A Refinement of Evil

By Richard N. Ostling

Pope John Paul II will not be led into temptation, and if his latest and most important encyclical has its way, he hopes to deliver his church from evil. For years the Pontiff has been aware that contemporary liberal morality has deeply influenced the beliefs and practices of the Roman Catholic Church's 980 million members. And he will have none of it. In his 179-page Veritatis Splendor (The Splendor of Truth), he argues that good is clearly distinct from evil, that morality is not situational, that right is right and wrong is really wrong, and that the church's teachings will truly set believers free. Among the evils the Pope sees at work in the world are genocide, torture and slavery. But he also includes matters of overwhelming concern to American Catholics: euthanasia, contraception, artificial insemination, homosexual acts, masturbation, premarital sex and abortion.

While John Paul's list of social and sexual malevolences comes as no surprise, the sweeping nature of his condemnation as well as his demand of obedience are certain to send tremors through the ranks of the church's liberal wing. (The encyclical is due for release Oct. 5, but several advance copies were circulating to the press last week.) There were rumors that the document would be couched in terms of papal infallibility, making opposition impermissible. While that has not turned out to be the case, dissent is virtually forbidden. "Opposition to the teaching of the church's pastors cannot be seen as a legitimate expression either of Christian freedom or of the diversity of the Spirit's gifts," writes John Paul. "It is prohibited -- to everyone and in every case -- to violate these precepts. They oblige everyone, regardless of the cost."

"You want to know what the Pope does in the evenings?" asks a middle- ranking member of the Vatican bureaucracy. "This is what he does. He thinks about these things." Six years ago, the Pontiff announced his intention to set down in encyclical form his reflections on the nature of good and evil. Encyclicals are authoritative declarations of the church's teaching, warnings of new problems, and guides to parishes across the world. John Paul's task seemed so daunting to some and so useless to others that the Pope was the unwilling recipient of almost constant, contradictory advice from the moment he began work on it.

Two years ago, a draft was circulated to a select group of theological philosophers for comment, with the understanding that the Pontiff thought his work was nearly completed. The draft caused so much internal -- and not always well-concealed -- debate that the Pope took it back and overhauled it. Of the final product, a Vatican insider says, "What he has written is a masterpiece. But it is far too dense to be transmitted to most people."

Indeed, encyclicals are never page turners, and the Pontiff, a philosopher and onetime professor, tosses around such celestial concepts as "fundamental option," "invincible ignorance," "teleology" and "consequentialism." John Paul also peppers his paper with 184 footnotes, citing for instance the Second Vatican Council, the new Catechism of the Catholic Church (as yet unavailable in English) and Thomas Aquinas, the medieval saint who defined the concept of natural law. The grand finale is a hymn to the Virgin Mary.

Still, the point is clear enough. The heart of the matter is freedom. According to some strains of liberal thought, the individual's reason and conscience must have freedom in determining, for example, whether it is moral to have an abortion, use contraception or tell a lie. John Paul replies that true freedom must be united with moral truth, truth as reflected in a natural law that is evident to everyone and defined in detail by the Bible and church tradition. Otherwise, he says, each individual conscience becomes supreme -- he even uses the word infallible. And in the clash of infallibilities, moral confusion reigns. Only absolute morality, argues the Pope, provides the basis for the democratic equality of all citizens, with common rights and duties and without "privileges or exceptions." In short, only when people hold to the same standards of good and evil can they be free and equal.

John Paul makes a glancing reference to the eternal perdition that could await moral miscreants and outlines a tightening up of his earthly ranks. The encyclical directs all theologians to display "a loyal assent, both internal and external," as they discuss morals. And he rails against the "carefully orchestrated protests and polemics carried on in the media" that undercut church policies.

But just how will the Pope, the Vatican and the hierarchy around the world enforce these policies? Says the Pope: "The church's pastors have the duty to act in conformity with their apostolic mission, insisting that the right of the faithful to receive Catholic doctrine in its purity and integrity must always be respected." That may be vague enough to keep a semblance of peace in John Paul's immense and diverse church, but it will not drown out the controversies.

With reporting by John Moody/Rome