The question of gradualness

 IT happened in the Extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the
Family in 2014. In fact, it exploded into a media firestorm. In
tackling the question of gradualness in relation to the pastoral care
of people with some moral irregularities, like the divorced and
remarried, a lot of nuanced distinctions have to be made. The main
problem is how to translate the theory into practice, the abstract
principles to concrete actions.

            The first distinction to be made is that between the
so-called ‘law of gradualness’ and the ‘gradualness of the law.’ The
former is ok, the latter is not. The former says that “people improve
their relationship with God and grow in the virtues gradually, and do
not jump to perfection in a single step.”

            It is a principle used in Catholic moral and pastoral
theology that encourages people to grow closer to God and his plan for
their lives in a step-by-step manner rather than expecting them to
jump from an initial conversion to perfection in a single step.

            This is simply because man grows by stages in his life and
holiness. Thus, St. Paul said: “I could not address you as spiritual
men, but as men of the flesh, as babes in Christ. I fed you with milk,
not solid food, for you were not ready for it…” (1 Cor 3,1-3)

            The latter, the ‘gradualness of the law,’ presumes that
there are different degrees or forms of God’s law for different
individuals and situations. In effect, this position holds that there
cannot be absolute, objective and universal moral laws. It practically
erases all possibilities of sin, since any situation can be
rationalized by one’s subjective law.

            In the gospel, we can have an example of this ‘law of
gradualness’ in that parable of the dishonest steward (Lk 16,1-17). In
that parable, the dishonest steward was commended not for his
dishonesty, but for his shrewdness or prudence. He at least was
concerned about his future.

            But his over-all actuation was obviously wrong because of
the dishonest methods he used. This is made clear when Christ
concluded in that parable that “he who is dishonest in a very little
is dishonest also in much,” (10) and that “no servant can serve two
masters…you cannot serve God and mammon.” (13)

            It is in the same vein that we have to understand those
words of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI who in 2010 told a German
journalist that if a male prostitute uses a condom to try to avoid
infecting other people with HIV/AIDS, it can be “a first step in a
movement toward a different way, a more human way, of living
sexuality.”

            Benedict XVI did not mean to change the Church’s
opposition to condom use. He simply meant that there are times when it
suggests a concern for others that in itself is already laudable.

            What is to be guarded against is to use this ‘law of
gradualness’ to justify all the other aspects of a human act that in
themselves are immoral. While we should be quick to acknowledge the
good parts of that act, we should not turn a blind eye on the other
parts that are questionable. Otherwise, the ‘law of gradualness’
becomes the ‘gradualness of the law’ which is another name of that
moral anomaly called relativism.

            In real life, though, the distinction between the two can
be very tricky. One can easily be confused with the other. Such
confusion can lead to bad consequences as when the ‘law of
gradualness’ can make a person too lenient with himself and becomes
prone to abuse such treatment.

            It is quite clear therefore that just like in prescribing
medicine for a serious health problem, certain contraindications and
other conditions may be given to assure that this moral and pastoral
approach of gradualness is received well and not abused.

            It was with this idea that in 1997 the Pontifical Council
for the Family issued a Vademecum for Confessors to give guidance to
those hearing confessions on how to deal with people who are in some
delicate, difficult if not irregular situations.

            The document warned confessors against the idea of
thinking that repentance does not require a decisive break with sin.
“The pastoral ‘law of gradualness,’” it said, “not to be confused with
‘gradualness of the law’ which would tend to diminish the demands it
places on us, consists of requiring a decisive break with sin together
with a progressive path toward total union with the will of God and
with his loving demands.” (3,9)

            With more study and prayer, consultation and discussion,
let’s hope that we can achieve the skill to apply the ‘law of
gradualness’ properly.