Alumnis analyzes John Paul II's ongoing moral impact in America

The late Pope John Paul II’s teaching has inspired and fascinated thousands of faithful around the world. Yet just how well John Paul’s vision of the human person has been received -- especially by his critics -- is yet to be determined.  

So said alumnus John Grabowski, professor of moral theology at Catholic University of America, as he addressed a crowd of attentive students and faculty Tuesday night in the St. Joseph Center.  

“Only time will tell how lasting will be the impact left by Pope John Paul II,” said Grabowski.  

While John Paul II’s life and teachings clearly redefined the image of the papacy in the modern world through his defense of human rights and freedoms, Grabowski said many have misinterpreted the pope’s teachings. This misunderstanding arises from an attempt by secular and religious alike to plug the pope’s teachings into pre-existing debates, such as the debates on sexuality and life issues.

Ironically, critics and advocates agree on many interpretations of the late pope’s works, Grabowski said, especially in the popular “sexualized” versions of John Paul’s Theology of the Body. He said nterpretations by popular Catholic speakers such as Christopher West, although effective at generating new interest and fervor for the writings, have overemphasized the sexual aspects of the work, minimizing its greater scope -- that is, John Paul’s view on the freedom and goodness of the human person.

“(These teachings) tend to reduce the whole point of Theology of the Body to being ‘all about sex,’” Grabowski said.

“They give marriage and sex an undue pre-eminence in the Christian life. … Theology of the Body’s focus is on the whole person, of which sex is only one component.”

The late pope’s work should be read in view of his anthropological vision, Grabowski said, focusing on the communication and self-transcendence of the person rather than the sexual act itself. Readers should also recognize, both in Theology of the Body and the late pope’s other encyclical writings, each piece’s deep dependence on scripture.  

“John Paul II is giving us … a biblical understanding of the human person as constituted by our encounter with Christ,” Grabowski said. “Theology of the Body is better read as a presentation of the gospel in which sex is component, rather than a gospel of sex.”

Similarly, the late pope’s work “Veritatis Splendor” has been traditionally misinterpreted by its relativist critics, who fixate on the second chapter of the work and ignore the essential first segment, which lays the foundation that is key to interpreting the remainder of the document, Grabowski said. This first section tells the story of Jesus and the rich young man, with whom John Paul wished readers to identify.

“John Paul II identifies the rich young man in Matthew 19 as a type of all human persons who question Christ about theology,” Grabowski said. “The young man’s questions to Christ are those that well up in our own hearts.”

Our encounter with Christ, like that of the young man, is essential to our understanding of both ourselves and the rest of humanity, Grabowski said.

“The only way we can understand ourselves is to encounter Christ,” Grabowski said. “The whole point of the Church’s existence is that the Church is where this encounter happens.”

The late pope’s most lasting contribution, Grabowski said, lies in his anthropological teachings on the human person that run throughout so many of his writings.  

“(John Paul II) pulls the reader to search for ways to go beyond having faith to living faith, engaging the whole person,” Grabowski said. “Only time will tell the full measure of John Paul II’s impact on moral theology in America and the world.”

Grabowski’s speech was sponsored by the Franciscan University of Steubenville theology department.