The moral task is always preceded by the gift of God

The Redemptorist priest participated in the PAV study seminar on the theological ethics of life whose proceedings have just been published

The Polish theologian and biblical scholar Father Andrzej Stefan Wodka, president of the Holy See Agency for the Evaluation and Promotion of the Quality of Ecclesiastical Universities and Faculties (Avepro), participated in the study seminar on the theological ethics of life promoted by the Pontifical Academy for life whose acts have now been published by the Vatican Publishing House.

What is the purpose of the project you participated in?

Not belonging to the creator group, I can express some impressions on a personal basis. It seemed to me that I perceived a common commitment to build a platform of encounter between people who are not ideologically guided, but open with conviction to the value of life at 360 degrees and ready to serve it in an involved and faithful way. These words perhaps sound too optimistic, if we think about how life can be mistreated, rejected, humiliated, manipulated, eliminated. But this confirms the urgency of a “familiar” word space, that is, one that is confident and active in the search for what most authentically protects and promotes the life of the human person. Given the wide range of approaches to the theme that is also found among believers, we wanted – I believe – to “free up” a reciprocal, respectful and at the same time creative communication. In fact, the need to renew languages ​​in order to approach the open wounds of life in a “therapeutic” way is very much felt today. At the same time it is necessary to begin to transfigure these wounds in order to inscribe them with courageous words in that happiness that came from the heart of the Creator, while he shaped and “animated” the human being in the image and likeness of him.

Has the goal been achieved?

Yes, even when different theological approaches have shown differences in interpretation, sometimes not insignificant. These differences are typical of human life itself: without “vitalizing tensions” we could not deal with human life. For this reason, I believe, the seminar intended to recognize the non-uniformity of views, without excluding or suppressing them, but favoring dialogue on the arguments and the reasons which motivate each one. These differences in fact also closely affect the life of believers and it is often difficult to deal with honesty and serenity.

Does the synodal perspective launched with determination by Pope Francis have anything to do with the path you have followed?

Certainly. The coming together from various parts of the world, representing different contexts and living conditions of a world that now has 8 billion people living on earth, is already a manifestation of synodality. Let us remember that synodality is precisely constitutive of the being of Christians, which is configured and formed “on the way” (hodós). So the method too – this term too has something to do with hodós (méthodos, further road) – which he felt in the exchanges had a synodal soul. I found a desire to listen to oneself deeply, with determination, at the same time feeling invited to confidently reveal a flowering – perhaps unexpected – of perspectives. This in the generative dynamism of a picture that is not yet complete or not perfectly “synchronized” in a coherent system. This modality was deeply synodal for me, also because it was reinforced by a breath of common prayer which intended to leave every “window” open to the Holy Spirit. In addition, synodality – as it presents itself in the experience of the first Christian community, which began with Jesus and culminating in the eschatological outpouring of the Spirit of the Risen One – has become a continuous return to Easter, to face the unexpected surprises of history. This allows us to stoop down on the wounds of humanity, old and new, which continuously cry out the need for redemption actualized in the hic et nunc of all time. The synodality that does not listen to these painful cries cannot even be born as a “movement towards” those in need of care. In the field of ethics that cry is even stronger, being caused by the genuine encounter between freedom and obligation, between gift and response, between the “yes” of God and the “yes” of man. Here the current need for a “Trinitarian oxygenation” of human air is also at stake, too polluted by ever new and massive exasperations of falsehood, of what is called today fake culture.

His speech was centered on the biblical premises of the topics addressed. Does he think that in moral theology, particularly the special one, a new way of making use of Scripture is needed?

I participated in the seminar precisely by virtue of my dual competence, in the theological-moral and biblical fields. The turning point of the Vatican Council ii it entailed an important “return” in the way of reflecting in the theological sciences, practiced in the ecclesial community since the time of the Fathers of the Church. Indeed, theology has a soul, which has been identified with sacred Scripture. This prophetic principle, indicated with courage by the Council, first of all places our discipline back into the bed of spirituality, understood in its primary sense, which consists in attributing absolute priority to grace. Therefore, the law is not the founding principle, but the free gift of God that calls for an answer. If this is the case, the consequences flow more smoothly: the moral task is always preceded by the gift of God, the answer follows the call.

What does this precedence of God’s gift entail?

For fundamental moral theology this conciliar overturning is now assimilated and the scientific discourse is played here between three interconnected dynamic poles: Revelation, that is, the Word of God in which he communicates himself; the Vision, that is a “translation” of the divine-human data into a rationally argued language; moral praxis, that is, a happy and shared Christian life. At that time, I felt very privileged to be able to contribute to the seminar with my re-reading of the theme Sacred Scripture and life. Here I found strong stimuli for a real “resurrection” of our moral discipline. They are both complex and simple. They could be traced back to a single sentence: “You are loved! For this you will love! ». Complex, because they concern the unheard-of fascination that God, the Creator and Redeemer of man, exercises towards the man-flesh in his constitutive vulnerability. Precisely the latter is a place of experience of grace because the human being is fragile and – precisely so – loved and destined to glory in his flesh.

Can morality therefore be rethought according to this perspective?

Morality, more than as an overwhelming weight, can be reformulated as a “nuptiality” between gift and task, between freedom and law. However, bringing this “soul” to moral theology on particular and specific themes – such as those concerning generating, being born, suffering and dying – requires even more imagination and courage. Since we are dealing with the history of God with the human being as flesh, it would be better to have every possible voice, including scientific ones, speak “synodally”, which explores the creatural datum that gradually emerges from the reality of the world and translates into an ever more precise clarification of the “plan of God” on man. This project exists and coincides with the happiness of human life, but in many respects it has yet to “translate” into a language that loves and serves life. Special moral theology, then, will certainly be able to “revive” by immersing itself in the original flow of the Creator’s optimism, to “plunge back” with confidence in those communications of the Spirit that the Scriptures offer, as a “laboratory of the human condition”. And I never tire of repeating a happy phrase of Saint Alphonsus de ‘Liguori, doctor of the Church and patron of moralists, which summarizes everything I have said so far: “God’s paradise is the heart of man”.