「自由」是神給人最大的禮物，也是人之所以為人的根本元素。對於這個重要議題，聖多瑪斯在其《神學大全》中先為人的靈性在天地宇宙間，標示了他的價值與定位。繼而就靈性的各種機能分別闡釋。在論自由的主題上，他著重自由意志與理性、在主動與被動之間的交錯互動關係。無疑地，這樣的見解是源自耶穌所宣示的，靈肉之間在天主救恩計劃的本末輕重的進德秩序。 梵二代表的是新時代的人類的新處境，更清楚地呈現人在現世生活中比以往受到更多有形無形的影響與束縛，使人對自由產生了誤解與扭曲。因此，「天主教教理」明確地強調：「忽略人具有已受損害且傾向於惡的本性，是在教育、政治、社會行動及習俗等方面，造成嚴重錯誤的原因。」（407號） 本文即欲以神學的態度，串聯此四個見解，希望為「自由與束縛」各面向的探討，提供助益。

“Liberty” is God’s greatest gift to mankind as well as the essential element of humanity. Regarding this important issue, Thomas Aquinas marked the value and position of human beings in the cosmos for their spirituality, before explaining the functions of spirituality. On the topic of liberty, he focused on free will and reason, the crisscross interaction between activeness and passiveness. Undoubtedly, such an insight originated from the priorities between spirituality and physicality in God’s Salvation Plan. The Vatican II Council represented the new situation for human beings in the new era and showed more clearly that people encountered in lives more visible or invisible impact and bondage than ever that lead to the their misunderstanding and distortion of liberty. Therefore, “Catholic doctrines” stressed specifically, “the ignorance of how human nature has been damaged and oriented toward evils is what leads to serious mistakes in education, politics, social activity and customs” (No. 407). This article is meant to connect these four insights from the theological perspective and help making holistic inquiry about “liberty and bondage.”