As my twentieth year as bishop of Milan draws to<br >a close and I enter my seventy-third year， I offer<br >ttlis book that I began in February of 1998. At<br >the time， I believed that my age and my sufficiently<br >long experience had qualified me to look back and<br >draw some reflections on the all-important subject of<br >the body.<br > While my heavy load of pastoral commitments<br >prevented me from finishing the book earlier， it 1s<br >also true that one s reflections on subjects such as<br >these can never be complete.<br > As I was writing these pages， I realized how very<br >little I could say on the subject and how much still<br >remains to be said and clarified. Although I received<br >much help and suggestions from experts and friends，<br >I know that this work is woefully incolnplete.<br > Nevertheless， I would like to attempt to write<br >something about the complex reality that is the<br >human body， in which and around which every-<br >thillg happens， and which is the subject of so many<br >theories， conflicting attitudes， and arguments.<br >