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MODESTY, DECENCY, DIGNITY, CHASTITY, AND NUDITY
I meet many Catholics who believe that a naked person is, by
definition, in a state of indecency or immodesty. They think that to
be seen naked by someone other than a doctor or a spouse is wrong.
Some further believe that to simply see someone who is not a spouse,
child, or patient in a naked state is to commit some kind of sin. This is a very understandable view in light of the
messages most people receive while growing up. It's interesting,
however, to examine these beliefs in the light of important Church
teachings.
I was recently
asked to consider the subject of nakedness in the context of The Catechism
of the Catholic Church. Namely, in light of the following;
(Parts of The Chatechism of the Catholic Church
(Second Edition) are highlighted in navy blue.)
PART THREE - LIFE IN CHRIST
SECTION TWO - THE TEN
COMMANDMENTS
CHAPTER TWO "YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS
YOURSELF"
ARTICLE 9 THE NINTH COMMANDMENT
You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you
shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant, or his
maidservant, or his ox, or his ass, or anything that is your neighbor's.
Every one who looks at a woman lustfully has
already committed adultery with her in his heart.
...
II. THE BATTLE FOR PURITY
2520 Baptism confers on its recipient the grace
of purification from all sins. But the baptized must continue to struggle
against concupiscence of the flesh and disordered desires. With God's
grace he will prevail
- by the virtue and gift of chastity, for
chastity lets us love with upright and undivided heart;
- by purity of intention which consists in
seeking the true end of man: with simplicity of vision, the baptized
person seeks to find and to fulfill God's will in everything;
- by purity of vision, external and internal; by
discipline of feelings and imagination; by refusing all complicity in
impure thoughts that incline us to turn aside from the path of God's
commandments: "Appearance arouses yearning in fools"
...
2521 Purity requires modesty, an integral part of
temperance. Modesty protects the intimate center of the person. It means
refusing to unveil what should remain hidden. It is ordered to chastity to
whose sensitivity it bears witness. It guides how one looks at others and
behaves toward them in conformity with the dignity of persons and their
solidarity.
2522 Modesty protects the mystery of persons and
their love. It encourages patience and moderation in loving relationships;
it requires that the conditions for the definitive giving and commitment
of man and woman to one another be fulfilled. Modesty is decency. It
inspires one's choice of clothing. It keeps silence or reserve where there
is evident risk of unhealthy curiosity. It is discreet.
2523 There is a modesty of the feelings as well
as of the body. It protests, for example, against the voyeuristic
explorations of the human body in certain advertisements, or against the
solicitations of certain media that go too far in the exhibition of
intimate things. Modesty inspires a way of life which makes it possible to
resist the allurements of fashion and the pressures of prevailing
ideologies.
2524 The forms taken by modesty vary from one
culture to another. Everywhere, however, modesty exists as an intuition of
the spiritual dignity proper to man. It is born with the awakening
consciousness of being a subject. Teaching modesty to children and
adolescents means awakening in them respect for the human person.
2525 Christian purity requires a purification of
the social climate. It requires of the communications media that their
presentations show concern for respect and restraint. Purity of heart
brings freedom from widespread eroticism and avoids entertainment inclined
to voyeurism and illusion.
2526 So called moral permissiveness rests on an
erroneous conception of human freedom; the necessary precondition for the
development of true freedom is to let oneself be educated in the moral
law. Those in charge of education can reasonably be expected to give young
people instruction respectful of the truth, the qualities of the heart,
and the moral and spiritual dignity of man.
2527 "The Good News of Christ continually
renews the life and culture of fallen man; it combats and removes the
error and evil which flow from the ever-present attraction of sin. It
never ceases to purify and elevate the morality of peoples. It takes the
spiritual qualities and endowments of every age and nation, and with
supernatural riches it causes them to blossom, as it were, from within; it
fortifies, completes, and restores them in Christ."
IN BRIEF
2528 "Everyone who looks at a woman
lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart" (Mt
5:28).
2529 The ninth commandment warns against lust or
carnal concupiscence.
