Rome finds sexual ethics errors in work of
Spanish moralist
By JOHN L. ALLEN JR.
NCR Staff Rome
In a condemnation of ambiguities and errors in the
work of a popular Spanish moralist, the Vatican has once again asserted that
there are no cases in which abortion, sexual relations between homosexuals,
masturbation or artificial birth control can be morally acceptable.
Three books by Redemptorist Fr. Marciano Vidal were the subject of
a critical notification from the Congregation for the Doctrine of
the Faith, released May 15 and published over two pages in the May 16
LOsservatore Romano.
Vidal, 64, a professor in Madrid, is a well-known figure in
Spanish-speaking theological circles. He is generally seen as a moderate
disciple of the late Redemptorist moral theologian Fr. Bernard Häring, who
emphasized personal conscience over abstract rules.
The Vaticans obvious preoccupation with Vidals work is
sexual ethics.
The notification quotes Vidal as saying that artificial
contraception and sterilization can be acceptable in situations of
particular gravity or when the intention is to achieve a human good
in a responsible way.
Both these positions are contrary to the teaching of the
church, the Vatican congregation said.
Regarding masturbation, the Vatican said Vidal believes that the
personal condition and circumstance of an individual must be taken into
account.
Catholic teaching, on the other hand, is that acts of
autoeroticism are objectively intrinsically evil, according to the
congregation.
Vidal, the Vatican said, has also taught that the churchs
teaching on homosexuality does not have an adequate biblical
foundation and should not be so categorical.
This position, the congregation said, is in conflict with
the objective morality of sexual relations between persons of the same
sex.
Vidal also distances himself from the teaching of the
church by being open to in vitro fertilization procedures in which
only a husband and wife are involved, not a third donor or surrogate mother,
the Vatican said. The doctrinal congregation said Vidals manual, Moral
de Actitudes, contains ambiguous judgments on other specific moral
problems, including abortion.
The author rightly affirms the overall immorality of
abortion, but his position on therapeutic abortion is
ambiguous because it does not distinguish clearly between indirect
abortion caused by a medical procedure and an abortion performed to
protect the life or health of the mother.
The targeted books include Vidals three-volume manual on
morality, a dictionary of moral theology, and a critical analysis of John
Pauls 1993 encyclical, Veritatis Splendor. They must not be
used in theological formation until suitably rewritten, according to the
notification. The manual, sources told NCR, is widely employed by
seminaries in Latin America and Spain.
While occasionally sharp in tone, the notification is not
addressed to the totality of [Vidals] work and his theological
ministry, and does not revoke his license to teach as a Catholic
theologian. The congregation said Vidal had agreed to revise his manual
under the supervision of the doctrinal commission of the Spanish
bishops conference. The notification said that it hopes Catholic moral
theologians, in light of Vidals case, will work in greater harmony with
John Paul IIs 1995 encyclical on moral questions, Evangelium
Vitae.
The notification ended an investigation that had been underway for
four years.
An accompanying set of marginal notes said that
tensions between Rome and theologians can be positive if accompanied by
patience for maturation, but when tensions harden into opposition,
they are harmful to everyone.
The notes said that rather than tearing down the work
of a theologian, Vatican notifications should be seen as
constructing and edifying.
Sources close to the case said that the Vatican had at one stage
prepared a much stronger denunciation of Vidal, but it had been softened after
a meeting between Ratzingers staff, Redemptorist superior Fr. Joseph
Tobin, Vidal himself, and Vidals advocate, Redemptorist Fr. Joseph Pfab
(who has since died).
Pfabs intervention was credited with taking the edge off the
Vatican approach. It was not his first time at bat. Years ago, when Pfab was
the superior of the Redemptorists, he accompanied Häring when the
legendary German moralist faced similar Vatican charges.
Catholic News Service contributed to this report.
The e-mail address for John L. Allen Jr. is
jallen@natcath.org
National Catholic Reporter, May 25,
2001
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