Monday, May 18, 2020

Ephesians 5:21 [Mulieris Dignitatem, Patristic Scholars & NFP]


I am particularly grateful to the Van Schaijik family of The Personalist Project in Pennsylvania for initially bringing to my attention the topic of Mutual Subordination.  While we may not see eye-to-eye on everything, I have come to appreciate their explanation of the Church's teaching on this matter.  Indeed, it has become a central dynamic in my view of marriage along the lines of St John Paul II's work in #24 of "Mulieris Dignitatem".  Dr John Grabowski has written extensively on the topic, especially as it relates to the development of the Church's understanding of Matrimony between two equal, complementary, and distinct persons (man & woman).

In 2016, an essay entitled, "The Patristic Origin of 'Mutual Subordination'" was published at the St Paul Center for Biblical Theology from the perspective of a divergent view on the more high-profile topic of Mutual Subordination.  While the authors were willing to compromise with a potential for "mutual service", the divergence stemmed largely from an insistence on asymmetrical and non-reciprocal (one-way) marriage dynamics.  While I can agree with an asymmetrical perspective to a degree based on the philosophical explanation of Angelo Cardinal Scola's Nuptial Mystery, I cannot dismiss the call for reciprocity (two-way) in the relationship between husband and wife.  Our own local Bishop has been very clear on the need for reciprocity based on St John Paul II's teaching as well (min. 18ff).

A logical illustration of the two perspectives can be formulated as follows:

Non-reciprocal (One-Way)
If asymmetrical & non-reciprocal
Then one-way relationship w/ wife's submission to head

Reciprocal (Two-Way)
If asymmetrical & reciprocal
Then two-way relationship w/ mutual submission

The most common argument against the latter is that the two-way dynamic is not practical in application.  On the contrary, Dr Grabowski illustrates how practical a dynamic it can be when Natural Family Planning (NFP) is involved!  After all, it is not the choice of any one individual to cooperate in pro-creation.  As the saying goes, "it takes two to tango".

Sr Prudence Allen makes some crucial distinctions worth noting in her paper "Mulieris Dignitatem Twenty Years Later":
  • egalitarian complementarity--a distortion which emphasizes too much sameness between men and women
  • hierarchical complementarity--a distortion which emphasizes male authority to the detriment of female equality
  • Ontological complementarity--the proposal of St. John Paul II for how best to approach understanding human dignity embedded in Mulieris Dignitatem

Lastly, it is important to recall the often neglected Person in the mutual submission verse as written in St Paul's Letter to the Ephesians 5:21, "Be subordinate to one another, out of reverence for Christ".  As Archbishop Sheen explains in his Three to get Married, there is a Third-party involved in the Sacrament of Matrimony.  In the end, He is the head of the Christian family that accepts His reign.