One approach to Catholic moral teaching is called Theology of the Body. It is based on St. John Paul II’s series of audiences over 129 Wednesday catecheses between the years 1979 and 1984.
St. John Paul II’s teachings on the Theology of the Body http://www.ewtn.com/library/papaldoc/jp2tbind.htm See also a more consistent and accessible translation Man and Woman He Created Them: A Theology of the Body (2006, Michael Waldstein, translator)
Our Sunday Visitor Resources: A guide to theology of the body resources Resources for parishes and individuals to tap into the knowledge that lets us better understand the human person.
Theology of the Body Basics (sidebar)
John Paul II’s theology of the body…
… was given during the course of 133 Wednesday audiences, delivered from 1979 to 1984.
… is an anthropology of what it means to be a human person, a union of body and spirit.
… teaches that the body expresses the person and reveals how men and women are made in the image and likeness of God.
… reveals that the one flesh union of husband and wife points to the life-giving communion within the Trinity.
… shows how using another person for our own pleasure violates the dignity of the human person.
… illustrates how the celibate life is a sign of the total self-gift we are all called to make of ourselves to God.
… calls all human beings to make a gift of themselves to one another in love.
Canadian Bishops Pastoral Message on the Occasion of the 40th Anniversary of Humanae Vitae.
[St. John Paul II’s] “theology of the body” is a pedagogy that helps us understand the true sense of our bodies. It offers theological and pastoral insights of astonishing depth and inestimable richness that integrate and clarify those already present in Humanae Vitae. It suggests a broader view of the very meaning of human existence, a meaning that constitutes the response to every human being’s quest for happiness: learning to love as God loves, learning to give oneself. We believe that the time has come to consider some key elements of this “theology of the body” so as to gain a greater understanding of the divine plan and to adhere to it with an informed conscience.
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Theology of the Body Resources
