Posted on 12/13/2002 1:32:01 PM PST by nickcarraway
Newark Archbishop John J. Myers issued a pastoral letter Wednesday that expresses his traditional Catholic positions on human sexuality, but makes no mention of the clergy sex abuse scandal that has thrown his church into crisis.
The 13-page document, titled "And the Word became Flesh," is Myers' most explicit statement of principles since he became spiritual leader of the archdiocese 14 months ago.
The letter dwells on the sanctity of the human body, and how some behavior - including sex outside marriage and sex with contraception - damages the spiritual integrity of the body.
Myers said his letter grew out of the turmoil of the past year. But rather than discuss the scandal, he said he wanted to reemphasize core Christian values, and to spark discussion in the archdiocese, which covers 1.3 million Catholics in Bergen, Hudson, Essex, and Union counties.
"I think to some it may seem like this is dodging the bullet, but I think the opposite is true," said Myers, who spent most of his career in the Diocese of Peoria, Ill. "I think of it as taking on those fundamental issues of what it means to be human."
Catholic bishops write pastoral letters to explore specific church teachings in detail. Myers' last one was released a year ago.
In the new letter, the archbishop said he took pains to strike a positive tone. But the section on abortion is both graphic and provocative.
"How often do proponents of 'choice' mention the little arms and legs ripped off in vacuum aspiration abortions in the first trimester of pregnancy?" Myers wrote. "When was the last time an abortion propagandist in the media spoke or wrote of the scalded skin of a body aborted ... in the second trimester?"
One church critic said Myers should have used the power of a pastoral letter to discuss his handling of the sex abuse crisis - both in Newark and in his former diocese - and what the scandal means for the future of the church.
"The whole thing he did missed the point of what is needed at the moment," said Eileen Flynn, a theology professor at St. Peter's College in Jersey City, who supports ordination of women and allowing priests to marry. "People have lots of questions. They want answers and information."
Flynn said she was surprised that a pastoral letter focusing on the sacredness of the human body failed to mention the death penalty, the poor, or the Bush administration's plans to wage war against Iraq. "What about the Iraqi bodies and the bodies of American soldiers?" she said.
Myers responded by saying he tried to stick with a few issues and integrate them into one theme. The letter is posted on the archdiocese's Internet site, and will be published in its newspaper, The Catholic Advocate, next week. Myers suggested its theme should be discussed "from grade schools to universities, in homilies and families."
Subtitled as "A Theological Reflection on the Human Body," the letter pays tribute to Pope John Paul II for embracing and spreading similar teachings.
It begins by harking back to St. Paul, who told the first Christian communities to "offer your bodies as a living sacrifice."
Myers said Paul's teachings carry over to today, directing Catholics to lead lives of purity that honor the body. Myers said this teaching has created a false impression that the Catholic Church frowns on sex.
"It is a myth that the Catholic Church ... undervalues sex," he wrote. "The Church teaches as it does because it values human sexuality so highly."
But he said it is only in marriage where sex can be expressed in a way that honors God's gift of life.
"This kind of giving and receiving without reserve requires the foundation of stable permanent love," Myers wrote. "Intercourse outside marriage and contraceptive intercourse are lies told with bodies; the two parties do not truly give and receive openly and unconditionally but only use each other for pleasure."
Myers goes on to condemn homosexuality, pornography, euthanasia, and in vitro fertilization for creating a damaging impact on the integrity of the body.
Besides addressing sexual issues, Myers also encouraged Catholics to lead healthy, well-rounded lives. "Recreation and exercise, good music and good food, art and aesthetic experiences all belong to a full life," he wrote.
Myers concluded by saying: "Only a philosophy, a theology and a system of law that take the body seriously ... can protect real human beings and defend real human rights."
John Chadwick's e-mail address is chadwick@northjersey.com
I would sasy Bishop Myers gave them exactly what they NEEDED. No, he didn't give them what they wanted; more talking about it. Frankly I think there has been enough talking about it. We know what went on, we know it was bad. Now instead of continuing to talk about it and fuel more anger, it is time to DO something. If there was any wrongdoing in his Diocese in NJ, he wasn't there to have taken part in it. If there was stuff going on in Peoria while he was THERE, then he'd have to answer for it.
We Catholics need to be reminded from time to time just WHY these teachings on Sexual Morality are so important. One of the greatest sins is to use someone else for your own personal pleasure, not caring what happens to that person. That is exactly what the priests who abused children and young men did. Bishop Myers is stating that they, along with any others who would take advantage, sexually, of anyone else, are committing grave sins.
Flynn said she was surprised that a pastoral letter focusing on the sacredness of the human body failed to mention the death penalty, the poor, or the Bush administration's plans to wage war against Iraq. "What about the Iraqi bodies and the bodies of American soldiers?" she said.
She wants everything in it but the kitchen sink. What does she think the purpose of a pastoral letter is? And what do the death penalty, the poor, and the war against Iraq have to do with human sexuality? If he had issued a pastoral letter on the Eucharist, would she want that same stuff in it, too? Ugh!
The letter dwells on the sanctity of the human body, and how some behavior - including sex outside marriage and sex with contraception - damages the spiritual integrity of the body.... "I think to some it may seem like this is dodging the bullet, but I think the opposite is true," said Myers, who spent most of his career in the Diocese of Peoria, Ill. "I think of it as taking on those fundamental issues of what it means to be human."F.Y.I.
Well, the Catholic laity know that the priests and bishops are NOT committed to such. Do something about it, JPII, please - we beg you.
"The whole thing he did missed the point of what is needed at the moment," said Eileen Flynn, a theology professor at St. Peter's College in Jersey City, who supports ordination of women and allowing priests to marry. "People have lots of questions. They want answers and information." Flynn said she was surprised that a pastoral letter focusing on the sacredness of the human body failed to mention the death penalty, the poor, or the Bush administration's plans to wage war against Iraq. "What about the Iraqi bodies and the bodies of American soldiers?" she said.The death penalty, the poor, dead bodies -- I don't understand how a professor of theology could so completely miss the point, except that it strikes at the androgeny that supports her call for women's ordination.
Myers's determination to deal with sexual abuse as a theological problem, rather than moral, illustrates just why Theology is the Queen of the Sciences: because if truth can't find itself expressed in theology, it isn't truth at all.
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