anthropology of john paul ii

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THE CHRISTIAN ANTHROPOLOGY OF

JOHN PAUL II: AN OVERVIEW [1]

by Fr Thomas McGovern

Over the past twenty years of his pontificate, John

Paul II has deepened our understanding of the

Gospel message in many ways. Yet it is perhaps in

his discussion of Christian anthropology that the

former Archbishop of Krakow has made his most

original contribution to theological discourse. [2]

The Church in the twentieth century has responded

with greater sensitivity to the anthropological

dimension of theology. This has not happened byaccident. Particular philosophers and theologians

made valuable contributions to this enterprise which

found expression in the documents of Vatican II,

especially in the pastoral constitution on the Church

in the Modern World, Gaudium et Spes, and the

decree on religious freedom, Dignitatis Humanae.

[3]



Vatican II was the first council of the Church to

affirm a detailed Christian anthropology. The need to

do so arose as a response to the materialisticconception of man which has dominated much of the

twentieth century. This climate of materialism was

fueled by three main currents. In the first place there

was the materialism of modern science. The

experimental method tended to the view that, since

only what can be measured is real, only material

reality exists. At the human level, advances in

biology, influenced by the theory of evolution, had

led to a depreciation of the spiritual dimension of

man.

Secondly, the influences of the Marxist

philosophy of materialism, in a tyranny withoutprecedent in human history, brought misery and

death to countless millions. Finally, a more subtle

materialism which has drugged the spirit of man,

and which is expanding rapidly, is the practical

materialism of the West. This is the fruit of the rapid

development of technology, creating a wealthy

society driven by consumerism. This society

measures progress solely in terms of material wealth,

and effectively reduces the practice of politics to the



maintenance of favorable economic conditions. The

driving principles of this rapidly expanding practical

materialism are the primacy given to individualsubjective rights, and the dominance of a liberal

capitalistic outlook indifferent to social

responsibilities at a global level.

It was these negative influences that inspired

attempts to construct a more adequate Christiananthropology. Here it is only possible to mention a

few of the major contributors to this project. In

Crossing the Threshold of Hope John Paul II refers

to the contributions of two Jewish thinkers, Martin

Buber (1878-1965) and Emmanuel Lévinas

(1906-95), who had drawn on the personalist

tradition of the Old Testament and had influenced his

own thinking. [4] In Buber’s perspective, man is a

being made for relationships at three levels – with

his fellow man, with the world, and with God. [5]

Other philosophers such as Gabriel Marcel(1889-1973), Jacques Maritain (1882-1973), and

Emmanuel Mounier (1905-50) made their own

individual contributions to this

personalist



philosophy. Indeed it has been pointed out that the

distinction which Marcel made between ‘being’ and

‘having’ had a profound influence on theanthropology of Vatican II as well as on the thinking

of John Paul II. [6] Other valuable insights were

added by the Gottingen Circle of Edmund Husserl

(1859-1938), Max Scheler (1874-1928), and

Dietrich von Hildebrand (1889-1977).

These personalist philosophies did not constitute a

complete system, but rather expanded the framework

of traditional Christian philosophy with a more

profound exploration of the reaches of the human

spirit. As John Paul II himself explains:

One cannot think adequately about man without

reference, which for man is constitutive, to God.

Saint Thomas defined this as actus essendi

(essential act), in the language of the philosophy

of existence. The philosophy of religion expresses

this with the categories of anthropological

experience. The philosophers of dialogue, such as

Martin Buber and the aforementioned Lévinas,



have contributed greatly to this experience. And

we find ourselves by now very close to Saint

Thomas, but the path passes not so much throughbeing and existence as through people and their

meeting with each other, through the “I” and the

“Thou”. This is a fundamental dimension of man’s

existence, which is always a coexistence. [7]

These insights of personalist philosophy are basedon the light of Revelation – on the doctrine of man

made to the image and likeness of God and on the

Trinitarian theology of relationships. These were

some of the insights and strands of thinking which,

added to traditional philosophy, gave impetus to the

articulation of a Christian anthropology in Vatican II

and subsequently in the magisterium of John Paul II.

