone so far as to <exalt
freedom to such an extent that it becomes an absolute, which would then be
the source of values.> This is the direction taken by doctrines which have
lost the sense of the transcendent which are explicitly atheist. The
individual conscience is accorded the status of a supreme tribunal of moral
judgment which hands down categorical and infallible decisions about good
and evil. To the affirmation that one has a duty to follow one's conscience
is unduly added the affirmation that one's moral judgment is true merely by
the fact that it has its origin in the conscience. But in this way the
inescapable claims of truth disappear, yielding their place to a criterion
of sincerity, authenticity and "being at peace with oneself", so much so
that some have come to adopt a radically subjectivistic conception of moral
judgment.

As is immediately evident, <the crisis of truth> is not unconnected with
this development. Once the idea of a universal truth about the good,
knowable by human reason, is lost, inevitably the notion of conscience also
changes. Conscience is no longer considered in its primordial reality as an
act of a person's intelligence, the function of which is to apply the
universal knowledge of the good in a specific situation and thus to express
a judgment about the right conduct to be chosen here and now. Instead,
there is a tendency to grant to the individual conscience the prerogative
of independently determining the criteria of good and evil and then acting
accordingly. Such an outlook is quite congenial to an individualist ethic,
wherein each individual is faced with his own truth, different from the
truth of others. Taken to its extreme consequences, this individualism
leads to a denial of the very idea of human nature.


These different notions are at the origin of currents of thought which
posit a radical opposition between moral law and conscience, and between
nature and freedom.

33. <Side by side> with its exaltation of freedom, yet oddly in contrast
with it, <modern culture radically questions the very existence of this
freedom.> A number of disciplines, grouped under the name of the
"behavioural sciences", have rightly drawn attention to the many kinds of
psychological and social conditioning which influence the exercise of human
freedom. Knowledge of these conditionings and the study they have received
represent important achievements which have found application in various
areas, for example in pedagogy or the administration of justice. But some
people, going beyond the conclusions which can be legitimately drawn from
these observations, have come to question or even deny the very reality of
human freedom.

Mention should also be made here of theories which misuse scientific
research about the human person. Arguing from the great variety of customs,
behaviour patterns and institutions present in humanity, these theories end
up, if not with an outright denial of universal human values, at least with
a relativistic conception of morality.

34. "Teacher, what good must I do to have eternal life?" <The question of
morality,> to which Christ provides the answer, <cannot prescind from the
issue of freedom. Indeed, it considers that issue central,> for there can
be no morality without freedom: "It is only in freedom that man can turn to
what is good".[56] <But what sort of freedom?> The Council, considering our
contemporaries who "highly regard" freedom and "assiduously pursue" it, but
who "often cultivate it in wrong ways as a licence to do anything they

please, even evil", speaks of <"genuine" freedom:> "Genuine freedom is an
outstanding manifestation of the divine image in man. For God willed to
leave man 'in the power of his own counsel' (cf. Sir 15:14), so that he
would seek his Creator of his own accord and would freely arrive at full
and blessed perfection by cleaving to God".[57] Although each individual has
a right to be respected in his own journey in search of the truth, there
exists a prior moral obligation, and a grave one at that, to seek the truth
and to adhere to it once it is known.[58] As Cardinal John Henry Newman, that
outstanding defender of the rights of conscience, forcefully put it:
"Conscience has rights because it has duties".[59]

Certain tendencies in contemporary moral theology, under the influence of
the currents of subjectivism and individualism just mentioned, involve
novel interpretations of the relationship of freedom to the moral law,
human nature and conscience, and propose novel criteria for the moral
evaluation of acts. Despite their variety, these tendencies are at one in
lessening or even denying <the dependence of freedom on truth.>

If we wish to undertake a critical discernment of these tendencies--a
discernment capable of acknowledging what is legitimate, useful and of
value in them, while at the same time pointing out their ambiguities,
dangers and errors--we must examine them in the light of the fundamental
dependence of freedom upon truth, a dependence which has found its clearest
and most authoritative expression in the words of Christ: "You will know
the truth, and the truth will set you free" (Jn 8:32).

I. FREEDOM AND LAW

<Of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat> (Gen
2:17)

35. In the Book of Genesis we read: "The Lord God commanded the man,
saying, 'You may eat freely of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of
the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you
eat of it you shall die"' (Gen 2: 16-17).