2530 The struggle against carnal lust involves
purifying the heart and practicing temperance.
2531 Purity of heart will enable us to see God:
it enables us even now to see things according to God.
2532 Purification of the heart demands prayer,
the practice of chastity, purity of intention and of vision.
2533 Purity of heart requires the modesty which
is patience, decency, and discretion. Modesty protects the intimate center
of the person.
The subjects of Modesty, Decency, Dignity, and Chastity are closely
interwoven. So much so that it is sometimes difficult to separate
them into different virtues. In order to understand each one it its
own light, and then understand purity in the light of all of them, it is necessary to inquire closely of the Catechism in order to
understand the matter thoroughly.
In order to begin, we have to go all the way back to:
PART
ONE: THE PROFESSION OF FAITH
...
Paragraph 6. Man
355 "God created man in his own
image, in the image of God he created him, male and female he created
them."
...
I. "IN THE IMAGE OF GOD"
...
357 Being in the image of God the human
individual possesses the dignity of a person, who is not just something,
but someone. He is capable of self-knowledge, of self-possession and of
freely giving himself and entering into communion with other persons. And
he is called by grace to a covenant with his Creator, to offer him a
response of faith and love that no other creature can give in his stead.
...
364 The human body shares in the dignity
of "the image of God": it is a human body precisely because it
is animated by a spiritual soul, and it is the whole human person that is
intended to become, in the body of Christ, a temple of the Spirit:
...
IV. MAN IN PARADISE
374 The first man was not only created
good, but was also established in friendship with his Creator and in
harmony with himself and with the creation around him, in a state that
would be surpassed only by the glory of the new creation in Christ.
This establishes the inherent and irrevolkable Dignity of Man, as
Created in God's Image. All men - and women - are endowed with
inalienable human Dignity. This is regardless of dress or material possession.
In order to understand Chastity, we have to examine:
PART THREE
LIFE IN CHRIST
SECTION TWO
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
CHAPTER TWO
"YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF"
ARTICLE 6
THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT
You shall not commit adultery.You have heard that it was said, "You shall not commit
adultery." But I say to you that every one who looks at a woman
lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
2332
Sexuality affects all aspects of the human person in the unity of
his body and soul. It especially concerns affectivity, the capacity to
love and to procreate, and in a more general way the aptitude for forming
bonds of communion with others.
2333
Everyone, man and woman, should acknowledge and accept his sexual identity.
Physical, moral, and spiritual difference and complementarity are
oriented toward the goods of marriage and the flourishing of family life.
The harmony of the couple and of society depends in part on the way in
which the complementarity, needs, and mutual support between the sexes are
lived out.
...
2336
Jesus came to restore creation to the purity of its origins. In the Sermon
on the Mount, he interprets God's plan strictly: "You have heard that
it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you that every
one who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her
in his heart."
...
The tradition of the Church has understood the sixth commandment as
encompassing the whole of human sexuality.
II. THE VOCATION TO CHASTITY
2337
Chastity means the successful integration of sexuality within the person
and thus the inner unity of man in his bodily and spiritual being.
Sexuality, in which man's belonging to the bodily and biological world is
expressed, becomes personal and truly human when it is integrated into the
relationship of one person to another, in the complete and lifelong mutual
gift of a man and a woman.
The virtue of chastity therefore involves the integrity of the person
and the integrality of the gift.
The integrity of the person
2338 The chaste person maintains the integrity of the powers of
life and love placed in him. This integrity ensures the unity of the
person; it is opposed to any behavior that would impair it. It tolerates
neither a double life nor duplicity in speech.
...
2345
Chastity is a moral virtue. It is also a gift from God, a grace, a
fruit of spiritual effort.
The Holy Spirit enables one whom
the water of Baptism has regenerated to imitate the purity of Christ.
...