The Anthropology of Vatican II

The first part of Gaudium et Spes, the Pastoral

Constitution on the Church in the Modern World,

gives a brief but complete statement of the Christian

doctrine about man. The early drafts contained three

chapter headings as follows: ‘The Dignity of the



Human Person’ (nos.12-22), ‘The Community of

Mankind’ (nos.23-32), ‘Man’s Activity in the

Universe’ (nos. 33-39). It is of interest to note,however, that at the insistence of one Cardinal

Wojtyla, a fourth chapter was added on ‘The Role of

the Church in the Modern World’ (nos. 40-45),

which is a summary of the first three chapters.

Indeed, according to Cardinal Garrone, who had

overall responsibility for putting the document

together, this fourth chapter was drafted by the

Archbishop of Krakow himself. [8]

Chapter I is a very evocative reflection on the

dignity of the human person in the light of his

creation in the image and likeness of God. It is also a

rich discourse on the vocation of man, the

significance of human freedom and the nature of

conscience. The christological conclusion at the end

of this chapter (no.22), which has been repeated so

often in the magisterium of John Paul II, is perhapsthe best known passage of the whole document:



In reality, it is only in the mystery of the Word

made flesh that the mystery of man truly becomes

clear ... Christ the new Adam, in the veryrevelation of the mystery of the Father and of his

love, fully reveals man to himself and brings to

light his most high calling ... Human nature, by

the very fact that it was assumed, not absorbed,

in him, has been raised in us also to a dignity

beyond compare. For, by his incarnation, he, theSon of God, has in a certain way united himself

with each man. [9]

This positive affirmation is, of course, qualified by a

description of the darker side of man’s

history – the

damage which sin has done to his very nature, and

the consequences of this for his relationship with

God and his fellow men. [10] Without the revelation

of Christ it is not possible to understand man fully.

Rather this very revelation is the deepest source of

wisdom about man, his nature, and his destiny.

The second chapter tells us one of the most

important truths about ourselves: ‘If man is the only



creature on earth that God has wanted for its own

sake, man can fully discover his true self only in a

sincere giving of himself’[11] (no.24). This capacityfor a relationship with God and with others is a

reflection of the inner relational life of God himself

which is the Trinitarian communion of the divine

Persons. It is of particular importance for

understanding the personal vocation to holiness of

every man and the

evangelizing mission of the

Church.

Anthropology of Karol Wojtyla

Most people are already familiar with the significant

stages and events in the life of the Holy Father asstudent, seminarian, priest, university professor,

bishop and cardinal. His pastoral concern and

philosophical interests led him to write Love and

Responsibility – the work which reveals his

distinctive anthropological perspective. This wasfirst published in 1960, two years after he had been

appointed auxiliary Bishop of Krakow. It is a

profound meditation on human sexuality, love and



marriage. Here his philosophical and theological

convictions combine with his pastoral concern for

the formation of young people in chastity and theirpreparation for marriage. It is here too that he

articulates most clearly the ‘personalist norm’

which is fundamental to his anthropology, and which

is a constantly recurring theme of his papal

magisterium. [12]

Around this time also, in preparation of for Vatican

II, he proposed that it would be opportune for the

Council, in light of the aggressive advance of the

varieties of materialism, to emphasize the

transcendent spiritual order and the uniqueness of

human personal existence in the created world. In

other words, he concluded, ‘it is appropriate to

delineate the question of Christian personalism’.

[13] His experience of the brutality of the Nazi

occupation as a student and seminarian, and, later, of

the tyranny of Communist oppression, gave him aunique perspective on the fundamental truths about

man that needed to be proclaimed and defended by

the Church. In his own words:



The two totalitarian systems which tragically

marked our century - Nazism on the one hand,

marked by the horrors of war and theconcentration camps, and communism on the

other, with its regime of oppression and terror – I

came to know, so to speak, from within. And so it

is easy to understand my deep concern for the

dignity of each human person and the need to

respect human rights, beginning with the right tolife. This concern was shaped in the first years of

my priesthood and has grown stronger with

time’. [14]

The Acta of the Council record that he made five

contributions to the document on religious freedom

( Dignitatis Humanae), and students of the history of

this document affirm that it was deeply influenced

by the Christian personalism of the Archbishop of

Krakow. [15] At the third session of the Council, in

September 1964, quoting St John’s text, ‘The truthwill set you free’ (8:32), he requested that the

relationship between truth and freedom should be

emphasized more strongly, even to the point of



affirming that there can be no freedom without truth.