With this imagery, Revelation teaches that <the power to decide what is
good and what is evil does not belong to man, but to God alone.> The man is
certainly free, inasmuch as he can understand and accept God's commands.
And he possesses an extremely far-reaching freedom, since he can eat "of
every tree of the garden". But his freedom is not unlimited: it must halt
before the "tree of the knowledge of good and evil", for it is called to
accept the moral law given by God. In fact, human freedom finds its
authentic and complete fulfilment precisely in the acceptance of that law.
God, who alone is good, knows perfectly what is good for man, and by virtue
of his very love proposes this good to man in the commandments.

God's law does not reduce, much less do away with human freedom; rather, it
protects and promotes that freedom. In contrast, however, some present-day
cultural tendencies have given rise to several currents of thought in
ethics which centre upon <an alleged conflict between freedom and law.>
These doctrines would grant to individuals or social groups the right <to
determine what is good or evil.> Human freedom would thus be able to
"create values" and would enjoy a primacy over truth, to the point that
truth itself would be considered a creation of freedom. Freedom would thus
lay claim to a <moral autonomy> which would actually amount to an <absolute
sovereignty.>

36. The modern concern for the claims of autonomy has not failed to
exercise an <influence> also <in the sphere of Catholic moral theology.>
While the latter has certainly never attempted to set human freedom against
the divine law or to question the existence of an ultimate religious
foundation for moral norms, it has, nonetheless, been led to undertake a
profound rethinking about the role of reason and of faith in identifying
moral norms with reference to specific "innerworldly" kinds of behaviour
involving oneself, others and the material world.

It must be acknowledged that underlying this work of rethinking there are
<certain positive concerns> which to a great extent belong to the best
tradition of Catholic thought. In response to the encouragement of the
Second Vatican Council,[60] there has been a desire to foster dialogue with
modern culture, emphasizing the rational--and thus universally
understandable and communicable character of moral norms belonging to the
sphere of the natural moral law.[61] There has also been an attempt to
reaffirm the interior character of the ethical requirements deriving from
that law, requirements which create an obligation for the will only because
such an obligation was previously acknowledged by human reason and,
concretely, by personal conscience.

Some people, however, disregarding the dependence of human reason on Divine
Wisdom and the need, given the present state of fallen nature, for Divine
Revelation as an effective means for knowing moral truths, even those of
the natural order,[62] have actually posited a <complete sovereignty of
reason> in the domain of moral norms regarding the right ordering of life
in this world. Such norms would constitute the boundaries for a merely
"human" morality; they would be the expression of a law which man in an
autonomous manner lays down for himself and which has its source
exclusively in human reason. In no way could God be considered the Author
of this law, except in the sense that human reason exercises its autonomy
in setting down laws by virtue of a primordial and total mandate given to
man by God. These trends of thought have led to a denial, in opposition to
Sacred Scripture (cf. Mt 15:3-6) and the Church's constant teaching, of the
fact that the natural moral law has God as its author, and that man, by the
use of reason, participates in the eternal law, which it is not for him to
establish.

37. In their desire, however, to keep the moral life in a Christian
context, certain moral theologians have introduced a sharp distinction,
contrary to Catholic doctrine.[63] between an <ethical order.> which would be
human in origin and of value for <this world> alone, and an <order of
salvation> for which only certain intentions and interior attitudes
regarding God and neighbor would be significant. This has then led to an
actual denial that there exists, in Divine Revelation, a specific and
determined moral content, universally valid and permanent. The word of God
would be limited to proposing an exhortation, a generic paraenesis, which
the autonomous reason alone would then have the task of completing with
normative directives which are truly "objective", that is, adapted to the
concrete historical situation. Naturally, an autonomy conceived in this way
also involves the denial of a specific doctrinal competence on the part of
the Church and her Magisterium with regard to particular moral norms which
deal with the so-called "human good". Such norms would not be part of the
proper content of Revelation, and would not in themselves be relevant for
salvation.

No one can fail to see that such an interpretation of the autonomy of human
reason involves positions incompatible with Catholic teaching.

In such a context it is absolutely necessary to clarify, in the light of
the word of God and the living Tradition of the Church, the fundamental
notions of human freedom and of the moral law, as well as their profound
and intimate relationship. Only thus will it be possible to respond to the
rightful claims of human reason in a way which accepts the valid elements
present in certain currents of contemporary moral theology without
compromising the Church's heritage of moral teaching with ideas derived
from an erroneous concept of autonomy.

