Reconceptualizing Human Reproduction Beyond John Paul II

This chapter explores the evolving concept of human reproduction in the Church magisterium. Given that John Paul II played an authoritative role in shaping the magisterial teaching on human reproduction, this chapter begins with a thorough investigation of the concept in Love and Responsibility and the argument for prescribing an exclusive norm for human reproduction. It argues that there exists a fundamental tension within Wojtyła’s prescription as a remedy for his anthropocentric moral distinction between the natural order and the personal order. I point out that the attention to the primacy of love in Catholic social teaching offers a novel opening to reconceptualize reproduction beyond John Paul II. I suggest that Francis has taken the necessary steps in reenvisioning human reproduction from the fruitfulness of love. I propose that by invoking the Bergsonian terms “open societies” and “vital force,” Francis invites us to reconceive the nature of instinct and move toward an anthropocosmic vision, where human reproduction becomes the reproduction of love.