THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA Pope John Paul II’s Understanding of Education in Moral Values and Its Application to Catholic Secondary Education in Present-Day Nicaragua A DISSERTATION Submitted to the Faculty of the School of Theology and Religious Studies Of The Catholic University of America In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree Doctor of Sacred Theology © Copyright All Rights Reserved By Silvio J. Fonseca-Martinez Washington, D.C. 2011 Pope John Paul II’s Understanding of Education in Moral Values and Its Application to Catholic Secondary Education in Present-Day Nicaragua Silvio J. Fonseca-Martinez, S.T.D. Director: John Grabowski, Ph.D. Karol Wojtyla/John Paul II reinvigorated Catholic education anthropologically and theologically. He encouraged Catholic schools, as a privileged place for Catholic education, to provide a solid Catholic moral foundation for their students. This dissertation explores his key ideas on Catholic education both before and after Wojtyla’s elevation to the papacy. His teachings in this area are relevant to Nicaraguan Catholic schools to reinforce their current educational programs. Methodologically, this study focuses on the moral values of responsibility, justice and solidarity, highlighted by Pope John Paul II to the Church of Nicaragua. It then uses these values to analyze samples of the moral curricula of three religious communities used in Nicaraguan Catholic secondary schools in terms of their similarities to John Paul II’s teaching on Catholic education. The study begins by analyzing the current moral reality of Nicaragua in which young people are immersed. The second chapter provides key concepts articulated by John Paul II through which he enriched the concept of the human person and on which he fundamentally based his moral theology. The third chapter develops the specific teachings of the late pope on Catholic education which could be applied as resources for a religious curriculum in Catholic schools. Finally, the conclusion summarizes some concerns that Catholic schools in Nicaragua must face as they deal with a crisis of values. The interest in a renewal of Catholic education emerges from an apparent crisis of identity in numerous Catholic schools around the world. Many schools have focused more on pedagogical process and humanistic subject matter than on providing a Christian moral formation for their students. Thus, John Paul II worked to remind Catholic schools of the riches of Vatican Council II and he motivated them in terms of his vision of the human person to offer a clear and vigorous Catholic education that would be able to respond to the challenges of contemporary society. This dissertation by Silvio J. Fonseca-Martinez fulfills the dissertation requirement for the doctoral degree in Sacred Theology approved by John Grabowski, Ph.D., as Director, and by William Barbieri, Ph.D., and Frederick Ahearn, D.S.W. as Readers. ____________________________________ John Grabowski, Ph.D., Director ____________________________________ William Barbieri, Ph.D., Reader ____________________________________ Frederick Ahearn, D.S.W., Reader ii DEDICATION This research is respectfully dedicated to the honor of all my professors who taught me at The Catholic University of America, and to many North American and Nicaraguan friends who supported and believed in me while I was experiencing difficult times working on my doctorate. Not having disappointed them is a great satisfaction to me. iii Table of Contents ACKNOWLEDGMENTS …………………………………………………… vii INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………. 1 CHAPTER ONE ………….……………………………………………. 11 THE MORAL REALITY OF NICARAGUA 1.1. Background of Nicaragua……………………………………………. 11 1.2. Characteristics of Nicaraguan Youth………………………………… 14 1.2.1. Legal Age and Maturity……………………………………………. 15 1.2.2. Political Maturity…………………………………………………… 19 1.2.3. Cultural Values…………………………………………………… 23 1.2.4. Religious Culture…………………………………………………… 26 1.3. Values in Nicaragua………………………………………………….. 33 1.3.1. Religious Values……………………………………………………. 33 1.3.2. Values of Social Responsibility…………………………………….. 38 1.3.2.1. Family, Marriage, and Sexuality…………………………………. 39 1.3.2.2. Justice…………………………………………………………….. 48 1.3.2.3. Solidarity…………………………………………………………. 56 Conclusion………………………………………………………………… 62 CHART 1…………………………………………………………………… 64 CHART 2…………………………………………………………………… 64 CHART 3…………………………………………………………………….. 65 CHART 4…………………………………………………………………….. 66 CHART 5…………………………………………………………………….. 67 iv CHAPTER TWO …………………………………………………………………. 68 THE MORAL THEOLOGY OF JOHN PAUL II 2.1. Karol Wojtyla/John Paul II: Philosopher and Theologian………………. 68 2.2. Karol Wojtyla/John Paul II and Vatican Council II…..