Mulieris Dignitatem, N

Laity Today A series of studies edited by the Pontifical Council for the Laity www.laici.va 1 2 PONTIFICIUM CONSILIUM PRO LAICIS God entrusts the human beingto the woman Mulieris Dignitatem, n. 30 Seminar Vatican City, 10 -12 October 2013 LIBRERIA EDITRICE VATICANA 2015 3 Cover design: Ana María Muñoz © Copyright 2015 – Libreria Editrice Vaticana 00120 CITTÀ DEL VATICANO TEL. 06.698.85003 – Fax 06.698.84716 ISBN … … … … … … … www.vatican.va www.libreriaeditricevaticana.va 4 Foreword he twenty−fifth anniversary of the publication of John Paul TII’s apostolic letter Mulieris Dignitatem is a wonderful opportunity to give new impetus to reflection on the issue of women in today’s world. The importance of the document is perhaps even more apparent today than twenty−five years ago. That is why the Pontifical Council for the Laity convened the Seminar in October 2013 on the theme “God entrusts the human being to the woman”, taken from paragraph 30 of Mulieris Dignitatem. The anthropological reflection offered by this important document of the magisterium was prepared by Pope John Paul II for his memorable Wednesday catechesis on the “theology of the body” held in the early years of his pontificate.1 As we know, Mulieris Dignitatem was drafted in response to a suggestion by the Synod of Bishops that was held in 1987 to discuss the subject of the lay faithful. It ,was published three months before the post−synodal apostolic exhortation Christifideles Laici which collected and reworked the results of that important Synod. There is a close connection between the two documents. In Cardinal Ratzinger’s presentation of Mulieris Dignitatem2 when he was prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, he placed the document in its natural context. He highlighted in particular the close relationship with the two ecclesial events that determined its essential profile. In addition to the Synod on the laity, to which we have referred, there was also the Marian Year, then in progress. He also pointed out that it was written in a context of cultural anthropological crisis that was emerging at that time. The future Pope Benedict XVI regarded the fact that it had been intentionally promulgated in advance of Christifideles Laici as being of utmost importance for 1 Cf. John Paul II, Man and Woman He Created Them, US 2006. 2 Cf. J. Ratzinger, “La donna – custode dell’essere umano”, in: L’Osservatore Romano, 1 October 1988, 1, 11. 5 Stanisław Ryłko the understanding of the document on women. That is because this demonstrates full awareness that the institutional and practical issues related to the vocation and mission of women in the Church and in the world should have a sound anthropological basis established on biblical foundations and theological status. In addition, the Marian Year powerfully attracted attention to the origin of the Church and its mission, making clear beyond any doubt the primary task of women in the history of salvation, admirably summarised in the Virgin Mary. The document, through a deep scriptural journey, lays solid foundations in order to formulate the specific and irreplaceable nature of what is called the feminine genius, an attitude that belongs to every woman and that shines in a unique way in the Mother of the Lord. It is essential and crucial both for the Church and for human society. Cardinal Ratzinger concluded his presentation with words that recall the central ideas of this publication: “Women are protectors of human beings and their humanity: this is the programmatic declaration and passionate appeal that led to this important document”.3 The prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith used these words to emphasise not only the cultural and social value of what was said in the document, but especially its theological depth. Mulieris Dignitatem is proposed, therefore, even more now than then, in the context of globalised anthropological confusion, as a sure guide to recognise and recover the true value of women for the benefit of humankind as a whole. At this point it is worth rereading something that Saint John Paul II wrote: “The moral and spiritual strength of a woman is joined to her awareness that God entrusts the human being to her in a special way. Of course, God entrusts every human being to each and every other human being. But this entrusting concerns women in a special way precisely by reason of their femininity and this in a particular way determines their vocation”.4 3 Ibid. 11. 4 JOHN PAUL II, Apostolic Letter Mulieris Dignitatem, no. 30. 6 Foreword A little further on he adds: “In our own time, the successes of science and technology make it possible to attain material well−being to a degree hitherto unknown. While this favours some, it pushes others to the edges of society. In this way, unilateral progress can also lead to a gradual loss of sensitivity for man, that is, for what is essentially human. In this sense, our time in particular awaits the manifestation of that ‘genius’ which belongs to women, and which can ensure sensitivity for human beings in every circumstance: because they are human! − and because ‘the greatest of these is love’ (cf. 1Cor 13:13)”.5 For the Polish Pope the vocation of women to care for others is clearly manifested by Revelation: “While the dignity of woman witnesses to the love which she receives in order to love in return, the biblical ‘exemplar’ of the Woman also seems to reveal the true order of love which constitutes woman’s own vocation. Vocation is meant here in its fundamental, and one may say universal significance, a significance which is then actualized and expressed in women’s many different ‘vocations’ in the Church and the world.6 The inclusion of the vocation of women in the order of love emerges decisively from a Christological root: “If the human being is entrusted by God to women in a particular way, does not this mean that Christ looks to them for the accomplishment of the ‘royal priesthood’ (1Pt 2:9), which is the treasure he has given to every individual? Christ, as the supreme and only priest of the New and Eternal Covenant, and as the Bridegroom of the Church, does not cease to submit this same inheritance to the Father through the Spirit, so that God may be ‘everything to everyone’”.7 We must recognise, however, that perhaps the central idea of entrusting humanity to women, expressed with such clarity in Mulieris Dignitatem, and being so rich in theological implications, has not yet been adequately appreciated by theologians studying the topic of women in recent years. 5 Ibid. 6 Ibid. 7 Ibid. 7 Stanisław Ryłko Mulieris Dignitatem did not become an isolated text of the magisterium. It has shown the way for further developments by Benedict XVI and recent interventions by Pope Francis. During his pontificate, Benedict XVI spoke several times on the issue of women and men in the world today. Particularly significant was his speech to the Roman Curia on the occasion of the exchange of Christmas greetings, a few months before he resigned from the Petrine ministry. On that occasion, Pope Benedict said, in somewhat dramatic tones, that today the view of human nature and what it means to be men and women is being seriously called into play: “People dispute the idea that they have a nature, given by their bodily identity, that serves as a defining element of the human being. They deny their nature and decide that it is not something previously given to them, but that they make it for themselves. According to the biblical creation account, being created by God as male and female pertains to the essence of the human creature. This duality is an essential aspect of what being human is all about, as ordained by God. This very duality as something previously given is what is now disputed. The words of the creation account: ‘male and female he created them’ (Gen 1:27) no longer apply. No, what applies now is this: it was not God who created them male and female – hitherto society did this, now we decide for ourselves. Man and woman as created realities, as the nature of the human being, no longer exist. [...] The manipulation of nature, which we deplore today where our environment is concerned, now becomes man’s fundamental choice where he himself is concerned. From now on there is only the abstract human being, who chooses for himself what his nature is to be. Man and woman in their created state as complementary versions of what it means to be human are disputed. But if there is no pre−ordained duality of man and woman in creation, then neither is the family any longer a reality established by creation. [...] When the freedom to be creative becomes the freedom to create oneself, then necessarily the Maker himself is denied and ultimately man too is stripped of his dignity as a creature of God, as the image of God at the core of his being. The defence of the family is about 8 Foreword man himself. And it becomes clear that when God is denied, human dignity also disappears. Whoever defends God is defending man”.8 Pope Francis, for his part, insists often on the human vocation to care for each other.9 In his homily during the Mass for the inauguration of the pontificate, he said, “The vocation of being a ‘protector’, however, is not just something involving us Christians alone; it also has a prior dimension which is simply human, involving everyone.

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