Christopher West, Theology of the Body, and Personalism...

... or what are 3 things that I am trying to figure out in my head. I really want to post about these things, but I don't really know where I stand on everything. I had planned a post today about "Personalism and Catholic Moral Childbirth" but I scratched that idea after seeing a few blog posts over the past few days dealing with Christopher West, Theology of the Body, and Personalism/Phenomenology. I know that a lot of people may not know what all or any of those things are, and thats OK! Ask me a year ago and I knew maybe one, and definitely couldn't explain it to you. I will try and provide a little primer below, and come back to this post at another time. As the CMR crew did as well, I open this post to comments hoping to inspire a little discussion and hopefully knowledge on the topics.

Christopher West: I know that a lot of hub-bub was out in the Cathologosphere(tm) a bit ago over Christopher West. (A quick blip from ABC):

This created some controversy, among some other things Mr. West said. A lot of his teaching was "misrepresented" on ABC, as the MSM does quite often to Catholicism. Yet, so many people had a problem with this, that BISHOPS had to issue a statement concerning their opinion of the situation:
Two Bishops Issue Defend Chris West's Theology of the Body Work

Meanwhile the Cathologosphere(tm) chimed in:
Matt Archbold @ Creative Minority Report: West Open Comment Post
The Fifth Column: West Commentary

Cheeky Pink Girl: "Christopher West Responds to His Critics"

So the question seems to be: What do Traditionalist Catholics and even more "Modernist" Catholics do with Mr. West?

I think the question hinges on your ideas on Personalism, what the Theology of the Body "SAYS," and how those two "items" apply to an American Catholics life. I don't think it is an easy question. But I would like to know everyones thoughts on this issue, so please comment.

On a side note: I think a major contention many have with West is not so much the essence of his message, but its means or method. The comparison to Hefner is ridiculous, yet West seems open to criticism and is willing to listen and change for the better. Let's see where this all ends up in a few months and as time progresses, especially as TOB and its teaching grows in this country.