<God left man in the power of his own counsel> (Sir 15:14)

38. Taking up the words of Sirach, the Second Vatican Council explains the
meaning of that "genuine freedom" which is "an outstanding manifestation of
the divine image" in man: "God willed to leave man in the power of his own
counsel, so that he would seek his Creator of his own accord and would
freely arrive at full and blessed perfection by cleaving to God".[64] These
words indicate the wonderful depth of the <sharing in God's dominion> to
which man has been called: they indicate that man's dominion extends in a
certain sense over man himself. This has been a constantly recurring theme
in theological reflection on human freedom, which is described as a form of
kingship. For example, Saint Gregory of Nyssa writes: "The soul shows its
royal and exalted character... in that it is free and self-governed, swayed
autonomously by its own will. Of whom else can this be said, save a
king?... Thus human nature, created to rule other creatures, was by its
likeness to the King of the universe made as it were a living image,
partaking with the Archetype both in dignity and in name".[65]

<The exercise of dominion over the world> represents a great and
responsible task for man, one which involves his freedom in obedience to
the Creator's command: "Fill the earth and subdue it" (Gen 1:28). In view
of this, a rightful autonomy is due to every man, as well as to the human
community, a fact to which the Council's Constitution <Gaudium et Spes>
calls special attention. This is the autonomy of earthly realities, which
means that "created things have their own laws and values which are to be
gradually discovered, utilized and ordered by man".[66]

39. Not only the world, however, but also <man himself> has been <entrusted
to his own care and responsibility.> God left man "in the power of his own
counsel" (Sir 15:14), that he might seek his Creator and freely attain
perfection. Attaining such perfection means <personally building up that
perfection in himself.> Indeed, just as man in exercising his dominion over
the world shapes it in accordance with his own intelligence and will, so
too in performing morally good acts, man strengthens, develops and
consolidates within himself his likeness to God.

Even so, the Council warns against a false concept of the autonomy of
earthly realities, one which would maintain that "created things are not
dependent on God and that man can use them without reference to their
Creator".[67] With regard to man himself, such a concept of autonomy produces
particularly baneful effects, and eventually leads to atheism: "Without its
Creator the creature simply disappears... If God is ignored the creature
itself is impoverished".[68]

40. The teaching of the Council emphasizes, on the one hand, <the role of
human reason> in discovering and applying the moral law: the moral life
calls for that creativity and originality typical of the person, the source
and cause of his own deliberate acts. On the other hand, reason draws its
own truth and authority from the eternal law, which is none other than
divine wisdom itself.[69] At the heart of the moral life we thus find the
principle of a "rightful autonomy"[70] of man, the personal subject of his
actions. <The moral law has its origin in God and always finds its source
in him:> at the same time, by virtue of natural reason, which derives from
divine wisdom, it is <a properly human law.> Indeed, as we have seen, the
natural law "is nothing other than the light of understanding infused in us
by God, whereby we understand what must be done and what must be avoided.
God gave this light and this law to man at creation".[71] The rightful
autonomy of the practical reason means that man possesses in himself his
own law, received from the Creator. Nevertheless, <the autonomy of reason
cannot mean> that reason itself <creates values and moral norms.>[72] Were
this autonomy to imply a denial of the participation of the practical
reason in the wisdom of the divine Creator and Lawgiver, or were it to
suggest a freedom which creates moral norms, on the basis of historical
contingencies or the diversity of societies and cultures, this sort of
alleged autonomy would contradict the Church's teaching on the truth about
man.[73] It would be the death of true freedom: "But of the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat
of it you shall die" (Gen 2:17).

41. Man's <genuine moral autonomy> in no way means the rejection but rather
the acceptance of the moral law, of God's command: "The Lord God gave this
command to the man. . . " (Gen 2:16). <Human freedom and God's law meet and
are called to intersect,> in the sense of man's free obedience to God and
of God's completely gratuitous benevolence towards man. Hence obedience to
God is not, as some would believe, a <heteronomy,> as if the moral life
were subject to the will of something all-powerful, absolute, extraneous to
man and intolerant of his freedom. If in fact a heteronomy of morality were
to mean a denial of man's self-determination or the imposition of norms
unrelated to his good, this would be in contradiction to the Revelation of
the Covenant and of the redemptive Incarnation. Such a heteronomy would be
nothing but a form of alienation, contrary to divine wisdom and to the
dignity of the human person.

