PREFACE

One of the responsibilities of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith is to watch over and protect the doctrine of the faith, so that the People of God may remain faithful to the teaching which has been received. At times, the Congregation must proceed to a doctrinal examination and point out, even by means of a public notification, the ambiguities and errors contained in widely-distributed works that may be harmful to the faith of the People of God, in order to make the necessary corrections. On some occasions, such a notification is necessary even when the author is disposed to correct his writings or when the corrections have already been made. 

An initial study of certain works by Father Marciano Vidal, C.Ss.R., namely, Diccionario de Ètica Teológica, La Propuesta moral de Juan Pablo II: Comentario Teológico-Moral de la Encíclica "Veritatis Splendor" and the volumes of Moral de Actitudes (in both the Spanish original and the most recent Italian edition), revealed errors and ambiguities. For this reason, and because of the wide circulation of these books and their influence above all in theological formation, the Congregation decided to proceed to an examination of the texts by means of its Ordinary Procedure, according to the norms established by the Regulations for Doctrinal Examination. 

On December 13, 1997, the Congregation sent the text of the official Contestatio to the author, through Father Joseph William Tobin, Superior General of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer. It was composed of an introduction, which dealt with the christological foundation of theological ethics, and two parts, the first on epistemological questions (the relationship of Scripture – Tradition – Magisterium, and theologians – Magisterium), and the second on particular errors (person – sexuality – bioethics; social morality; eschatology – utopia). 

On June 4, 1998, Father Vidal provided his Response, which had been prepared with the assistance of an advisor chosen by him, and was accompanied by a letter from his Superior General. The Response was examined according to the procedures of the Congregation, which, finding it to be unsatisfactory, decided to offer Father Vidal another opportunity to clarify his position on the points at issue. A new set of questions was submitted for the approval of the Ordinary Session of the Congregation on January 20, 1999, which also decided to grant Father Vidal an additional three month period in which to make his response, as indicated by the Regulations. This manner of proceeding and the text of the above-mentioned questions were approved by the Holy Father in the Audience granted to the Cardinal Prefect on February 5, 1999. 

The new documentation with an accompanying letter were presented to his Superior General in the course of a meeting at the Congregation on June 7, 1999. The results of the examination of Father Vidal’s first Response and the decision of the Congregation, by way of exception, to reformulate its questions in order to obtain more exact and precise answers, were communicated to Father Tobin at this meeting. In addition, while manifesting the sincere hope that Father Vidal would understand the offer of this new opportunity as an invitation to a deeper reflection, for his sake and that of the Church in whose name he carries out his service of teaching theology, it was decided that his responses should be prepared personally, in an unambiguous and succinct form, and should arrive at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith before September 30, 1999. 

Informed of this decision, Father Vidal gave assurances through his Superior General that he would comply with the requests made by the Congregation. On September 28, 1999, the Superior General personally delivered to the Cardinal Prefect the text of the Respuesta a las “Preguntas dirigidas al Rev. P. Marciano Vidal, C.Ss.R.”, together with his own personal opinion. This second Response was then submitted to the judgment of the Congregation, in accordance with the Regulations for Doctrinal Examination. 

On November 10, 1999, the Ordinary Session of the Congregation, on the basis of all the phases of the examination and the entire documentation, concluded the exceptional procedure. The Congregation noted with satisfaction that the author had shown himself willing to correct the ambiguities in his writings on heterologous artificial procreation, therapeutic and eugenic abortion, and abortion legislation, and that he had stated his adherence to the teaching of the Magisterium on the doctrinal points at issue, though without substantial or concrete modification of the other doctrinal points mentioned in the Contestatio. In light of this situation, the Congregation judged it necessary to prepare a Notification, which would be presented to Father Vidal in a meeting aimed at obtaining explicit recognition of the errors and ambiguities found, and at verifying, in keeping with the principles recognized by the author, his commitment to revise his books in the manner decided by the Congregation. Moreover, the text of the Notification, incorporating the results of the meeting and approved in Ordinary Session by the Congregation, would subsequently be published. These decisions were confirmed by the Holy Father at the Audience granted to the Secretary of the Congregation on November 12, 1999. 

The above-mentioned meeting with the author took place on June 2, 2000. Those participating were the Cardinal Prefect and Archbishop Secretary of the Congregation, the Most Reverend Antonio Cañizares Llovera, Archbishop of Granada and Member of the Congregation, who represented the Spanish Episcopal Conference, various Delegates named by this Dicastery, and Father Vidal, who was accompanied by Father Joseph William Tobin and Father Joseph Pfab, C.Ss.R., former Superior General, who was the Advisor chosen for the occasion. After the formal presentation of the Notification, and a cordial and productive conversation regarding the doctrinal questions and the procedural aspects of the case, Father Vidal accepted the doctrinal judgment formulated by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, as well as the formal obligation to revise his writings according to the instructions given. 

Informed of the positive outcome of the meeting, the Cardinal and Bishop Members of the Congregation in the Ordinary Sessions of June 14, 2000, and February 7, 2001, noted with satisfaction Father Vidal’s assent and confirmed the agreed-upon procedure, that is, the publication of the present Notification. They also decided that the editions of Moral de Actitudes (including the volume on social morality), the Diccionario de Ètica Teológica, and La propuesta moral de Juan Pablo II, as well as any translations of these published prior to the Notification, cannot be used for theological formation. Furthermore, they decided that Father Vidal would revise Moral de Actitudes, under the supervision of the Doctrinal Commission of the Spanish Episcopal Conference. The text of the present Notification, including these conditions, was sent through the Superior General to Father Vidal, who manifested his acceptance by affixing his signature. 

This resolution is not meant as a judgment on the person of the author, on his intentions, on the totality of his work, or on his ministry as a theologian, but solely on the works examined. It is intended for the good of the Christian faithful, especially pastors of souls, teachers of moral theology, and those who have received their formation according to the author’s theological perspective or who themselves share such views, in order that they may dissociate themselves from these errors and deficiencies, and avoid their practical consequences in pastoral ministry.