Gay Blessings and the Perils of ‘Authenticity’, by John M. Grondelski

By John M. Grondelski, The Catholic Thing, Jan. 24, 2024

John Grondelski (Ph.D., Fordham) is a former associate dean of the School of Theology, Seton Hall University, South Orange, New Jersey. All views herein are exclusively his.

“Authenticity” has been the big thing, on and off, for decades. Being “authentic” meant being non-conforming, “true to yourself” – which usually translated to indulging your base instincts absent reasoning about them.  Christian cultures and “society” were the arch-enemies of “authenticity.”  We were all Rousseaueans now, standing up as individuals, defining our “own concept of existence, of meaning, [and] the universe.” (Justice Kennedy, in Casey) Which mostly meant: sexually.

Such was a dominant view of authenticity but, arguably, it was inauthentic.  It was not my “self” as much as my Freudian id identified as my “self.”

The philosopher Germain Grisez spoke of a more authentic “authenticity” as one of the eight basic goods of the human person.  (Over time Grisez shifted his “basic goods” around a bit; the best version may be found in his book with Russell Shaw Beyond the New Morality). ….

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