In this article, Dr Alan Schreck presents the heart of John Paul’s great encyclical on morality.

We turn now to the second chapter of Veritatis Splendor, which focuses on the challenges to specific areas of the moral teaching of the Church in some contemporary streams of moral theology. Scholars, John Paul reminds us, are to seek the renewal of moral theology, and this must always be consistent with ‘sound teaching’ (2 Tim 4:3). The Church ‘does not intend to impose…any particular theological system’ (VS 29), for she proclaims doctrine and not particular theologies. The Magisterium has the responsibility, therefore, to provide the measure for all proposed theologies by teaching the principles of sound doctrine and to warn against moral teachings or systems that violate these principles.