[16] How often would we hear him repeat the same

thesis, especially in his encyclical VeritatisSplendor! [17] In his intervention on 22 October

1965, at the final session of the Council, he

requested that the text of Dignitatis Humanae should

underline a basic theme of Christian personalism –

man’s responsibility in relation to the

truth. If

freedom and responsibility are not situated in the

context of their truth, there is a danger of favoring

religious indifferentism. [18]

Wojtyla’s role in the emergence of Gaudium et Spes

was even more significant. [19] His longest and most

important contribution was on 24 September 1964,

when he addressed the question of the manner of

communication and dialogue with modern culture.

It is appropriate that the Council speak in such a

way that the world see we teach not only in an

authoritative way, but that we seek together with

it a just and balanced solution to the difficult

problems of human life. The question is not



whether we already know the truth well, but

rather how to enable the world to find the truth

and make it its own. [20]

The influence of his contributions was such that, as

we have already noted, he was asked to draft the

fourth chapter of the first part of Gaudium et Spes on

‘The Role of the Church in the Modern World’. In

Crossing the Threshold of Hope he refers to hisparticipation in the Council debates ‘as a unique

occasion for listening to others, but also for creative

thinking’. [21] He also records his debt of gratitude

to Yves Congar and Henri de Lubac for the

encouragement they gave him to pursue his

particular line of thought. [22]

Cardinal Wojtyla also contributed to the 1969, 1971,

and 1974 Synods of Bishops – and

most incisively

to the latter which was concerned with

evangelization. As Cardinal Koenig, the emeritus

Archbishop of Vienna, commented: ‘Everybody

knows that, by an express decision of Pope Paul

VI, Wojtyla was the real author of Evangelii



Nuntiandi , which obviously was revised and

touched up by the Holy Father as was his

custom.’ [23]

Consequently, when he was elected to the papacy in

1978 he carried with him the experience of varied

intellectual influences; but his own reflection was

invariably focused on anthropological issues. This

derived from his immersion in Thomisticphilosophy, his use of the phenomenological method

to capture and describe the richness of spiritual

experiences, his personalist perspective on human

flourishing, and his primary theological focus on the

Incarnation as the key to the nature and destiny of

man. [24]

One of the great themes of the papacy of John Paul

II is the articulation of the true nature of the human

person as a being made to the image and likeness of

God. Again and again he returns to this theme in his

magisterial writings, especially in his encyclicals

Centesimus Annus (1991), Veritatis Splendor (1993),

and Evangelium Vitae(1995). It is clear, too, that he



is willing to draw on the resources of the

phenomenological method to manifest in all its

splendor the depths of the human spirit, and toclarify such fundamental topics as conscience, moral

judgment, the mystery of freedom and responsibility,

and the possibility of obtaining access through these

manifestations of the human spirit to the very core of

the person. His Love and Responsibility is a brilliant

example of this approach, leading to profound

insights into the nature of human sexuality, love and

marriage. [25]

Like all students of his time, he was well formed in

the philosophical principles of Thomist theology,

accepting fully St Thomas’ definition of the person

as a subject of intellectual and volitional actions. His

philosophical approach, however, enabled him to

study a dimension of the person not developed in

Thomist ontology – the creative aspect of human

action and interpersonal relations. Descriptiveanalysis of human experience through the

phenomenological method allowed him deepen his



understanding of the person as a being who entrusts

himself to God.[26]

Anthropology of John Paul II

From the beginning of his pontificate John Paul II

has taught that the truth about man is to be found in

Christ. In his homily at his installation as pope, he

encouraged the world not to be afraid of Christ,since Christ alone knows what is in every man. ‘I

ask you … I implore you’, he said, ‘allow Christ

to speak to man.’[27]

Little by little an expansion

of themes from Gaudium et Spes became a regular

feature of his magisterium. In his very first

encyclical, Redemptor Hominis (4 March 1979), theconciliar document is referred on at least seventeen

occasions. Indeed we could say that the phrase from

Gaudium et Spes, ‘Christ fully reveals man to

himself and brings to light his most high calling’

has become the theme of his pontificate. [28]

Later he would himself point out that, in the

encyclicals Redemptor Hominis and Dives in

Misericordia (1980), he was trying to explicate the



content of this idea from Gaudium et Spes, taking

account of the anxieties and expectations of his

contemporaries. Writing about this encyclical fifteenyears later, he says that

The Council proposed, especially in Gaudium et

Spes, that the mystery of redemption should be

seen in light of the great renewal of man and of

all that is human. The encyclical aims to be a great hymn of joy for the fact that man has been

redeemed through Christ – redeemed in spirit and

body. [29]

The central idea is that the Redemption, the task of

salvation which the Church carries out in the world,consists in helping man to discover the full truth

about his being and this truth is to be found only in

Christ.

