John Paul II, the Structures of Sin and the Limits of Law
78 Pages Posted: 4 Nov 2007
Abstract
Nearly three years ago, Pope John Paul II passed away. Regardless of one's religious background, the late pope must be regarded as one of the most significant figures of the twentieth century. John Paul left behind an enormous record of teaching. One of the topics of the late pope's many texts is the relationship between law and culture, which this article discusses.
As someone who saw Poland ravaged by Nazism and totalitarian socialism, John Paul was aware of the need for a legal system dedicated to justice and the rule of law. Regardless of the issue, John Paul supported the use of legal mechanisms to address unjust attitudes and behaviors that assume institutional form - what he called "structures of sin." However, John Paul knew that law subordinates culture, as every legal system is the product of culture, and suffers from serious limitations when employed to bring about social change. I use a passage from Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov to introduce the pope's teaching on these matters.
Furthermore, in an article entitled Christianity and the (Modest) Rule of Law, law professors David Skeel and William Stuntz argue that law should be modest in its ambitions, as it may not be an appropriate response to many social problems. They argue that law suffers when it attempts to regulate what it cannot change - a vice they call "legal moralism." They make these arguments from an Evangelical Christian perspective.
Although Skeel and Stuntz agree with John Paul in many respects, their analysis could have benefited from a broader engagement with the Christian intellectual tradition. They fail to appreciate the way in which law helps to form cultural norms and practices by serving a teaching function. Furthermore, Skeel and Stuntz are mistaken in identifying the legal regulation of abortion as an example of "legal moralism."
Keywords: Pope John Paul II, abortion, Dostoevsky, legal modesty, Christianity and the law, limits of the law
JEL Classification: K10. K33
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation