Alice von Hildebrand Critiques Christopher West

If the above title sounds a little "inside baseball" to you, a (very, very, very brief) explanation.  Alice von Hildebrand is a Catholic philosopher and theologian, and also the widow of Dietrich von Hildebrand, a prominent philosopher and moral theologian active in the anti-Nazi resistance, whose ethical analysis was greatly admired by Pope John Paul II. 

Christopher West is an American writer and popular lecturer known mainly for his exegesis of John Paul's "Theology of the Body," a look a human sexuality and sexual morality.  Thus a critique by the redoubtable Alice von Hildebrand, even a polite one, is noteworthy. 

A sample: Christopher West is convinced that prior to Theology of the Body—which he terms a "revolution"—Catholic teaching had presented "sex" as essentially dirty, betraying the true Christian understanding of sex.  This is a thought Dietrich von Hildebrand would have strongly rejected.  Accidental errors should never be identified with the Church's essential teaching. Every epoch has its dangers, which need to be addressed, but always in a way which remains faithful to Catholic tradition.

Read further: http://www.americamagazine.org/blog/entry.cfm?entry_id=3133
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