Man and Creation

Christian anthropology has two basic points of

reference, each of which is a divine initiative. The

first is the mystery of creation in which man is made



‘to the image of God’. The other is the mystery of

Christ who, as we have seen, reveals man fully to

himself. This is the anthropology of the Incarnationand the Redemption. The Christian definition of man

has thus a point of departure and a point of arrival.

Between these points the mystery of sin intervenes

with the Fall and its consequences for man’s

personal response to God.

After John Paul II had completed Redemptor

Hominis, in preparation for the upcoming Synod of

Bishops on the topic of the Christian family in

October 1980, he devoted the traditional Wednesday

catechesis to the exposition of his thinking on

human sexuality and marriage. Over a period of five

years, from September 1979, he would provide a

profound theological reflection on the themes of

chastity, marriage and celibacy in the context of the

‘nuptial meaning of the body’. [30] Here he drew

on the creation accounts in Genesis, Christ’steaching on marriage and celibacy, and the Pauline

corpus covering the same areas. In his exegesis of

the relevant scriptural passages, he brings to bear not



only the findings of traditional Christian

hermeneutics, but also the anthropological insights

of Vatican II and the personalist philosophy he hadalready elaborated in Love and Responsibility.

Traditional theology tells us that man is made to the

image of God because he possesses the faculties of

intellect and will. In his analysis of the creation

accounts, John Paul II insists that a capacity forrelationship with God is of the very essence of man.

God’s invitation to a shared life is a gratuitous,

unmerited gift to man who from the beginning was

made capax Dei. In these reflections, John Paul II

offers many insights about the nature of human

identity, the manner in which man is distinguished

from the rest of creation by the reality of human

work, and the relational mode of his personal being

which manifests itself on three levels – with God,

with the world, and with others through a

communion of love and self-giving.

These are some of the basic principles of ‘the truth

about man’ to which John Paul II frequently refers.



But the implementation of this truth cannot be

achieved without the moral energy that comes from

God through participation in the divine life of grace.Only in the Church can one find this wisdom about

man, and, at the same time, the gift of divine grace

which renders possible a life in accord with this

vision.

Human Work and Temporal Realities

By God’s will, knowledge of the world and the

progressive dominion of its resources is achieved

only through human work. Faith guides and

stimulates this effort, but it cannot substitute it. This

is a consequence of the Church’s recognition of thelegitimate autonomy of temporal things. Human

affairs have their own proper laws which God did

not reveal to us with the principles of the faith. The

discovery of these laws is essentially the role of the

laity. As Gaudium et Spes points out:

Let them be proud of the opportunity to carry

out their earthly activity in such a way as to

integrate human, domestic, professional, scientific



and technical enterprises with religious values,

under whose supreme direction all things are

directed to the glory of God...it is their task tocultivate a properly informed conscience and to

impress the divine law on the earthly city. [31]

Man needs the society of others not just to live and

nourish himself but, above all, to develop as a

person. ‘Creating the human race in his ownimage and continually keeping it in being, God

inscribed in the humanity of man and woman the

vocation, and thus the capacity and responsibility,

of love and communion. Love’, as

John Paul II

reminds us, ‘is therefore the fundamental and

innate vocation of every human being.’ [32]

But

man is called to love in his unified totality, in soul

and body. Christian revelation recognizes two

specific ways of realizing this vocation of the human

person to love – either through marriage or through

the specific commitment to celibacy. Both vocations,John Paul II affirms, are expressions of the full truth

about man as created to the image of God. [33]



Nevertheless, love is not just an inclination of

spontaneous affection towards others. It is to will the

good of others, and to give oneself to them in anunselfish way because the perfecting of love requires

self-giving. John Paul II has repeatedly recalled

those words of Gaudium et Spes: ‘If man is the

only creature on earth that God has wanted for

its own sake, man can fully discover his true self

only in a sincere giving of himself.’ [34] And he

highlights these ideas again in his Letter to Youth

and in his document on the Christian family. [35]

Marriage and the Family

Throughout his papacy, John Paul II has givenparticular attention to the question of marriage and

the family. The concerns of Love and Responsibility

are repeatedly echoed through his pontificate,

starting with his extensive catechesis on ‘the nuptial

meaning of the body’, through Familiaris Consortio,his Letter to Families [36], his many addresses on

the topic to interest groups, and, always, during his

pastoral visits. He sees the family as the nucleus of



the ‘communion of persons’, as the place where

this communion can be realized naturally in its most

committed way. It is here that each one is firstwelcomed and appreciated for what he or she truly is

– a unique person, and not in view of their social or

economic function.

