Love and responsibility /
Karol Wojtyla (Pope John Paul II) ; translated by H.T. Willetts.
- Rev. ed.
- New York : Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 1981.
- 319 pages ; 21 cm.
Translation of: Miłość i odpowiedzialność.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
It is not an exposition of doctrine. It is, rather, the result above all of an incessant confrontation of doctrine with life (which is just what the work of a spiritual adviser consists of). Doctrine–the teaching of the Church–in the sphere of "sexual" morality is based upon the New Testament, the pronouncements of which on this subject are brief but also sufficient. It is a marvel that a system so complete can be based on such a small number of statements... But although it is easy to draw up a set of rules makes itself felt at every step. For the rules often run up against greater difficulties in practice than in theory, and the spiritual adviser, who is concerned above all with the practical, must seek ways of justifying them. For his task is not only to command or forbid but also to justify, to interpret, to explain.
0374192472 0374516855 (pbk.)
81002261
Catholic Church--Doctrines.
Sex--Religious aspects--Catholic Church. Sexual ethics.