Ecumenical Ventures in Ethics: Protestants Engage Pope John Paul II's Moral Encyclicals

Theology Today, Jul 1999 by Vacek, Edward

Ecumenical Ventures in Ethics: Protestants Engage Pope John Paul II's

Moral Encyclicals

Edited by Reinhard Htter and Theodor Dieter Grand Rapids, Eerdmans, 1998. 295 pp. $26.00.

The public at large took notice when Pope John Paul II published Veritatis splendor, an encyclical on the nature of morality, and Evangelium vitae, an encyclical on respect for life. Even when people disagreed with the pope, they credited him with courage for taking a prophetic stance against relativism and against increasing tolerance of abortion, euthanasia, and capital punishment.

The twelve scholars gathered in this volume give the pope high marks for his efforts to find firm ground for moral living and to promote a gospel of life. They praise him for offering a biblical and theological perspective on topics that might otherwise be treated as solely philosophical or legal matters. And they do the work of scholars: They summarize themes, they fill in background, they point out what is missing, they note inconsistencies, and they criticize bad arguments.

Of the scholars nine are Lutheran, one Anglican, and two Roman Catholic. Many Catholic theologians, of course, have already applauded and criticized the encyclical; but the Protestants in this volume contribute an important and very different theological perspective. While the ecumenical movement has helped us see the fundamental unity of all Christian churches, this book makes clear that each church still offers a distinct set of theological emphases. Of course, this volume also makes clear that there is no one voice in the church: Not only do Catholic theologians agree and disagree with the pope, but the Lutherans represented here agree and disagree among themselves.

After a brief look at the artistic background of the pope, the Protestant theologians offer a number of important criticisms. As one might expect, they fault the pope for not being Protestant enough: He affirms faith as belief without affirming faith as trust; he is not able to hold together our status as both sinners and justified; he discusses human nature as if it might be outside the realm of grace; and he so emphasizes what is common to human beings that he loses sight of individuality. The authors are also concerned that, while the pope laudably begins his thinking in a rich biblical fashion, he then tends to forget christocentric discipleship when developing his more prophetic critiques of contemporary life.

Curiously, a number of the Protestant theologians also imply that the pope is not Catholic enough. They compare unfavorably his ideas with those of Thomas Aquinas. And they argue that he does not display sufficiently a sense of the church's evolving and convoluted tradition. They also resist the way he uncarefully mixes together analogous and contrasting notions of such central ideas as truth, law, nature, reason, freedom, life, punishment, or death. The pope is also faulted for so stressing the receptive character of freedom that he overlooks its creativity.

According to some of the authors, John Paul II has too much confidence that he as pope grasps the truth. Some think that he too strongly asserts his own authority. One author finds that the pope undercuts the authority of the state when it comes to capital punishment, and another essay suggests that the pope insufficiently asserts God's authority to command.

Several authors find that the pope, in rightly insisting that human actions are connected to faith, nevertheless links our works too tightly to our salvation before God. One author suggests that the pope's focus on deeds derives from the Catholic practice of confessing particular sins, where matters of virtue and the heart are less prominent. He also finds that the pope strangely omits charity-our relation to God-in his effort to speak not just to Christians but to all human beings.

The level of discourse in this collection is consistently high and quite theological. The book will please those who are interested in studying these two papal encyclicals and in ecumenical exchange. Some of the Protestant authors praise the pope for doing what no one in their tradition seems able to do; Catholics should praise these authors for showing how the Protestant tradition can complement and correct current Catholic thought. All in all, a fine example of ecumenical engagement.

EDWARD VACEK, S.J.

Weston Jesuit School of Theology

Cambridge, MA