It is love which creates this community of persons.

In Redemptor Hominis John Paul II wrote that

Man cannot live without love. He remains a being

that is incomprehensible for himself, his life is

senseless, if love is not revealed to him, if he does

not encounter love, if he does not experience it

and make it his own, if he does not participateintimately in it. [37]

He repeats this refrain in Familiaris Consortio,

insisting that it applies primarily and especially

within the family. [38] This is surely one of the Holy

Father’s deepest and most important anthropological

convictions, expressing succinctly a whole program

for family formation at both the philosophical and

theological levels. For John Paul II, the future of the



Church and society hinge on the stability of the

family. It is not surprising, then, that he has invested

so much of his immense intellectual and spiritualenergy in the promotion and the defense of the

family unit. For him the family is the first and most

important school of life and of love; and this

uniquely stabilizing influence is the principal service

that it offers to society and the Church.

It is the first and irreplaceable school of social

life, an example and stimulus for the broader

community relationships marked by respect,

justice, dialogue and love.

The family is thus … the place of origin and themost effective means for humanizing and

personalizing society: it makes an original

contribution in depth to building up the world, by

making possible a life that is properly speaking

human, in particular by guarding and

transmitting virtues and ‘values’.

Consequently, faced with a society that is running

the risk of becoming more and more



depersonalized and standardized and therefore

inhuman and dehumanizing, with the negative

results of many forms of escapism – such asalcoholism, drugs and even terrorism – the family

possess and continues still to release formidable

energies capable of taking man out of his

anonymity, keeping him conscious of his personal

dignity, enriching him with deep humanity and

actively placing him, in his uniqueness andunrepeatability, within the fabric of society. [39]

This a powerful statement of the indispensable role

of well-adjusted families for building up a healthy

and stable society, in which divine and human rights

are respected.

Human Development

The Christian anthropology of John Paul II has very

practical implications for human development on the

religious, social and cultural planes. For him the

Christian faith is a source of truth and of life, and

thus theological reflection can therefore offer a great



service in the configuration of cultural, social and

political life.

Man is endowed with a creative capacity which

enables him to from a culture or a human

environment which is the result of human work, and

which has both a spiritual and a material component.

According to John Paul II, it is culture which

humanizes man; culture is the medium throughwhich the person becomes more fully what he is

called to be. Indeed part of man’s vocation ‘to

dominate the earth’ is the economic and cultural

development of society. [40]

Nevertheless, experience indicates that humanintervention does not always yield positive results.

Many cultural and social developments of the

present century, rather than fostering genuine human

development, have had a dehumanizing effect on

man because of the particular moral and economic

climate created by the guiding institutions of society

– social inequalities, ethical problems created by the

misapplication of technology, especially in the areas



of human sexuality, and the enormous economic

imbalances between nations.

Authentic human development has to be judged

from the standpoint of whether it leads to conditions

which facilitate human flourishing at its deepest

levels. John Paul II bases his analysis of such

development on the accumulated wisdom of the

Church’s social teaching. But a key element in histheological and moral assessment of human

development is the ‘being’ and ‘having’ binomial

first articulated by Gabriel Marcel. [41]

Human Work and Social Priorities

Through work, human culture is formed and grows.

In Laborem Exercens, John Paul II distinguishes

between the objective and subjective dimensions of

work .The objective aspect is the product that is

created by work. The subjective dimension is the

imprint that work leaves on man. Man realizes and

perfects himself when he works well – he grows as a

person when he applies order, attention, creativity

and ambition to his work. [42] He also becomes



more human because he provides a service to others

through his work:

Work is a good thing for man – a good thing for

his

humanity – because through work man not

only transforms nature, adapting it to his own

needs, but he also achieves fulfillment as a human

being and indeed, in a sense, becomes ‘more a

human being’. [43]

Thus the value of each kind of work ‘is judged

above all by the measure of the dignity of the

subject of work, that is to say the person, the

individual who carries it out .’ [44]

