John Paul II on Family and Sexuality (1985)

John Paul II on Family and Sexuality by Richard M. Hogan and John M. LeVoir in International Review of Natural Family Planning, Volume IX, Number 2, Summer 1985

After twenty-five years of thought and reflection on marriage and the family, Karol Wojtyla was called to the chair of Saint Peter. As a theologian in his own right, he developed a new under­standing of the moral precepts of Christ. This development can already be seen in his early work, Love and Responsibility. Later, as archbishop of Cracow and as a participant in the Second Vati­can Council, he proposed his new moral theology to the other conciliar fathers. His new understanding was received by the council and became part of its teaching in the Pastoral Constitu­tion on the Church in the Modern World. Now, as the Vicar of Christ, John Paul II has offered the world his fully matured moral theology in his papal addresses entitled Theology of the Body and in his Apostolic Exhortation on the Family. Since this new development is found in the conciliar documents, John Paul II is teaching us what the Second Vatican Council intended.

Fr. Richard M. Hogan, Ph.D., is associate pastor at the Church of St. Raphael, Crystal, Minnesota. Fr. John M. LeVoir, M.A., is associate pastor at the Church of St. Charles Borromeo, Minneapolis, Minnesota. The above article is ex­cerpted from the chapter, 'The Family and Sexuality," of their new book, Covenant of Love -Pope John Paul II on Sexuality, Marriage, and Family in the Modern World, copyright© 1985 by Richard M. Hogan and John M. LeVoir, and is reprinted here with permission from Doubleday & Company, Inc., Garden City, New York. Their book is available from the Human Life Center.

international-review-nfp-1985-Hogan-LeVoir-JPII-on-family-and-sexuality.pdf