Saint Anselm of Canterbury in Redemptor Hominis

Abstract

"While John Paul II nowhere in Redemptor Hominis (RH) cites St. Anselm of Canterbury directly,1 a persuasive argument can be made that he drew amply from Anselm’s thought in his own theology of salvation. Whether his broader soteriology is directly or indirectly indebted to Anselm is the work of a different, historical study. Here, I focus specifically on the substantial similarity of theological thought and language evidenced in RH, suggesting at least an indirect, though no less robust, influence of Anselm and/or contemporary Anselm scholarship. Hence, a better understanding of Anselm’s soteriology will help significantly in the interpretation of RH and, retrospectively, John Paul II’s soteriology in general. In the first part of this essay, I examine Anselm’s soteriology. In the second part, I turn to RH to both draw out the similarities between the two and elucidate how understanding Anselmian thought aids us in interpreting RH"