St. John Paul II’s Theology of the Body a "treasure" for Indian society
Mumbai (AsiaNews) - "A treasure for the Church, and the key to meet the most urgent needs of today's society," this is how Msgr. Agnelo Gracias, President of the Human Life Commission for diocese of Mumbai, described St. John Paul II's Theology of the Body.
To celebrate the canonization and "pay homage" to the pope's legacy, the committee organized a two-day workshop (26-27 July) on the fruits of the 129 Catechesis on Human Love that John Paul II gave from 1979 to 1984, during his Wednesday General Audiences.
Speakers at the seminar - which was
attended by more than 250 people
- included Valentine and Ann Coelho, who in 2010
received an award from the Theology of the Body
Institute in Philadelphia for their studies on the teachings of Pope John Paul II on
human sexuality. The couple has
five children.
Valentine and Ann explained that when Pope
John Paul II began the catechesis on the Theology of the Body in December 1979, he immediately
denounced Manichean vision that
looks at the body as an evil,
as heresy. Since
the Word was made flesh, the human body is linked to the mystery of the Incarnation.
"Saint Pope John Paul II - continued
Coelho - he articulated
his vision of the human body not only as something noble and dignified, but as a
tool that reveals the mystery of
God. He called this vision
'Theology of the Body ', which
reveals all that God wants to tell us
about Himself and
all that God wants us to be. "
"The Theology of the Body - stress Ann and Valentine
- is an encouragement to live according
to God's plan for the human body,
which has a purpose and dignity. It has so much dignity
that the Son of God took on human flesh. This is a nice foundation for the new evangelization and a special message of
hope for the world today, because
it is not only a catechesis
on marriage and human
sexuality, but also addresses the
rediscovery of the meaning of all
existence, the meaning of life ".
Seminar participants were enthused by the couples' testimony. For Audrey Coutinho,
former hostess married
for 27 years, the meeting was
a gift: "I
found that the Christian
mystery is a mystery about
marriage, the marriage between Christ and the Church. God's plan for eternity is to 'marry'
all of us. "
Kevin de Souza, a member of Opus Dei, told AsiaNews that he was "very
encouraged to see how Valentine and
Ann have presented their views. They are down-to-earth
people, they spoke of the sexual
revolution that we live in today's
world. Any couple who choose to be pro-life must
necessarily be contrary
to the principle of this revolution,
in the family and in their social and professional spheres. We should be mirrors of Christ's love on the cross, free, full,
faithful, fruitful. love is a gift in
itself. "
One of the youngest of the participants said that the workshop
was "excellent". The challenge - he added - will be to find a young woman who agrees with
this Theology of the Body ".
.png)
