By Emily Stimpson

Lost in Translation?

Pope John Paul II's groundbreaking theology fails to resonate in Europe

"Europe has a problem with sexuality."

That, at least, is Gudrun Kugler-Lang's assessment. And when the Austrian Christian activist starts citing her evidence, it's hard to disagree.

There is, for example, the recent letter sent by the European Parliament to the Croatian government, chastising it for allowing a parents' group to set up an abstinence-education program in schools. Such behavior, the letter warned, might prevent their admission to the European Union.

There's also the pressure Romania received before its admission to the EU to liberalize its laws against homosexuality, and there's the resolution passed by the EU Parliament last year condemning Poland's laws prohibiting same-sex marriage. Most of all, there's the continent's rapidly declining birthrate, unwavering advocacy of abortion and the growing dearth of traditional families.

Dearth of knowledge

There's no denying that Europe's need for a renewed understanding of sexuality and the human person is just as great, if not greater, than the need in the United States. But unlike in the United States, where a mounting interest in Pope John Paul II's theology of the body is slowly helping Catholics answer that need, the overwhelming majority of European Catholics have never heard of the pope's catechesis on the body and the human person, let alone recognized how it answers their continent's deepening crisis over sexuality.

According to Matthew Pinto, president of Ascension Press, in the United States more than 750,000 copies of books and 900,000 audio products about the theology of the body have sold in recent years. Almost 30,000 people every year now go through marriage-preparation programs infused with theology of the body, and by 2008, an estimated 2,500 parishes will have study groups on the subject.

In Europe, on the other hand, the number of books sold does not equal a fraction of those sold in the United States, and with precious few exceptions, study groups or talks on the theology of the body are unheard of.

Kugler-Lang, who helped found Europe for Christ -- a group working to mobilize European Christians -- recently surveyed young, faithful Catholics throughout Europe about their awareness of Pope John Paul II's teachings. Responses included, "I can't answer your questions because this is the first time I've heard anything about it;" "I've tried to motivate our diocesan youth to promote the theology of the body, but all I encountered was very strong resistance;" and "Why does the Church have to talk about sex prohibitions? It's very counterproductive."

"These are very committed Catholics," Kugler-Lang said of those surveyed. "They live for defending the Church. But only one-third of them knew about the theology of the body, and many didn't have an accurate understanding of it, equating it simply with Catholic sexual moral teaching."

Cultural challenges

Kugler-Lang lays the blame for that squarely on the crisis of faith in Europe and on European Christians' reluctance to actively evangelize their culture. She also faults her fellow Europeans for turning up their noses at more American, businesslike approaches to advocating and packaging ideas.

Based upon his experience in the United States and Europe, Pinto agreed.

"Europe historically suffers less from Manichaeism and dualism than America, with all the deficiencies of Calvinism that underpin our experience," he said. "But our utilitarianism has made us good at the 'things of the world.' If European Catholics are going to embrace the theology of the body and benefit from all it has to offer, they have to overcome a certain laissez-faire approach to the faith that I believe grips them."

While Kugler-Lang thinks Europeans can learn something from American methods of marketing and evangelization, she also thinks efforts to spread the theology of the body in Europe need to come mainly from European Catholics.

"Americans don't understand and too easily overlook European sensitivities," she said.

What Americans can do, she suggested, is help Europeans take up the task of teaching each other about the theology of the body by supporting efforts to provide resources to European Catholics.

For example, right now a real need exists for native-language resources -- books, CDs and DVDs in French, German, Spanish and other European tongues.

There also is the important task of teaching European speakers how to package ideas and how break down Pope John Paul's complex theology into practical principles the average person can understand and live.

"European Catholics have lost their sense of identity," Pinto said. "Sometimes it takes an outsider to remind us of our heritage. American ingenuity can help remind Europeans that their gift of knowing how to live with balance, of knowing how to integrate the material and the spiritual, is good, true, and beautiful."

Bridging the gap

How can European Catholics launch the theology of the body "time bomb" in their native countries? How can its complex theological concepts be accurately passed on to those who don't have doctorates in theology or philosophy?

And how can the principles be practically applied to everything from parenting to architecture?

