It was my great pleasure to interview the esteemed priest-theologian, Dom Pietro Leone, on the subject of Personalism and the “Theology of the Body” (TOB). The interview was carried out via email and was kindly made possible by his English-language publisher, Loreto Publications.
I became interested in interviewing Don Pietro while reading his wonderful book, The Family Under Attack, which he mentions in this interview.
That both the Personalism of Pope John Paul II and his TOB are fully open to criticism and refutation as non-infallible philosophical and theological constructions is beyond dispute. Still, the fact is that some people may take scandal at these criticisms, which, as Don Pietro points out, are carried out “solely in the light of Faith and Reason: in the light of Truth, supernatural and natural.” The personal theology and even the “authentic Magisterium” of any pope are indeed subject to such a critique; inasmuch as the critique is carried out according to tradition and the analogy of Faith, these per se non-infallible works are just as open to criticism as are the excogitations of any other theologians or philosophers. Those confused on this point are invited to read Amoris Laetitia and the ‘Authentic Magisterium’ on this site.
Aside from his book, which I’ve already linked to, my Reverend interlocutor also mentions in his replies a five-part essay that was published by Rorate Caeli. For the readers’ convenience, here are links to all five parts of that serialized study:
- SEXUALITY IN THE EYES OF THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD
- RECENT CHURCH MARITAL DOCTRINE UNTIL POPE FRANCIS: 1. ‘LOVE’
- RECENT CHURCH MARITAL DOCTRINE UNTIL POPE FRANCIS: 2. MORTAL SIN AND HOLY COMMUNION
- AMORIS LAETITIA
- CONCLUSION
Lastly, before getting to the interview, let me note that what appears below is a PDF file Dom Pietro’s secretary sent me. My questions, numbered and worded exactly as I sent them, are indented in this text, with Dom Pietro’s replies immediately following each question. I did not alter the PDF file in any way.
Click here to VIEW full size, DOWNLOAD as PDF file, and/or PRINT.