Because the correct criteria are often not applied in

the evaluation of work, this can have negative

consequences for the social economy. John Paul II

does not offer a particular social theory, much less a

utopian solution, for the social economy. However,

from his analysis he offers a few fundamental

principles in Laborem Exercens: a) the priority of

work over capital (nos.12, 13): b) the primacy of

men over things (nos. 12,13); and c) the primacy of



the subjective value of work over its objective value

(no.6). In addition, in Redemptor Hominis, he had

already affirmed the following principles: d) thepriority of ethics over technology; e) the primacy of

persons over things; and f) the superiority of spirit

over matter. [45] This is the order of priorities

which, according to John Paul II, derives from a

Christian anthropology and is therefore fundamental

for building up a social environment worthy of man.

[46]

Ethical Aspects of Development

In Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, looking at the prevailing

social conditions of the world in 1987, the Pope hadno doubt that from the point of view of the

principles enunciated above, the global impression

of human development presented a negative picture.

In this encyclical he speaks about the disequilibrium

between North and South, inequalities withincountries, illiteracy, hunger, the appearance of a

‘fourth world’ on the margin of developed societies,

and concludes that conditions have become



significantly aggravated. [47] After analyzing the

causes of this situation, he goes on to give a detailed

presentation of what constitutes authentic humandevelopment in Chapter IV. He points out that one of

the greatest injustices of the contemporary world is

the contrast between a wealthy minority and the

majority who possess so little. [48] The evil, he says,

lies not so much in the possession of so much

material wealth as in the cult of ‘having’, which

leads to an inversion of the human and social

priorities already outlined. [49]

Speaking about the evangelization of culture to an

audience of university people in Chile in 1987, he

developed this point more fully:

A process of reflection is necessary, which leads to

a renewed diffusion and defense of the

fundamental values of man as man, and in

relation to other persons and to the natural

surroundings in which he lives. Therefore I

earnestly encourage you to present a correct

image of a culture of being and behaving. ‘All



man’s “having” is important for culture, is a

factor creative of culture, but only to the extent

which man, through his “having”, can at thesame time “be” more fully a man in all the

dimensions of his existence in everything that

characterizes his humanity’ (Address to

UNESCO, 2 June 1980, no. 7). A culture of being

does not exclude having: it considers it as a

means to seek a true integral humanization, insuch a way that ‘having’ is put at the service of

‘being’ and ‘behaving’. [50]

The inherent contradictions in processes of

development which focus only on the economic

dimension are more clearly apparent today. [51]

John Paul II offers a much more demanding criterion

of development.

Development, he tells us, cannot consist only in the

use, dominion over and indiscriminate possession of

created things and the products of human industry,

but rather in subordinating their possession,

dominion and use to man’s divine likeness and to his



vocation to immortality. This is the transcendent

reality of the human being. [52]

From this perspective, development must have an

ethical and not merely a technical dimension – it has

a clear moral character. [53]

In Reconciliatio et Poenitentia John Paul II had

already pointed out how sin caused a rupture in

man’s relationship with God, his fellow men, and the

created world. The consequences of personal sin for

society reflect the interior disorder in man. This is

why, he says, we can speak of personal sin and

social sin, the latter being the accumulation and

concentration of many personal sins ‘of those whoare in a position to avoid, eliminate or at least

limit certain social evils but who fail to do so out

of laziness, fear or the conspiracy of silence,

through secret complicity or indifference’. [54]

Man’s vocation expresses itself in the fulfillment of

responsibilities to neighbor. When these

responsibilities are overlooked, offense is given to

God and there are negative consequences which



extend beyond the brief life span of the individual.

[55]

Human Solidarity

After adverting to the fact that the obstacles opposed

to the integral development of man are not properly

economic or material ones, but rather moral

considerations, he concludes that these difficultiescan only be overcome by decisions which are

essentially moral. [56] People have to root out of

their lives the ‘all-consuming desire for profit’ and

‘the thirst for power with the intention of

imposing one’s will on others’. For Christians this

calls for a real conversion of heart, and thesubstitution, with the help of divine grace, of an

attitude of self-giving to others. Thus human

solidarity ‘is a firm and persevering

determination to commit oneself to the common

good’ in relations between individuals and nations;[57] it ‘is the path to peace and at the same time

to development’. [58] For John Paul II, ‘solidarity

is undoubtedly a Christian virtue ... In the light of



faith it seeks to go beyond itself, to take on the

specifically Christian dimensions of total gratuity,

forgiveness and reconciliation.’ [59]Then one seesone’s neighbor, not only as a human being with his

or her own rights, but as a child of God, even if he or

she is an enemy:

Awareness of the common fatherhood of God, of the

brotherhood of all in Christ, and of the presence andlife-giving action of the Holy Spirit will bring to our

vision of the world a new criterion for interpreting it.

