Responsibility of a man in the teaching of the Catholic Church

Abstract

Writing this article was inspired by the words of John Paul II spoken during his third pilgrimage to Poland, which concerned parental responsibility for life, for love, for upbringing and which were reinforced with the statement that a man should be the first to undertake this responsibility. This study is aimed at presenting some selected elements of the teaching of the Catholic Church regarding the responsibility of men, as well as at considering the Church’s position on defining a man in the context of his fundamental role, which is fatherhood. The source literature of this text consists of selected documents of the Catholic Church. The available studies on the indicated subject were also analyzed. On the basis of the conducted research, it can be concluded that the teaching of the Catholic Church draws attention to the divine origin of the human and treats parenthood as an area of ​​special cooperation between the Creator and the creation. It is emphasized that human parenthood should be primarily responsible, therefore joint decisions of both spouses regarding procreation should be made freely and thoughtfully. A mature man is aware of his responsibility for building a world in accordance with the Creator’s intention, and therefore he does not agree to any form of depriving marital coexistence of the double sign: of strengthening the mutual bond and of procreation. A man’s responsibility for life is most strongly expressed through his opposition to any actions that violate human dignity in such a delicate area as procreation of life. In the context of a man’s responsibility for upbringing, it should be stated that healthy fatherhood consists in conscious, permanent building of relationships first with the wife and then with the child. A man should actively participate in the child’s life with true commitment. The education of successive generations of men requires the visible presence of a man-husband-father in the family, who does not liberate himself from his male obligations by reckless shifting them to a woman-wife-mother, but brings to the family all the features and behaviour patterns of a mature and responsible man, such as self-control, constant work on his own character and setting high requirements for himself. The undertaken issues seem particularly important from the perspective of the human being, whose one of the most important characteristics is development, permanent maturation to new challenges. Due to the unchangeable human nature, it can be said that the teaching of the Catholic Church on male responsibility remains valid despite the changing living conditions of successive generations.