Bishop Jean Laffitte is warning against focusing too intently on the
sexual aspect of Blessed John Paul II's Theology of the Body, which he
says runs the risk of eliminating the depth and “mystery” involved in
human and divine love.
“The problem is, if you focus only on
sexuality you can't develop beyond that, and you don't see that this
beauty is a gift given by the Creator but in a much wider context,” said
Bishop Laffitte, secretary of the Vatican's Pontifical Council for the
Family.
In an Aug. 3 interview with
CNA, Bishop Laffitte weighed in on the current debate on how best to
interpret the late pontiff's teachings, saying it is essential to first
understand God's design in creating man and woman.
Pope John Paul
II's teachings on human love and sexuality – a collection of five years’
worth of his Wednesday audiences from 1979 to 1984 – is widely seen as
unprecedented in the history of the Church.
Sexuality and the Body
Bishop
Laffitte said that although it's normal to be attracted to “the beauty
of sexuality and the beauty of the human body,” he doesn't agree with
emphasizing “the sexual phenomenon” without giving the whole perspective
of “the mystery of creation, and the mystery of God's calling on human
love,” as taught by Pope John Paul II.
Bishop Laffitte recalled
that when God created Adam and Eve from nothing, he could have used the
same method to create every other person in human history. Yet instead,
God enabled man and woman through their sexuality to participate in
creating human life themselves.
“The Creator wanted the human
being to be His own mediator in the action of creation – that's
extraordinary,” he noted. “From that moment, in His providential
intention, the man and woman He created would be the mediators through
which He would continue to give life.”
“That's the mystery of
sexuality,” he said, “the expression of divine and human love, which is
integrated and interpenetrated.”
“It's impossible,” then, the
bishop added, “to isolate sexuality” from this integration and “to
isolate the body from this mystery,” since this would ultimately
“isolate the creature from the Creator.”
Bishop Laffitte said that
the mystery of sex encompasses “not only the unity of the bodies” but a
unity of bodies “which are animated by God and which express a
spiritual love.”
“When Pope John Paul II talks about the body we have to understand this,” he said.
The
pontifical secretary also said that the term “Theology of the Body” is
in fact an English translation of what is originally called “The
Catecheses on Human Love.”
Although the English term is “not incorrect,” he said, it doesn't necessarily portray “the entirety of the Catecheses.”
The
Theology of the Body “is not a wrong expression, on the condition that
we see the intention of John Paul II,” Bishop Laffitte said.
“He
was talking about human love and not only the partial focus we could
have only on the body and on sexuality – which is ultimately a bodily
expression of love.”
“Certainly the body has a theological
dimension, but this dimension is given by God's design on human love and
what, in the nature of man and woman, belongs to the fulfillment of the
design.”
Teaching Sexuality in the Modern World
Although
Bishop Laffitte praised the intent behind popularizing John Paul II's
teachings on human sexuality, he underscored the “risk” of transmitting a
narrowed vision of them.
He stressed that in today's world, human love
and sexuality have been “disfigured,” and Church teachings on the
subject need to be spread as a means of evangelization, accessible to
all people.
In response to those who say the philosophical and
anthropological topics involved in the late Pope’s teachings are too
complex for the average person, Bishop Laffitte said he believes anyone
“of good faith can always be sensitive to mystery.”
“Even when a
person cannot read and write, when he falls in love with someone he
enters into an extraordinary mystery,” the bishop said.
Regardless
of a person’s level of intellectual knowledge, he “has the same
experience” when he falls in love as even the most educated person.
Bishop
Laffitte also cautioned against taking a casual or “vulgar” approach to
discussing human sexuality in the context of Church teachings.
“Man and woman have sinned,” he explained, “and in our bodies we bear the consequences of this wound in our nature.”
He
said it's ultimately “unrealistic” to think that we can discuss or
treat the issue of human sexuality in a casual or indifferent way, or
ignoring the reality of sin.
“There is a dignity” and a “respectful expression of love and design” needed, Bishop Laffitte emphasized.
To read the full interview, please click here