Beyond human and natural bonds, there is discerned

in the light of faith a new model of the unity of the

human race, which must ultimately inspire our

solidarity. This supreme model of unity, which is a

reflection of the intimate life of God, one God in

three Persons, is what we Christians mean

by the

word ‘communion’. [60]

Christian solidarity has, then, for John Paul II, an

important part to play in the realization of the divine

plan for the individual and for society, both at

national and international levels.



Man the ‘way of the Church’

The mission of the Church is one which is both

human and divine, converting men into children of

God and teaching them how to live as brothers in the

same family. Consequently, the way the Church can

and ought to intervene in the world is through

offering the wisdom she has drawn about men from

divine revelation. Guided by Christ she brings themystery of God to men and in the process reveals

man to

himself; she enables him to understand the

meaning of his existence and opens up to him the

entire truth about his destiny. [61]

The anthropology of John Paul II is essentially aprogram of evangelization. This is because the

Church is in possession of the truth about man, the

evangelized man, the converted man who has put on

Jesus Christ, and who receives from the Holy Spirit

the charity to enable him love his own kind. It is nota human anthropology, but a vision of man as God

wants him to be. The human and the divine are

united in Christ and each one is called to imitate



Christ. For this reason ‘the Church’s social teaching

is itself a valid instrument of evangelization. As

such, it proclaims God and his

mystery of salvationin Christ to every human being and, for that very

reason, reveals man to himself.’ [62]

Thus, from the above considerations, we see that

there is a profound connection between

evangelization and true human development.Because of this, evangelization has always been

accompanied by human social initiatives which are

an external witness of the preaching of salvation.

Thus missionary efforts have invariably

been

accompanied by the setting up of educational and

medical facilities. This demonstrates that salvation is

not only spiritual, but that it also has to bring about a

Christian configuration in the social and political

dimensions of existence. [63]

ConclusionChristian anthropology is grounded on fundamental

guiding principles about man, his history, and his

destiny. In response to the dechristianization of the



West through different forms of materialism, the

Church wishes to propose and activate a new

evangelizing dynamic. Recent philosophical andtheological reflection has provided the Church with

new insights and ideas which have facilitated a novel

and vibrant restatement of the principles of Christian

anthropology, especially as presented by Vatican II

and in the magisterium of John Paul II. These

principles can be summarized as follows: First, man

is the image of God; this is the fundamental truth

about the human person and the point of departure

for all subsequent reflection on him. Second, Christ

revealed man to man; he is the way and the truth for

every human person. Third, the communion of loveof persons is a reflection of the inner life of the

Blessed Trinity. This is the

point of departure for

understanding the nature of the nuclear Christian

family which is a microcosm and model of an

authentic human society. Finally, man attains self-

fulfillment in the giving of himself to others; this is

the Christian conception of man’s calling and the

basis to organize a better society which can only be

achieved through charity.



These are the basic principles of ‘the truth about

man’ so often articulated by John Paul II. But the

implementation of this truth cannot be achievedwithout the moral energy that comes from God – the

divine life of grace. Only in the Church can one find

this wisdom about man and, at the same time, the

power of the grace to live up to this vision.

FOOTNOTES

[1] I am very grateful to Dr Gerald Hanratty of the

Department of Philosophy, University College,

Dublin, who read through a previous draft of this

paper.