2349
"People should cultivate [chastity] in the way that is suited to
their state of life. Some profess virginity or consecrated celibacy which
enables them to give themselves to God alone with an undivided heart in a
remarkable manner. Others live in the way prescribed for all by the moral
law, whether they are married or single." Married
people are called to live conjugal chastity; others practice chastity in
continence:
Offenses against chastity
2351 Lust
is disordered desire for or inordinate enjoyment of sexual pleasure.
Sexual pleasure is morally disordered when sought for itself, isolated
from its procreative and unitive purposes.
2352
By masturbation is to be understood the deliberate stimulation of
the genital organs in order to derive sexual pleasure. ...
2353 Fornication is carnal union
between an unmarried man and an unmarried woman. It is gravely contrary to
the dignity of persons and of human sexuality which is naturally ordered
to the good of spouses and the generation and education of children.
Moreover, it is a grave scandal when there is corruption of the young.
2354
Pornography consists in removing real or simulated sexual acts from
the intimacy of the partners, in order to display them deliberately to
third parties. It offends against chastity because it perverts the
conjugal act, the intimate giving of spouses to each other. ... 2355
Prostitution does injury to the dignity of the person who engages
in it, reducing the person to an instrument of sexual pleasure. ...
2356
Rape is the forcible violation of the sexual intimacy of another
person. It does injury to justice and charity. ...
...
2395 Chastity means the integration of
sexuality within the person. It includes an apprenticeship in
self-mastery.
2396 Among the sins gravely contrary to
chastity are masturbation, fornication, pornography, and homosexual
practices.
So Chastity is something that involves sexuality. It is something
that involves action and intention. If a man looks at an undressed
woman - perhaps by observing a neighbor through an open window - and has
lust for her, then he commits a sin against Chastity. She, however,
has not sinned against Chastity, but is the unwilling victim of the
sinner's lustful intentions. She cannot be said to be responsible
for his sin any more than a woman could be responsible for her own rape.
PART THREE
LIFE IN CHRIST
SECTION ONE
MAN'S VOCATION LIFE IN THE SPIRIT
CHAPTER ONE
THE DIGNITY OF THE HUMAN PERSON
ARTICLE 4
THE MORALITY OF HUMAN ACTS
1749 Freedom makes man a moral subject.
When he acts deliberately, man is, so to speak, the father of his acts.
Human acts, that is, acts that are freely chosen in consequence of a
judgment of conscience, can be morally evaluated. They are either good or
evil.
I. THE SOURCES OF MORALITY
1750 The morality of human acts depends
on:
- the object chosen;
- the end in view or the intention;
- the circumstances of the action.
The object, the intention, and the circumstances
make up the "sources," or constitutive elements, of the morality
of human acts.
1751 The object chosen is a good
toward which the will deliberately directs itself. It is the matter of a
human act. The object chosen morally specifies the act of the will,
insofar as reason recognizes and judges it to be or not to be in
conformity with the true good. Objective norms of morality express the
rational order of good and evil, attested to by conscience.
1752 In contrast to the object, the intention
resides in the acting subject. Because it lies at the voluntary source
of an action and determines it by its end, intention is an element
essential to the moral evaluation of an action. The end is the first goal
of the intention and indicates the purpose pursued in the action. The
intention is a movement of the will toward the end: it is concerned with
the goal of the activity. It aims at the good anticipated from the action
undertaken. ...
1753 A good intention (for example, that
of helping one's neighbor) does not make behavior that is intrinsically
disordered, such as lying and calumny, good or just. The end does not
justify the means. Thus the condemnation of an innocent person cannot be
justified as a legitimate means of saving the nation. On the other hand,
an added bad intention (such as vainglory) makes an act evil that, in and
of itself, can be good (such as almsgiving).
1754 The circumstances, including
the consequences, are secondary elements of a moral act. They contribute
to increasing or diminishing the moral goodness or evil of human acts (for
example, the amount of a theft). They can also diminish or increase the
agent's responsibility (such as acting out of a fear of death).
Circumstances of themselves cannot change the moral quality of acts
themselves; they can make neither good nor right an action that is in
itself evil.
II. GOOD ACTS AND EVIL ACTS
1755 A morally good act requires
the goodness of the object, of the end, and of the circumstances together.