This past May in the Austrian village of Gaming, one conference attempted to tackle all three of those challenges. "Man and Woman He Created Them: An International Symposium on John Paul II's Theology of the Body" brought together Europeans and Americans, scholars and speakers, and students from a host of theological and philosophical schools in an attempt to bridge the gap between continents, disciplines and apostolates.

Hundreds of participants -- mostly from Europe and America, but also Kenya, Chilé, Ecuador, Singapore and New Zealand -- turned out to hear the leading voices in the theology of the body movement. Michael Waldstein, Franciscan Sister of Mary Mary Timothy Prokes, Christopher West, William May, Katrina Zeno and Father Thomas Loya were among the speakers at the event, which was sponsored in part by the Our Sunday Visitor Institute.

Over the course of three days, Europeans and Americans talked about modifying American methods of ministry for Europe; scholars and popularizers discussed the promises and pitfalls of various methods of teaching the theology of the body; and Thomists and phenomenologists debated the philosophical roots of Pope John Paul II's teaching.

<[stk 0]>According to Peter Colosi, assistant professor of philosophy at Franciscan University of Steubenville and the organizer of the event, by the end of the weekend, plans in the works included study groups in Africa, future conferences in Europe and America and the translation of the symposium's talks into Polish, Spanish and other European tongues. <[etk]>

"The response has been overwhelming," Colosi said. "There are so many great initiatives spreading the theology of the body, and this symposium enabled us to bring them together and figure out ways we can work more effectively by helping each other.

"This is so important," he said, "because in understanding spousal love and self-donation, people realize how deeply congenial the Church's moral teachings are to their deepest longings. That has profound implications for our culture."

Late pope's teaching is slow to catch on in Africa

By Henry Makori

Pope John Paul II's theology of the body is little-known in Africa. Father Ambrose Mutinda, a professor of theology at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa, said the school's curriculum does not cover the subject.

It is also not taught at the regional institute for ongoing formation set up 40 years ago by the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences of Eastern Africa (AMECEA). AMECEA Pastoral Institute director, Father Benjamin Kiriswa, said their courses focus on "day-to-day pastoral issues such as justice and peace and HIV/AIDS." He said he does not know an institution in the region that teaches theology of the body, adding, "I doubt anybody has ventured into that area."

Sister Juliana Osiyemi, secretary of the Nigerian Council of Women Religious, said she had just heard of the subject and would be interested to find out more. And at the newly established Christian Institute for the Study of Human Sexuality in Nairobi, Kenya, their short courses for teachers in seminaries and religious houses do not specifically cover the theology of the body, according to the institute director, Sister Mary Owens. The courses, she said, take "a holistic approach" to sexuality in accordance with Catholic doctrine, that is, sexuality in relation to spirituality, psychology, morality and culture.

TOB in Latin America makes modest, promising inroads

By Alejandro Bermudez

Few Catholic organizations in Latin America are familiar with the concept of "theology of the body," which has been slowly penetrating the region, mainly through Latinos living in the United States.

One of the reasons for the slow growth is the lack of material in Spanish.

Among the few available resources is the two-volume Spanish version of Pope John Paul's catechesis, edited by Nicaraguan publishing house Libro Libre.

The U.S.-based Theology of the Body International Alliance (TOBIA), which has few affiliates in Brazil, Mexico and Nicaragua; has a Spanish website www.tobia.info/espanol/index.html with some material and instructions on how to create TOB groups.

According to Carlos Beltramo, academic director for the Latin American Alliance for the Family, the theology of the body "should be a natural concept to Latinos, considering our Catholic cultural background."

"In the Anglo culture, where a Puritanical vision of the human person is more pervasive, the TOB comes as a completely new approach to sexuality, whereas in the Latin culture, the TOB is just the natural way we see the human person."

Beltramo predicted that TOB will have a consistent growth in the region as more Spanish-language material becomes available.

It seems help is on the way. The Washington, D.C.-based Imago Dei, which is successfully promoting TOB among U.S. residents from Central America, will launch this fall a Spanish-language edition of "A New Language: John Paul II's Theology of the Body," a popular study guide already used in more than 20 U.S. states.