It is arguable that one of the most consistent themes running throughout John Paul II's papacy was his concern with sexual morality: contraception, abortion, divorce, homosexuality, and all of the things that make up what he regularly refers to as the 'culture of death.' These he saw as the cultural consequences of modernity and against which he wished to direct much of the church’s energy.
One important feature of John Paul’s “culture of death†rhetoric was the general moral equivalency he saw. There seemed to be, for example, little more distinction between contraception and abortion, a position more extreme than that held by even the most vociferous anti-abortion activists in America. The reason for this can be traced to his basic understanding of human love and sexuality. That understanding could best be described as “mystical,†as could his views on many other things.
As John Cornwell explains in The Pontiff in Winter, Pope John Paul II believed that because each human being is made in God’s image, then human beings are also made for the purpose of behaving in a manner analogous to how God behaves. In this way human love between a man and a woman is analogous to that between the part of the Holy Trinity: a union of complimentary parts meant to create a new, single entity that in turn also creates new love (children).
Anything that takes away from this â€" contraception, abortion, divorce, sexual perversions, or homosexuality â€" necessarily degrades our very humanity (as defined by our Creator). Therefore, all such behaviors are to be deplored as sins against God and all of mankind. At least, that’s supposed to be the theological underpinnings of John Paul's ideas. Whether they have any basis in reality or not is another matter entirely.
At best it’s a highly abstract vision of human love; as such, it desperately lacks sufficient recognition of the real human experiences that inform real human relationships. Sex, for example, is discussed in terms of being a mystical experience while physical pleasures (not to mention disappointments) are ignored. Of course, we are talking about arguments being made by an elderly, celibate man. It’s not without just cause that people complain that advice or theorizing about the nature of sexuality shouldn’t be left to those who have dedicated their lives to being celibate.
In his 1981 Familiaris Consortio, John Paul II connected the themes of femininity, sexuality, motherhood, and the family in ways that be seen over and over through his reign:
“May the Virgin Mary, who is the Mother of the Church, also be the Mother in “the Church of the home.†thanks to her motherly aid, may each Christian family really become a “little Church†in which the mystery of the Church of Christ is mirrored and given new life. May she, the Handmaid of the Lord, be an example of the humble and generous acceptance of the will of God. May she, the Sorrowful Mother at the foot of the Cross, comfort the sufferings an dry the tears in distress because of the difficulties of the families.†What is John Paul talking about here? Temptation. Women must learn to resist the temptation to use birth control and take it upon themselves to regulate the birth of children; instead, they should accept however many children God wants them to have. Women must learn to resist the temptation to take control of the lives others and leave that to God and the men assigned that task â€" especially when it comes to things like the priesthood.
Just as important as this absolutist vision of sexual morality is the way in which it has been rejected almost totally by Catholics in the West. Catholic attitudes towards divorce, extramarital sex, and contraception are almost identical to the attitudes of non-Catholics. In America only 17% of Catholics believe that they should obey the pope on such matters. In most Western nations, up to 90% of married Catholics use contraception despite Vatican teachings. What the future holds is anyone’s guess, but it’s unlikely that Catholics in the West will fully accept Catholic teachings on these matters.
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