Others speak, and rightly so, of <theonomy,> or <participated theonomy,>
since man's free obedience to God's law effectively implies that human
reason and human will participate in God's wisdom and providence. By
forbidding man to "eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil", God
makes it clear that man does not originally possess such "knowledge" as
something properly his own, but only participates in it by the light of
natural reason and of Divine Revelation, which manifest to him the
requirements and the promptings of eternal wisdom. Law must therefore be
considered an expression of divine wisdom: by submitting to the law,
freedom submits to the truth of creation. Consequently one must acknowledge
in the freedom of the human person the image and the nearness of God, who
is present in all (cf. Eph 4:6). But one must likewise acknowledge the
majesty of the God of the universe and revere the holiness of the law of
God, who is infinitely transcendent: <Deus semper maior.>[74]

<Blessed is the man who takes delight in the law of the Lord> (cf. Ps 1:1-2)

42. Patterned on God's freedom, man's freedom is not negated by his
obedience to the divine law; indeed, only through this obedience does it
abide in the truth and conform to human dignity. This is clearly stated by
the Council: "Human dignity requires man to act through conscious and free
choice, as motivated and prompted personally from within, and not through
blind internal impulse or merely external pressure. Man achieves such
dignity when he frees himself from all subservience to his feelings, and in
a free choice of the good, pursues his own end by effectively and
assiduously marshalling the appropriate means".[75]

In his journey towards God, the One who "alone is good", man must freely do
good and avoid evil. But in order to accomplish this he must <be able to
distinguish good from evil.> And this takes place above all <thanks to the
light of natural reason,> the reflection in man of the splendour of God's
countenance. Thus Saint Thomas, commenting on a verse of Psalm 4, writes:
"After saying: Offer right sacrifices (Ps 4:5), as if some had then asked
him what right works were, the Psalmist adds: <There are many who say: Who
will make us see good?> And in reply to the question he says: <The light of
your face, Lord, is signed upon us,> thereby implying that the light of
natural reason whereby we discern good from evil, which is the function of
the natural law, is nothing else but an imprint on us of the divine
light".[76] It also becomes clear why this law is called the natural law: it
receives this name not because it refers to the nature of irrational beings
but because the reason which promulgates it is proper to human nature.[77]

43. The Second Vatican Council points out that the "supreme rule of life is
the divine law itself, the eternal, objective and universal law by which
God out of his wisdom and love arranges, directs and governs the whole
world and the paths of the human community. God has enabled man to share in
this divine law, and hence man is able under the gentle guidance of God's
providence increasingly to recognize the unchanging truth".[78]

The Council refers back to the classic teaching on <God's eternal law.>
Saint Augustine defines this as "the reason or the will of God, who
commands us to respect the natural order and forbids us to disturb it".[79]
Saint Thomas identifies it with "the type of the divine wisdom as moving
all things to their due end".[80] And God's wisdom is providence, a love
which cares. God himself loves and cares, in the most literal and basic
sense, for all creation (cf. Wis 7:22; 8:11). But God provides for man
differently from the way in which he provides for beings which are not
persons. He cares for man not "from without", through the laws of physical
nature, but "from within", through reason, which, by its natural knowledge
of God's eternal law, is consequently able to show man the right direction
to take in his free actions.[81] In this way God calls man to participate in
his own providence, since he desires to guide the world--not only the world
of nature but also the world of human persons--through man himself, through
man's reasonable and responsible care. The <natural law> enters here as the
human expression of God's eternal law. Saint Thomas writes: "Among all
others, the rational creature is subject to divine providence in the most
excellent way, insofar as it partakes of a share of providence, being
provident both for itself and for others. Thus it has a share of the
Eternal Reason, whereby it has a natural inclination to its proper act and
end. This participation of the eternal law in the rational creature is
called natural law".[82]

44. The Church has often made reference to the Thomistic doctrine of
natural law, including it in her own teaching on morality. Thus my
Venerable Predecessor Leo XIII emphasized <the essential subordination of
reason and human law to the Wisdom of God and to his law.> After stating
that "the <natural law> is written and engraved in the heart of each and
every man, since it is none other than human reason itself which commands
us to do good and counsels us not to sin", Leo XIII appealed to the "higher
reason" of t