An evil end corrupts the action, even if the object is good in itself
(such as praying and fasting "in order to be seen by men").
The object of the choice can by itself
vitiate an act in its entirety. There are some concrete acts - such as
fornication - that it is always wrong to choose, because choosing them
entails a disorder of the will, that is, a moral evil.
1756 It is therefore an error to judge the
morality of human acts by considering only the intention that inspires
them or the circumstances (environment, social pressure, duress or
emergency, etc.) which supply their context. There are acts which, in and
of themselves, independently of circumstances and intentions, are always
gravely illicit by reason of their object; such as blasphemy and perjury,
murder and adultery. One may not do evil so that good may result from it.
IN BRIEF
1757 The object, the intention, and the
circumstances make up the three "sources" of the morality of
human acts.
1758 The object chosen morally specifies
the act of willing accordingly as reason recognizes and judges it good or
evil.
1759 "An evil action cannot be
justified by reference to a good intention" (cf. St. Thomas Aquinas, Dec.
praec. 6). The end does not justify the means.
1760 A morally good act requires the
goodness of its object, of its end, and of its circumstances together.
1761 There are concrete acts that it is
always wrong to choose, because their choice entails a disorder of the
will, i.e., a moral evil. One may not do evil so that good may result from
it.
The topic of Morality is rather more complex than Dignity and Chastity
because it involves three separate considerations: the object, the
intention, and the circumstances.
We can examine the state of nakedness as it involves these three
considerations.
The object is, of course, the body. If a person undresses for the
sake of bathing or caring for bodily functions, this in and of itself is a
moral action because the body must be cared for and used
properly.
If the body is used improperly, however, the object changes. If
someone exposes himself with the intention of arousing alarm, distress, or
lust in other persons then that person commits a sin. The object is
no longer the body, but another person, and the intention
is immoral.
A woman who removes her clothing in a seductive way in a nightclub or
similar den of iniquity commits an immorality because her specific
intention is to arouse lustful intentions in the minds and hearts of the
onlookers. It is a kind of prostitution. If the same woman removes her clothing in front of a
doctor in order to be examined, then the intention is different and no
immorality is present.
If a man removes his clothing in the presence of other men, say in a
gym locker room, no immorality is present because it is a proper place and
circumstance to be nude. If that man made an honest mistake of
wandering out of the men's locker room and into the women's locker room
(what a mistake that would be!) he still does not commit an immorality so
long as he is not aroused to improper thoughts by something he might see
and quickly redresses his error and returns to the men's room. He
has committed a terrible mistake - and the circumstances are indeed
suspect - but it was not immoral. If it was his intention to wander
nude into the ladies room, then that, of course, is immoral - it is a sin
- because he knows that it is improper for him to enter the ladies' room.
Discussion of Morality must, in turn, come to sin, and in this context,
Adam through his sin, was ashamed of his nakedness. Some people
point to this as a means to justify the idea that nakedness is inherently
sinful.
It's interesting to note God's response to Adam's shame: Genesis 3:11
"And he said, "Who told you that you were naked?"
Since there weren't any other people, who were they hiding from? Adam
and Eve were husband and wife, and no one else could see them, so there
was no immorality involved. They were hiding from
God. They weren't spiritually mature enough to appreciate that we are ALL
naked in the sight of God. God made garments of skins for Adam, but the Bible does
not say the state of nakedness is being condemned. Because of the Fall,
Adam and Eve were no longer in Eden and were thus subject to the varieties
of weather and climate, and God knew they would need clothes. God loved
and cared for them even after they had sinned.
It is interesting to turn back to the Catechism to further shed some
light on this Original Sin, and some of its consequences.
PART ONE
THE PROFESSION OF FAITH
SECTION TWO
THE PROFESSION OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH
CHAPTER THREE
I BELIEVE IN THE HOLY SPIRIT
ARTICLE 10
"I BELIEVE IN THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS"
...
I. ONE BAPTISM FOR THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS
977 Our Lord tied the forgiveness of sins to faith and Baptism:
"Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation.
