Papal Household theologian Fr Wojciech Giertych OP was in Perth earlier this month to speak on the topic of Pope Paul VI’s half-century old encyclical Humanae Vitae and its relevance in modern society. Photo: Matthew Lau.
By Matthew Lau
Theologian to the Papal Household Father Wojciech Giertych OP marked his first ever visit to Australia by speaking about the fallout of one of the most controversial encyclicals in recent Church history.
Humanae Vitae (On Human Life) is an encyclical written by Pope Paul VI – dated 25 July 1968 – that articulates Catholic teaching regarding married love, responsible parenthood, chastity and the exclusion of contraception as a means of family planning.
Theology maven Fr Giertych was a special guest speaker at a recent conference titled “1968: Five Decades On”, which was held at the University of Notre Dame Australia Fremantle Campus from 12 to 14 July.
The conference – hosted by the Dawson Society for Philosophy and Culture – featured a number of noteworthy speakers who revisited some of the most significant cultural moments in recent history, while uncovering the impacts they have had on the Church.
In an exclusive interview with The eRecord journalist Matthew Lau, Fr Giertych explained why he travelled to Perth to speak about 1968, which he believes was a revolutionary year in the Western world.
“The year 1968 was a time of a cultural revolution in the West – with a sexual revolution, the rejection of authority, with the hippy movement, and with cultural changes such as those in popular music. It was also the moment of great joy and hope with the reform of the Church after Vatican II. But at times, there was also grief and anxiety, because often the reforms were implemented inappropriately,” he said.
“In many respects, it was a very important year. Now, in many parts of the world I am observing a perception that the ideologies that had been being thrust upon the world since 1968 need to be corrected. There is a feeling that something went wrong.”
He notes that in today’s world there is “a certain backing out” from the ideologies that can be symbolically tied with 1968.
“Paul VI prophetically saw that the deformation of marital love will generate a crash of paternity; and we are seeing now that many men have become degenerate. Locked in egoism they are not responsible for their families. Thus abortion, abandoned single mothers and abuse are a consequence of the faulty approach to sexuality.”
During the “1968: Five Decades On” conference, Fr Giertych explained to Perth Catholics what Blessed Paul VI’s intent was in Humanae Vitae and how at times his teaching has been ignored or misunderstood.
In the lecture, he delivered a positive presentation on the significance of chastity and the art of handling the sexual drive, both within and outside marriage.
In rejecting the “safe-sex” mentality that treats procreation as an enemy, Paul VI spoke out in the defence of the dignity of children and also of abused women, but primarily he was concerned about the quality of marital love.
After all, contraception is primarily for men, allowing them to be egoist and irresponsible, and so it is not conducive to the growth of charity, the divine love that is offered to us by Christ.
“The Church regularly passes through moments of crisis in history; the conflict of the world with the Church today is primarily in the field of moral theology,” he stated.
“At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, the issue was history, the reading of the Bible in the face of the discoveries of the biblical archaeology in the Middle East and how to put them together with faith. Today, neither biblical theology nor doctrinal questions are seen to be a major issue.”
Fr Wojciech Giertych OP was a keynote speaker during a three-day conference titled “1968: Five Decades On”, organised by the Dawson Society for Philosophy and Culture. Photo: Matthew Lau.
It is the Catholic understanding of morality that seems to be problematic, he said.
“It is not a question that some acts were not seen to be sinful and now they are interpreted as such. It is not some particular detail that is at stake. The fundamental question is how the moral teaching of the Church is to be located within the entire Christian message, centred upon Christ.
“This, of course, also has an impact on sexual morality and marital life, because for most people, it is there that the living out of the divine charity received from God takes place,” Fr Giertych continued.
“This is the prime issue the Church is confronting in the universal world. The renewal that Vatican II had instigated includes the renewal of moral theology and the tying of moral dilemmas with the redemptive work of Christ and not only with the natural law. This reformulation of the approach is in process, although with difficulty, but also with directive guidance coming from the Holy See.”
Fr Giertych left England in 1970 to study in Poland, where he found his vocation to enter the Dominican Order.
For the past eight centuries there has always been a Dominican in the Vatican holding the position that used to be called “The Master of the Sacred Palace”. Later, with the reforms of Paul VI, it was renamed “The Theologian of the Papal Household” – an office Fr Giertych has held since December 2005.
He is also a consultant in the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, a consultant in the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, and a professor at the Pontifical University of St Thomas, the Angelicum, in Rome.
When asked about the upcoming 2020 Plenary Council, Fr Giertych advised Australians not to expect an immediate and simple answer to all questions from the gathering.
“The important issue is that we need to maintain a profound relationship to God, growing in that encounter, and so also we have to individuate resistances that impede this.”
Fr Giertych said these resistances vary from country to country because they are cultural.
“They are also different among the various strata of society, because every social group has its own specifics and its own perceptions. Therefore it is a regular task of pastors to meet, reflect, and hear the voices of laypeople. The bishops have to view the life of the local Church. What is the state of the faith? What difficulties people have? And what answers to these difficulties can be found in the perennial teaching of the Church?
“I hope that the 2020 Plenary Council will be profitable, prayerful, and reflective, searching in the great tradition of the Catholic Church, so as to find answers to those dramas that are perceived in your Church in Australia.”