Question 297 – Can you help me determine if there are any modernist heresies in John Paul II’s Theology of the Body? I feel uneasy about it.

Interview Organization: The Confraternity of Our Lady of Fatima

Interviewer Name: Christopher Wendt

Date: September 13, 2024

Conjugal life should be oriented toward God. While there’s no heresy in John Paul II’s Theology of the Body, some parts delve too deeply into specifics, which should not be publicly discussed by clergy. These delicate matters should be approached with respect and reverence, as Church tradition suggests.

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Transcript:

I think there is no easy answer here because Pope John Paul the Second stressed the aspect that God created the body. This was his main emphasis. He stressed that God created everything beautiful and gave a spousal meaning to the body. The body is given especially for marriage. God created marriage even before Adam and Eve sinned.

So this was, I think, his main idea, to show that even in the relationship within marriage, there must always be this spousal meaning of the body. This was his main idea, and it is positive, to show the beauty of God's creation. But maybe what was not enough, I think, or what was missing, was also the indication that the body and the conjugal relationship are also influenced by original sin. The presence of original sin continues even in the reality of marriage, because we are not immaculately conceived.

And so I think that in some way we should also mention the possibility of the consequences of original sin. Not that the conjugal act is sinful, that would be a heresy, but it has the consequences of original sin present also in conjugal life. Therefore, the spouses have to be watchful, vigilant, and prayerful always, to maintain their love and keep it oriented to God in all their conjugal life. So this is, I think, important to stress.

There is no heresy in the Theology of the Body of John Paul the Second. Maybe sometimes, in some places, his Theology of the Body is too concrete, going too much into concreteness, which I think should not be done publicly by a priest or a pope in these issues. These issues are very delicate. Conjugal relationships have to be spoken about in a more reverent way, not so publicly. This is my opinion.

This was also the common tradition of the Church, that priests and bishops did not speak too concretely, openly, or publicly about this very delicate issue, because this mystery is a mystery, and we have to have respect and treat it with much reverence. So I think that for some people it could be strange that in this Theology of the Body, there are some aspects that are too concrete. It should maybe not be done publicly.

Question/ Title

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Q437 – Is it advisable for the Roman rite in time to have infinite communion?

Q436 – Jesus tells us that unless we eat His Flesh and drink His Blood, we have no life in us. Why doesn’t the Catholic Church emphasize infant First Communion as it does infant baptism?

Q435 – In the U.S., bishops have dispensed some Holy Days of Obligation. Do they have the authority to do this, and how does that fit with the Church’s universal requirements?

Q434 – One of our daughters married another woman. They now have a baby boy born from the “wife” by artificial insemination. He is a beautiful healthy baby boy. Can he be baptized into the Faith? What should be done concerning his future?

Q433 – Are Enoch and Elijah in heaven with their bodies like Jesus and Mary?

Q432 – In Mary’s Seven Sorrows, did she know Jesus would rise from the dead when He was laid in the tomb?

Q431 – How can Catholic clergy who publicly promote heretical views still be considered part of the Church? Do they retain authority and jurisdiction, and are the sacraments they administer still valid?

Q430 – Should a pastor be removed from a parish when he has been accused of sexual misconduct with an adult female parishioner?