He who believes and is baptized will be saved."521 Baptism
is the first and chief sacrament of forgiveness of sins because it unites
us with Christ, who died for our sins and rose for our justification, so
that "we too might walk in newness of life."522
978 "When we made our first profession of faith while
receiving the holy Baptism that cleansed us, the forgiveness we received
then was so full and complete that there remained in us absolutely nothing
left to efface, neither original sin nor offenses committed by our own
will, nor was there left any penalty to suffer in order to expiate them. . . .
Yet the grace of Baptism delivers no one from all the weakness of nature.
On the contrary, we must still combat the movements of concupiscence that
never cease leading us into evil "523
So, through Christ, we are no longer beholden to Adamic Sin, but rather
there remains "in us absolutely nothing left to efface, neither
original sin nor offenses committed by our own will, nor was there left
any penalty to suffer in order to expiate them." We are free
from Adam's sin - and Adam's shame.
This, of course, doesn't cover personal sin, indeed, "we must
still combat the movements of concupiscence (strong lust) that never cease
leading us into evil." So, what about that sin? Let's
turn again to the Catechism.
PART THREE
LIFE IN CHRIST
SECTION ONE
MAN'S VOCATION LIFE IN THE SPIRIT
CHAPTER ONE
THE DIGNITY OF THE HUMAN PERSON
ARTICLE 8
SIN
...
II. THE DEFINITION OF SIN
1849 Sin is an offense against reason, truth, and right
conscience; it is failure in genuine love for God and neighbor caused by a
perverse attachment to certain goods. It wounds the nature of man and
injures human solidarity. It has been defined as "an utterance, a
deed, or a desire contrary to the eternal law."
1850 Sin is an offense against God: "Against you, you
alone, have I sinned, and done that which is evil in your sight."
Sin sets itself against God's love for us and turns our hearts away from
it. Like the first sin, it is disobedience, a revolt against God through
the will to become "like gods," knowing and
determining good and evil. Sin is thus "love of oneself even to
contempt of God." In this proud self- exaltation, sin
is diametrically opposed to the obedience of Jesus, which achieves our
salvation.
...
III. THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF SINS
1852 There are a great many kinds of sins. Scripture provides
several lists of them. The Letter to the Galatians contrasts the
works of the flesh with the fruit of the Spirit: "Now the works of
the flesh are plain: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry,
sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension,
factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you, as I
warned you before, that those who do such things shall not inherit the
Kingdom of God."
In none of this can we find anything that says that the body, or any
state of the body, is sinful. Rather sins are immoral actions and
thoughts. Simple nudity, even in the presence of others, is not in
and of itself a sin. As we have seen above, there must be an evil
intention or immoral goal.
So, to return to the original article of Purity, let's re-read it
having educated ourselves and see if we can make some
determinations. I have included notes in red.
PART THREE - LIFE IN CHRIST
SECTION TWO - THE TEN
COMMANDMENTS
CHAPTER TWO "YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS
YOURSELF"
ARTICLE 9 THE NINTH COMMANDMENT
You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you
shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant, or his
maidservant, or his ox, or his ass, or anything that is your neighbor's.
Every one who looks at a woman lustfully has
already committed adultery with her in his heart.
This is the wrongful intention that we learned
about. It is an immorality on the part of the one lusting.
...
II. THE BATTLE FOR PURITY
2520 Baptism confers on its recipient the grace
of purification from all sins. But the baptized must continue to struggle
against concupiscence of the flesh and disordered desires. With God's
grace he will prevail
- by the virtue and gift of chastity, for
chastity lets us love with upright and undivided heart;
Chastity involves sexuality, as we have seen,
and is irrespective of a person's state of dress or undress - unless
one dresses provocatively.
- by purity of intention which consists in
seeking the true end of man: with simplicity of vision, the baptized
person seeks to find and to fulfill God's will in everything;
Again, the intention weighs heavily.
