ROME, NOV. 4, 2003 (Zenit.org).- Ten years ago John Paul II published “Veritatis Splendor” to “show how the splendor of truth must touch the very fiber of man’s moral behavior and penetrate it,” a theologian says.
In this interview with ZENIT, Monsignor Giuseppe Lorizio, a priest of the Diocese of Rome and a professor of theology at the Lateran University, describes this encyclical as “strongly purposeful.”
Monsignor Lorizio, president of the “Ecclesia Mater” Higher Institute of Religious Sciences at the Lateran, was appointed chaplain to the Pope in 1998.
Q: “Veritatis Splendor” is a term which had already captivated Karol Wojtyla. Why do you think the Pope wrote this encyclical precisely with this title?
Monsignor Lorizio: I don’t think the reason must be sought in a polemical or critical manner in the opposition to moral relativism but, as the title itself suggests, it is first of all a strongly purposeful encyclical; namely, it tries to show how the splendor of the truth must touch the very fiber of man’s moral behavior and penetrate it.
In this realm of truth and realism, in a realm of a truth that exists and that shines in creation and in man, is where the concepts of the good and the beautiful are found. It is a very interesting prismatic view, full of interest for today’s culture and Christianity.
Q: Can “Evangelium Vitae,” which appeared two years later and focuses on the “value and inviolable character of human life,” be understood without “Veritatis Splendor”?
Monsignor Lorizio: Of course not. In the area of moral teachings, we can say that while “Veritatis Splendor” constitutes an important document of fundamental moral theology, “Evangelium Vitae” is focused on special morality, namely, morality applied to particular problems, but which nevertheless address the believer’s principles of belief and behavior.
In this connection, and in continuity with the first response, we can say that the Church’s options for life, which derive from its faithfulness to the Word of God — of which the Church herself is not proprietor but servant– are fundamentally positive options. It is in this context that the “no’s” that the magisterium is called to express, are situated. These “no’s” are based on the radical and fundamental “yes” to life and the Gospel.
Q: What does “Veritatis Splendor” propose to a relativistic and skeptical culture?
Monsignor Lorizio: It proposes an objective view of truth and morality: This is the nucleus of the ecclesial tradition. A subjectivity incapable of accepting the objective truth exposes itself to deviations that end up by destroying man himself and what he has that is most specific and particular.
I would say that, in No. 15, “Fides et Ratio” proposes an orientation in which Christian Revelation is decidedly presented, through the beautiful image of the star. I think the context of disorientation that characterizes culture and history today calls for a message capable of orienting man in his life and behavior.
Q: What does it mean to say that there is a close link between grace and morality?
Monsignor Lorizio: It means that reason and human will are, in fact, frail. Not only because they are created and, therefore, limited, but because they are marred by sin and wounded by it. Grace helps the will and reason, empowering them and disposing them to act with true morality.
Grace does not destroy nature, but perfects and redeems it.
Q: Has relativism penetrated the Church? If this is the case, what are the fruits of the encyclical?
Monsignor Lorizio: Perhaps, rather than the Church, Catholic theology runs the risk of being penetrated by a relativistic mentality.
In this connection, the indications of the second chapter of the encyclical are opportune and beautiful, in which the Catholic theologian is called to accept the teachings of the magisterium and, if he wishes to continue to be a Catholic theologian, not relegate them to other more or less plausible opinions.
So, research continues and is desirable, but it finds ways in which it can proceed to achieve its genuine objectives.
Q: How can the contents of “Veritatis Splendor” be implemented in the new evangelization?
Monsignor Lorizio: The message of “Veritatis Splendor” for the new evangelization can be made concrete by focusing on the positive stance that the encyclical assumes.
I am thinking, in particular, of the first chapter, of a biblical-evangelical nature with the reference to the episode of the rich young man and his question: “What must I do?”
It is a question which must be answered by the new evangelization to orient persons and groups, so that the evangelical message will not be perceived either in an ideological or a utopian way, but as a genuine reference in the search for the good, the beautiful and the true that the human heart longs for.
Q: What is “acceptable” in “Veritatis Splendor” for a nonbeliever?
Monsignor Lorizio: The message of truth and good is not a monopoly of believers. It is interpretative of human nature. Therefore, believers and nonbelievers can work together to discover an anthropologically based ethics, that is, a view of man that shows his true identity, origin and end. What is at stake is the nature of man.
At a time when post-humanist tendencies abound, we think that it is in the interest of believers to re-found their morality anthropologically. In this aspect, the Church proposes herself as travel companion of all those who are seeking the true, the beautiful and the good with a sincere heart.
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Monsignor Lorizio has his own Italian-language Web page at www.lorizio.net.