[2] There have been several commentaries on theanthropology of John Paul II, which include the

following: Rocco Buttiglione, Karol Wojtyla: The

Thought of the Man who became John Paul II , New



York, 1997; K.L. Schmitz, At the Center of the

Human Drama, Washington, 1993; Andre Frossard,

Be Not Afraid!: Interviews with John Paul II, London, 1984; Ronald Lawlor, The Christian

Personalism of John Paul II , Chicago, 1982; George

W. Williams, The Mind of John Paul II: Origins of

his Thought and Action, New York, 1981; Juan Luis

Lorda, Antropología del Concilio Vaticano II a Juan

Pablo II , Madrid, 1996 (I wish to acknowledge my

indebtedness to this source for several insights). A

reading of Karol Wojtyla’s Love and Responsibility,

London, 1981, however, and his long series of

catechesis on ‘the nuptial meaning of the body’ as

John Paul II, is essential to get a feel for hisanthropology, both in terms of content and

methodology. The catechetical series has been

published in four volumes by St Paul Editions,

Boston, as follows: Original Unity of Man and

Woman: Catechesis on the Book of Genesis (1981);

Blessed are the Pure of Heart: Catechesis on the

Sermon on the Mount and the Writings of St Paul

(1983); Reflections on Humanae Vitae: Conjugal

Morality and Spirituality (1984); The Theology of



Marriage and Celibacy: Catechesis on Marriage

and Celibacy in the Light of the Resurrection of the

Body (1986). Essential reading would also includeencyclicals such as Redemptor Hominis (1979),

Laborem Exercens (1981), Solicitudo Rei Socialis

(1987) and Centesimus Annus (1991); the Apostolic

Exhortations Familiaris Consortio (1981) and

Christifideles Laici (1988).

[3] Vatican Council II, Gaudium et Spes (GS ) (The

Church in the Modern World, 1965) and Dignitatis

Humanae (Decree on Religious Freedom, 1965).

[4] John Paul II, Crossing the Threshold of Hope,

London, 1994, pp 35, 36, 210.

[5] Cf.

P. A. Schilpp, The Philosophy of Martin

Buber, La Salle, Illinois, 1967, p. 341.

[6] Cf. Lorda, p. 45.

[7] John Paul II, Crossing the Threshold of Hope,

pp 35-36 (italics in the original).

[8] Cf. 30 Giorni, March 1985, p. 18.



[9] GS 22.

[10] ‘For when man looks into his own heart he

finds that he is drawn towards what is wrong and

sunk in many evils which cannot come from his

good creator. Often refusing to acknowledge God

as his source, man has also upset the relationship

which should link him to his last end; and at the

same time he has broken the right order thatshould reign within himself as well as between

himself and other men and all creatures’ (GS 13).

[11] GS 24.

[12] Cf. John Paul II, Crossing the Threshold , p.200.

[13] Karol Wojtyla in Acta et documenta Concilio

Oecumenico Vaticano II Apparando, I: 2, pp

741-742.

[14] John Paul II, Gift and Mystery: On the Fiftieth

Anniversary of my Priestly Ordination, London,

1996, pp 66-67 (italics in original).



[15] Cf. Lorda, p. 105.

[16] K. Wojtyla in Acta Synodalia, III: 2, pp

530-532.

[17] John Paul II, Veritatis Splendour (VS ), 6

August 1993.

[18] K. Wojtyla in

Acta Synodalia, IV: 2, pp

292-293.

[19] The Acta Synodalia indicate that he made six

contributions to the discussion of this document : III/

5, pp 298-300;

pp 680-3; III/7, pp 380-2; IV/2, pp

660-3; IV/3, pp 242-3; IV/3, pp 349-50.

[20] K. Wojtyla in Acta Synodalia, III: 5, pp

298-300.

[21] Cf. ibid., p. 158.

[22] Cf. ibid., p. 159.

[23] F. Koenig, Iglesia, ¿a donde vas? Sal Terrae,

Santander (Spain), 1986, pp 54-55.



[24] Cf. Lorda, p. 112.

[25] It has been commented that Paul VI’s reading

of Love and Responsibility had a significant

influence on his encyclical, Humanae Vitae, in 1968.

Cf. Janet E. Smith, ‘John Paul II and Humanae

Vitae’ in Why Humanae Vitae was Right: A Reader,

San Francisco, 1993, pp 229-33; Paul Johnson, Pope

John Paul II and the Catholic Restoration, AnnArbor, Michigan, 1981, pp 32-33.

[26] Cf. Lorda, pp 112-23.

[27] John Paul II, “The Inauguration Homily,”

Origins 8:20 (November 2, 1978): 308.

[28] GS 22. In his most recent encyclical, Fides et

Ratio, John Paul II says this specific text from

Gaudium et Spes ‘is profoundly significant for

philosophy’, and that it ‘serves as one of the

constant reference-points of my teaching’ (Fideset Ratio, 60, 14 September 1998).

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