Catholic Intellectual Tradition

Aflie also encounters a situation where he uses a person as an object for pleasure. This is when he is at the diner and he picks up a hitchhiker on the road. Later, this woman turns into a sexual companion and a housekeeper. It could be said that both parts got a benefit out of this “relationship”. He was able to have a person who would perform domestic tasks as well as a perfect lover. On the other hand, she got what she wanted; it is evident that the hitchhiker is running away from something. She also needed to get to London and find a place where she could stay. Indeed, she found this in Alfie and when the mutual relationship did not work out anymore she had no problem in running away. In this case, the “couple” had no problem with separating because there was neither a gift of self nor a communion of persons. As Professor Harding mentioned, “Mutual existing “beside” and “for” another person”. In this case neither of them were existent. Another pivotal aspect in the movie that attempts against the Catholic Intellectual Tradition’s teachings is when Alfie mentions, “If you lose a bird you can always replace her”. According to the Catholic faith, humans are unique and irreplaceable. This ideology is also known as “Human Dignity”. This belief states that

One of them is the marriage vow, which is said by the couple before God’s eyes. It is a commitment that the marriage to be promises to keep. The marriage vow indicates that the couple will give each other “Freely (Freely given consensual gift), Totally (Fully given gift of self), Faithfully (Lifelong fidelity – You are my irreplaceable and non-substitutable spouse), and Fruitfully (Open to life)” (Pope Paul VI, 1968). By saying these words the newly wed couple demonstrates that two separate lives have come together before God to become a single flesh, which cannot be separated by a human