………………… 82 2.3. The Human person: Foundation of the moral theology of John Paul II... 86 2.3.1. The concept of person………………………………………………… 87 2.3.2. Man as imago Dei…………………………………………………….. 97 2.3.3. Dualism……………………………………………………………….. 103 2.3.4. Self-determination……………………………………………………. 105 2.3.5. Philosophy of man……………………………………………………. 107 2.4. The Moral Teaching of John Paul II……………………………………. 112 2.4.1. Responsibility in Wojtyla/John Paul II’s thought ……………………. 115 2.4.2. Family, matrimony, and sexual morality………………………………. 120 2.4.2.1. Marriage……………………………………………………………… 125 2.4.2.2. Contraception………………………………………………………… 126 2.4.2.3. Abortion………………………………………………………………. 131 2.4.3. Virtue of Justice…………………………………………………………. 133 2.4.3.1. Human Rights…………………………………………………………. 137 2.4.3.2. The State and democracy……………………………………………… 138 2.4.4. Solidarity………………………………………………………………… 140 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………… 147 v CHAPTER THREE ………………………………………………………..…. 150 CATHOLIC EDUCATION 3.1. John Paul II’s Key Ideas on Catholic Education………………………. 154 3.1.1. Christian Anthropology……………………………………………… 154 3.1.2. The Human and Christian Vocation…………………………………. 161 3.1.3. Religious Education………………………………………………….. 164 3.1.4. Social Commitment…………………………………………………. 166 3.2. The Teachings of John Paul II on Catholic Education and the Catholic Schools of Nicaragua………………………………………………….. 168 3.2.1. Nicaraguan Catholic schools………………………………………… 169 3.2.2. Ethics and Morality in Nicaraguan Educational Programs………….. 177 3.2.3. The Similarities between John Paul II’s Ideas on Catholic Education and Nicaraguan Catholic Secondary Schools………………………… 180 3.3. The Virtues of responsibility, justice and, solidarity…………………… 217 3.3.1. Responsibility and Eschatology………………………………………. 219 3.3.2. Responsibility and Faith……………………………………………… 220 3.3.3. Responsibility and Sexuality, family, and marriage………………….. 226 3.3.4. Responsibility and Justice…………………………………………….. 245 3.3.5. Responsibility and Solidarity…………………………………………. 262 Conclusion……………………………………………………………. 266 CHAPTER FOUR …………..…………………………………………………… 268 GENERAL CONCLUSION……………………………………………………… 268 BIBLIOGRAPHY………………………………………………………………… 285 vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to express my sincere gratitude to those persons who supported me and shared with me the happiness and sadness of these years of my doctorate. I would especially like to thank the brothers and sisters in the faith who live in the United States and during my stay there showed me such solidarity. In particular I would like to mention the Cursillos de Cristiandad of the Diocese de Arlington. My special thanks go to Dr. John Grabowski, who guided me with courage and steadfastness during this process despite differences in language and culture. He became for me one of the greatest thinkers and professors that God has put in my academic life. Another special gratitude is for Father Francis Moloney, former Dean of the School of Theology and Religious Studies. He accepted and supported me in many ways during times when God sent me some difficult tests. Another special gratitude is for Dr. Frederick Ahearn, a close friend and reader of this dissertation, who stood by my side while I was a student at this university and who gave me the confidence and hope to move forward in this great adventure. Equal gratitude goes to Dr. William Barbieri, my other reader, who helped me with his keen observations. A special mention is for Bill Richey, my proofreader, whom God put in my path as an angel and whose solidarity will never be forgotten. Finally, I would like to thank to the Catholic University of America, which contributed greatly to my progress and demonstrated a true solidarity with Nicaragua so that this doctorate might serve to prepare future priests and thereby strengthen evangelization in Nicaragua. vii INTRODUCTION John Paul II, the 264th successor of Peter, named Karol Josef Wojtyla, elected pope on October 16, 1978, was born in Wadowice, Poland on May 18, 1920 and passed away on April 2, 2005. His life was filled with sorrow due to the early deaths of his parents and brother, the Nazi occupation of Poland, and the subsequent Communist invasion of his country. This painful life, however, made him remarkable and worthy of admiration. As John Cornwell describes him, John Paul II was an example of patience and fortitude.1 He was ordained to the priesthood in Krakow on November 1, 1946. His bishop discovered his intellectual skills and sent him to Rome, where he received a doctorate in theology in 1948 under the direction of R.M. Garrigou-Lagrange, an expert in Thomistic philosophy. He selected as the subject of his doctoral research St. John of the Cross. The focus of his dissertation, Faith According to St. John of the Cross, revealed his inclination to mystical experience and his concern to integrate faith and dogma. As Rocco Buttiglione