- by purity of vision, external and internal; by
discipline of feelings and imagination; by refusing all complicity in
impure thoughts that incline us to turn aside from the path of God's
commandments: "Appearance arouses yearning in fools"
It is impure thought that incline us to turn
aside from the path of God's commandments. We must be on guard
against these impure thoughts, weather we are dressed in heavy coveralls,
or naked in our own bathtubs.
...
2521 Purity requires modesty, an integral part of
temperance. Modesty protects the intimate center of the person. It means
refusing to unveil what should remain hidden. It is ordered to chastity to
whose sensitivity it bears witness. It guides how one looks at others and
behaves toward them in conformity with the dignity of persons and their
solidarity.
Modesty is a two way street. It means
refusing to unveil what should remain hidden. Going back to morality,
we can apply the same considerations to Modesty; the object, the
intention, and the circumstances. It would be immodest to encourage
a lustful desire in another person by wearing provocative clothing, but to
refuse to undress when it is beneficial to do so - such as for a doctor -
is not immodest.
Conversely, Modesty guides how
we look at and behave towards other persons with dignity and
solidarity. We should never look or behave towards anyone in a way
that does not respect them as a person rather than an object of lust or
desire.
2522 Modesty protects the mystery of persons and
their love. It encourages patience and moderation in loving relationships;
it requires that the conditions for the definitive giving and commitment
of man and woman to one another be fulfilled. Modesty is decency. It
inspires one's choice of clothing. It keeps silence or reserve where there
is evident risk of unhealthy curiosity. It is discreet.
Here is a useful definition. "Modesty
is decency." The Catechism doesn't define decency, but to do so
we only need to turn to Romans 13:13 "Let
us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and
drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension
and jealousy." From this we see that indecency - and then also
immodesty - arises from impure action rather than a state of
being.
A further clarificaition is given to our context
by, "It inspires one's choice of clothing." What does this
mean? St. Paul gives us the answer in 1
Timothy 2:9 "I also want women to dress modestly, with
decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or
expensive clothes," So immodest dress would be gaudy dress -
braided hair, flashy jewelry, and expensive clothes. Just as we
wouldn't dress in a provocative way to encourage lustful desires, we
should also not dress lavishly to encourage jealousy or envy. To do
so would also be immodest. Again, in our context, this says nothing
about simple nudity being immodest - although in certain settings it could
well be, such as in a sleazy night club where prostitution of many kinds
takes place.
2523 There is a modesty of the feelings as well
as of the body. It protests, for example, against the voyeuristic
explorations of the human body in certain advertisements, or against the
solicitations of certain media that go too far in the exhibition of
intimate things. Modesty inspires a way of life which makes it possible to
resist the allurements of fashion and the pressures of prevailing
ideologies.
This is modesty of the mind and the
feelings. Just as we wouldn't look at an actual person in such a way
as to treat them as an object and not as a human being with inherent
dignity, we also wouldn't ensnare ourselves by looking at pornography or
other immoral media messages.
2524 The forms taken by modesty vary from one
culture to another. Everywhere, however, modesty exists as an intuition of
the spiritual dignity proper to man. It is born with the awakening
consciousness of being a subject. Teaching modesty to children and
adolescents means awakening in them respect for the human person.
This is a very good point. Modesty can vary
from culture to culture. In some cultures women cover their
faces. In others they cover their hair. Each culture must be
judged by how it applies this modesty as it applies to the spiritual
dignity of mankind. It is important to teach modesty to
children. This is for their own sake, because evil people might seek
to exploit them. It is likewise important not to teach them that
their own bodies - which are made in the Image of God and possess their
own inherent human dignity - are shameful or evil.
2525 Christian purity requires a purification of
the social climate. It requires of the communications media that their
presentations show concern for respect and restraint. Purity of heart
brings freedom from widespread eroticism and avoids entertainment inclined
to voyeurism and illusion.
2526 So called moral permissiveness rests on an
erroneous conception of human freedom; the necessary precondition for the
development of true freedom is to let oneself be educated in the moral
law. Those in charge of education can reasonably be expected to give young
people instruction respectful of the truth, the qualities of the heart,
and the moral and spiritual dignity of man.
