Dobro osoby jako podstawowe kryterium etyczne w myśli Jana Pawła II

Abstract

This paper was to have been devoted to the theory of welfare present in the encyclical Veritatis splendor. Eventually, it focuses more on the approach to ethics in the classical concept of natural law presented in the encyclical. This is also the key concept in the Christian theology of welfare. It allows us to look at the Commandments of the Decalogue as a road to self-fulfillment of a rational and independent subject through putting into effect the welfare which is his due. Christian Revelation, which is inscribed in the message of the encyclical Veritatis splendor – as opposed to the Old Testamental Decalogue – shows a richer palette of human welfare through which God responds to the cravings of his creation, as in the well-known statement of St. Augustine: “You have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.” Pardoning enemies, the transformation of human heart through grace, the truth of following the suffering Christ and perfecting human freedom through sacrificing oneself are just a few examples of supernatural welfare that illuminates Christian Revelation. This is the welfare unknown in the Revelation of the Old Testament and only vaguely sensed by other religious traditions. This is the welfare that can be received through keeping the ethical norms.