The Splendor of Truth: Encyclical Letter of John Paul II

by Pope John Paul II

Book Overview

The Splendor Of Truth is addressed by the Supreme Pontiff Pope John Paul II to all the Bishops of the Catholic Church. The context contains the fundamental questions of the church's moral teaching. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0819869643
• Release Date: April 1993
• Publisher: St. Paul Books & Media
• Length: 160 Pages
• Weight: 0.58 lbs.
• Dimensions: 7.0" x 5.0" x 0.5"

Customer Reviews

Truth is a Many Splendored Thing!

A few magnificent excerpts from Veritatis Splendor (1993): In his magnificent encyclical on moral theology, Pope John Paul II reminded us that we are "Called to salvation through faith in Jesus Christ...and are made holy by `obedience to the truth' (1 Pet 1:22)." JP II certainly acknowledged that "This obedience is not always easy. As a result of that mysterious original sin,...man is constantly tempted to turn his gaze away from the living and true God in order to direct it towards idols (cf. 1 Thes 1:9)....Man's capacity to know the truth is also darkened, and his will to submit to it is weakened. Thus, giving himself over to relativism and scepticism (cf. Jn 18:38), he goes off in search of an illusory freedom apart from truth itself. But no darkness of error or of sin can totally take away from man the light of God the Creator. In the depths of his heart there always remains a yearning for absolute truth and a thirst to attain full knowledge of it." In Veritatis Splendor, Pope John Paul II restated the Church's moral doctrine, while critiquing certain errors which have been put forth. As per its Introduction, "It is no longer a matter of limited and occasional dissent, but of an overall and systematic calling into question of traditional moral doctrine....the traditional doctrine regarding the natural law, and the universality and the permanent validity of its precepts, is rejected; certain of the Church's moral teachings are found simply unacceptable; & the Magisterium itself is considered capable of intervening in matters of morality only in order to `exhort consciences' and to `propose values', in the light of which each individual will independently make his or her decisions and life choices....an opinion is frequently heard which questions the intrinsic and unbreakable bond between faith and morality....The specific purpose of the present Encyclical is this: to set forth, with regard to the problems being discussed, the principles of a moral teaching based upon Sacred Scripture and the living Apostolic Tradition, and at the same time to shed light on the presuppositions and consequences of the dissent which that teaching has met." Chapter 1 reflected on Jesus' dialogue with the rich young man of Matthew 19. The question about the requirements for eternal life "is not so much about rules to be followed, but about the full meaning of life." Each of us is called to holiness; "the Second Vatican Council called for a renewal of moral theology, so that its teaching would display the lofty vocation which the faithful have received in Christ." Rather than do away with the Law, Christ gave us the means to fulfill it. In addition, the teaching office of His Church helps us understand the Law: "To imitate and live out the love of Christ is not possible for man by his own strength alone....the New Law is the grace of the Holy Spirit given through faith in Christ....the New Law is not content to say what must be done, but also gives the powe

Splendor of Truth

Everyone interested in Catholic ethics should carefully read Pope John Paul II's The Splendor of Truth--Veritatis Splendor (Boston: St. Paul Books & Media, 1993). This is one of several significant encyclicals issued by John Paul II, proving him to be a gifted theologian. In a thoroughly biblical way, he calls God's people to live "the life of holiness" (p. 129). Toward the end of the encyclical he sums up his message: "We must first of all show the inviting splendor of that truth which is Jesus Christ himself. In him, who is the Truth (cf. Jn 14:6), man can understand fully and live perfectly, through his good actions, his vocation to freedom in obedience to the divine law summarized in the commandment of love of God and neighbor. And this is what takes place through the gift of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth, of freedom and of love: in him we are enabled to interiorize the law, to receive it and to live it as the motivating force of true personal freedom: 'the perfect law, the law of liberty' (Jas 1:25)" (p. 104). John Paul begins his presentation with this declaration: "Called to salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, 'the true light that enlightens everyone' (Jn 1:9), people become 'light in the Lord' and 'children of light' (Eph 5:8), and are made holy by 'obedience to the truth' (1 Pet 1:22)" (p. 9). Given that reality, "No one can escape from the fundamental questions: What must I do? How do I distinguish good from evil?" (p. 10). Those questions are answered, conclusively, by Jesus Christ, who is the answer to all of man's deepest hunger for truth. Thus the Gospel account (Mt 19:16) of the rich young man who came to Jesus illuminates the entire human condition. The young man asked: "Teacher, what good must I do to have eternal life?" Here, says John Paul, " we can recognize every person who, consciously or not, approaches Christ the Redeemer of man and questions him about morality. For the young man, the question is not so much about rules to be followed, but about the full meaning of life" (p. 17). Responding to the young man, Jesus reminded him that "there is only one who is good," God Himself. Revering and serving God is basic to all morality. Then one is rightly oriented to obeying His commandments--both the commandments inscribed in the natural law, rooted in God's eternal law, and the divine law revealed on Mt Sinai, which (as St Thomas said) encapsulates the natural law. To that one adds the righteous attitudes and motives prescribed in the Beatitudes, which enable one to follow Christ, who is "the essential and primordial foundation of Christian morality" (p. 32). Through the grace given us as believers, the presence of the Holy Spirit enables us to live conformed to Christ's likeness. Law and grace work together. "Faith working by love" (Gal 5:6) is the final formula for the Christian life. There's a synergy to the Christlike life. Faith is more than mental assent. "Faith is a deci

A moral and spiritual treatise

In my opinion Veritatis Splendor is the finest of Pope John Paul's encyclicals. It is the best in terms of theological content as well as its ability to enrich one spiritually. This document addresses head on many of the abuses found in today's Catholic universities and seminaries; abuses ranging from a failure to recognize the Magisterium of Christ's Church to the preponderance of such philosophical schools as proportionalism, relativism, and pragmatism which tend to deny the existence of absolute norms and therefore lead to eventually to lawlessness. It is the law that the Holy Father sets forth as the means of fulfilling the Christian faith. The natural law is the expression of the Divine Law within creation and can be known by men through right reason. The law, unable to be fulfilled by man without God's grace, is now capable of being fulfilled through the power of the Holy Spirit unleashed through the Gospel and made available to us through the sacraments. The Holy Father eloquently expresses how it is through living out the law, even in extremely difficult circumstances that the Christian manifests Christ's presence and power in the world today and proclaims His Kingdom most effectively. Finally, the Holy Father firmly confirms the Church's constant teaching that there exist negative moral norms that can never be broken even with the intention of attaining some contingent good. For example, one may never rob in order to feed the poor. Yet Christ's mercy is ever present to forgive and strengthen anew those who fail to live the law and turn to Him for help. Reading this encyclical made me want to live the law, to seek virtue, to know the power of Christ at work in me. Besides being an excellent work of moral theology and Magisterial teaching, it is above all in my estimation an uplifting spiritual treatise.

Comments from a Graduate Student in Literature..

The combination of the 'Catechism' and The Spendor of Truth are, perhaps, the most necessary tools for any and all Catholic thinkers/scholars; as well as anyone interested in discovering the authentic teachings of the Church - minus the broad-stroked misinformation of the mass media.

A very deep book full of truth about life

Pope John Paul is a brillian writer who brings us an excellent summary of truth as it has been discerned over the last 2000 years of Christianity. This book is true to Scripture, the tradition of the early Church Fathers and Catholic Doctrine. It speaks strongly against modern tendencies to deny the concept of absolute truth found in moral relativism. This is a must reading for all who are seeking the truth revealed to us by Christianity.