This is perfectly in line with our context.
Moral dignity and spiritual dignity are closely intertwined, and are
virtues of the spirit and of the heart. The state of dress or
undress does not change these virtues.
2527 "The Good News of Christ continually
renews the life and culture of fallen man; it combats and removes the
error and evil which flow from the ever-present attraction of sin. It
never ceases to purify and elevate the morality of peoples. It takes the
spiritual qualities and endowments of every age and nation, and with
supernatural riches it causes them to blossom, as it were, from within; it
fortifies, completes, and restores them in Christ."
IN BRIEF
2528 "Everyone who looks at a woman
lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart" (Mt
5:28).
2529 The ninth commandment warns against lust or
carnal concupiscence.
2530 The struggle against carnal lust involves
purifying the heart and practicing temperance.
2531 Purity of heart will enable us to see God:
it enables us even now to see things according to God.
2532 Purification of the heart demands prayer,
the practice of chastity, purity of intention and of vision.
2533 Purity of heart requires the modesty which
is patience, decency, and discretion. Modesty protects the intimate center
of the person.
So, from the Catechism we can see that a state of undress is not
automatically indecent, immoral, undignified, unchaste, or
immodest.
Of course, some persons are going to say that I have twisted the
Catechism in a way to suit my own ends. You do not have to believe
me, however, because the Holy Father has penned his own ideas on the
subject. In two of his excellent books, he writes about our very
subject.
For reference, please see Covenant of Love: Pope John Paul II on
Sexuality, Marriage, and Family in the Modern World (Garden City, NY:
Doubleday, 1985) and Love and Responsibility (Rev. ed. Trans. H.T.
Willetts. New York: Farrar, 1981). I have included the relevant
quotes below.
Pope
John Paul II agrees that nudity, in and of itself, is not sinful.
"The human body in itself always has its own inalienable human
dignity," he says. It is only obscene when it is reduced to "an
object of 'enjoyment,' meant for the gratification of concupiscence
itself."
Pope John Paul II writes: "There are circumstances in which
nakedness is not immodest. If someone takes advantage of such an occasion
to treat the person as an object of enjoyment (even if his action is
purely internal) it is only he who is guilty of shamelessness . . . not
the other."
Pope John Paul II writes: "Sexual modesty cannot then in any
simple way be identified with the use of clothing, nor shamelessness with
the absence of clothing and total or partial nakedness. . . . Immodesty is
present only when nakedness plays a negative role with regard to the value
of the person, when its aim is to arouse concupiscence, as a result of
which the person is put in the position of an object for enjoyment. . . .
There are certain objective situations in which even total nudity of the
body is not immodest."
I hope that this will help the Catholic brothers and sisters see that
their bodies - and indeed the bodies of others - are not evil or shameful
in and of themselves, despite what has been wrongly taught for so
long.
This was not written as an encouragement for persons who's conscience
dictates otherwise to appear naked in public, or indeed to encourage any
behavior whatsoever. By this article, however, I hope that the
Catholic brothers and sisters will see that those who choose to remove
their clothing at times when it seems appropriate to them - such as
designated beaches - are not committing any sin or indecency.
For a more esoteric presentation of the above, I invite you to read "This
is My Body" a work about the naked body and its relationship to the
Earth.
If you finally decide to walk with God in the manner of Adam, I invite
you to read "On
Being Human" an article on nude or naked hiking.
***
Shane Steinkamp - April 21, 2004
"Adam and Eve entered the world naked and unashamed - naked and
pure-minded. And no descendant of theirs has ever entered it otherwise.
All have entered it naked, unashamed, and clean in mind. They entered it
modest. They had to acquire immodesty in the soiled mind, there was
no other way to get it. ... The convention mis-called "modesty"
has no standard, and cannot have one, because it is opposed to nature and
reason and is therefore an artificiality and subject to anyone's whim -
anyone's diseased caprice." - Mark Twain, Letters from the
Earth |