Quarterly Theology-The Foundations of Moral Theology
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PRESIDENT'S PAGE r: Lay Leadership' Gerard V. Bradley 0 Timothee, depositum [ustodi, devitans profanas vocum novitates et oppositiones falsi nominis scientiae, quam quidam profitentes circafidem aberraverunt. Gratia vobiscum. 1 ad Timotheum 6 ituigium authenticam, the new Vatican document on transla- tion principles, just arrived. It supplies the occasion for a short reflection on the efficacy of papal documents addressed, as this one is, principally to bishops. And, in turn, a reflection on the laity's vocation. Fellowship There are more of these documents than you might think. You might think of the Instruction a few years ago concerning "the col- laboration of the lay f: . riests." Ex Corde of Catholic Ecclesiae,too, was . hops, and con- cerned their of these two documents, I effect in- tended by Scholars Do that VeritatisSplendor, too, all the bishops Catholic Church Regarding CertJ s of the Church's Moral Teaching"? VS responded, the "genuine crisis" in teaching-in seminaries and i f Quarterly theology-the foundations of moral theology. T ed his VOLUME 24, NUMBER 2 SPRING 2001 brothers in the Episcopate, with whom he sharec of safe- guarding sound teaching, to greater vigilance 0 the truths of the faith. CONTENTS VS has doubtlessly stirred much PRESIDENT'S PAGE: It has done good. But I doubt it has had Lay Leadership I author. ARTICLES: The newly received document on principles of translation has to Historical Perspectives on have significant effects. Not necessarilyb~tause the bishops will em- the Human Person 2 brace it. They might. But even if they do not, the Holy See retains a The Vocation of a Catholic TeacherlScholar 8 trump card: withholding needed approval for new translations. The fact remains that, bishops do not seem receptive to The Catholic Lawyer: Justice and the Incarnation 17 a particular papal call to c orward the new evangelization. And, let's face it: there is ve e that the Vatican can, or even should, do MEMBERSHIPMATTERS 21 in the face of opposition (often expressed through inaction) ttom a AROUNDTHE CHURCH 23 united, wealthy conference. Think of Germany. Cettainly ANNOUNCEMENT 26 with regard Ecclesiaiethe Vatican has done all can. The # DOCUMENTATION 27 fate of the papal constitutio . ishops, BOOK REVIEWS 31 and administrators (and faculty) ld pray for BOARD OF DIRECTORS 39 What else can we do? The rest of us must "Increase, even if it seems that, sometimes, episcopal authority has decreased. This is especially true for lay persons working in Catholic apostolates. Weare used to being the leaven. Now it looks like we are being called to ever greater leadership in our various undertakings. Always with the faith, and never contrary to the directives of our shepherds, it is indeed-as the Vatican Council suggested-the era of the laity. Whether we like it or not. ffi ISSN 1084-3035 . :o.-~ ... f: ARTICLES Historical Perspectives on the Human Person Elizabeth Fox-Genovese showered upon us, preferring to assume that they are Eleanore Raoul Prcifessor ours by right or by our own merit. Our compla- Emory University cency and self-satisfaction constitute the very essence What is man that thou art mindful of him? of the culture of death against which the Holy Fa- And the son of man that thou visit est him? ther warns us, for our boundless self-absorption blinds us to the value of others. For thou has made him a little lower than the angels, and thou has crowned him with glory and honour. Caught in a dangerous paradox, our age simulta- (Psalm 8:4-5) neously celebrates the unique value of human life and, however inadvertently, dismisses it as of no ontemporary Western society-the consequence. The life we are told to value is our most materially advanced in the his- own, and the more highly we value it the more eas- tory of the world-stands alone and ily we are tempted to discount the value of the lives without precedent in the high value it of others. Preoccupation with self at the expense of attributes to the individual person. the other is nothing new: Cain established the model Simultaneously, it stands exposed for the cheapness at the dawn of time. But our culture is breaking new in which it holds human life. Individual rights, hu- ground in its attempt to establish selfishness as a man rights, self-esteem, and related concepts domi- higher principle, swathed in words like choice and nate our culture's sense of the good that must at all fulfillment and autonomy. costs be defended. Yet unborn babies, terminally ill In historical perspective, fixation upon the rights patients, or those who simply "dis" others in the and unique value of the individual is something new. street are deemed expendable. Some lives embody Until very recently, societies, including the most the essence of all that is admirable and worthy; oth- ers are to be brushed aside as mere encumbrances. sophisticated societies of the Western world, have primarily regarded individual persons as members- What remains to be explained is who gets to decide and often as representatives-of groups, notably as which lives deserve respect and protection and members of families, but also of clans, tribes, social which do not? Which of us has a right to decide castes or estates, religious orders, or various trades or which lives are worth living? professions. The preferred forms of classification The well known passage from the eighth Psalm have varied, but the prevailing principle has held with which I began reminds us of the unique place firm. A human person has been understood as the human person enjoys in creation, delicately someone's daughter, father, wife, or cousin-one poised between God, whom we are made to serve, link in a kinship that defines all of its members. and other living creatures-animals, fish, and birds- Christianity's insistence that God loves each in- over whom God has granted us dominion. Contem- dividual broke radically with these patterns. Chris- porary culture, certainly in the United States and tianity affirmed the value of each particular person Europe, readily embraces the idea of man's domin- independent of ethnicity or sex or social standing, ion, but it shows markedly less enthusiasm for the pronouncing, in the words of St. Paul, that "There is idea that we rank lower in the hierarchy of merit neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor than the angels and God. Our age has lost the free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all Psalmist's marvel at the unique blessings that God has one in Christ Jesus." (Galatians3:28.) More, in af- firming the value of each, Christianity also affirmed Editors Note: This paper waspresentedin February 2001 at the National CatholicBioethicsCenter's annual workshopfor the value of all. In other words, Christianity viewed bishops. Thanks to Dr. Edward Furton, publications director, the human person as both particular and embodied and Dr. John Haas, President, for permission to print it, and and as universal. The parable of the Good Samaritan to Elizabeth Fox-Genovese for sharing it with our readers. was intended to teach Jesus' followers that the com- .. FCS Quarterly. Spring 2001 v mand to treat others with charity extended beyond human freedom has heightened the dignity and the members of one's own ethnic group. improved the lives of countless persons throughout In Christian perspective, it was not possible truly the globe. The same history that has brought us the to value any single person without valuing all per- progressive discrediting of ties among persons has sons or to value all persons (humanity) without valu- promoted a remarkable improvement in our under- ing each single person. In both respects, Christianity standing of the intrinsic value and dignity of each broke with the tribalism of Ancient Israel and of person. During recent centuries in many parts of the much of the rest of the world, establishing new stan- world, we have witnessed the abolition of slavery, an dards for the freedom each person should enjoy and improvement in the position of women, greater for equality among persons. Christians did not, how- attention to the discrete needs of children, respect ever, immediately attempt to impose their standards for the needs and dignity of those who suffer from of spiritual dignity and spiritual equality upon rela- various handicaps, and more. As Pope John Paul II tions among persons in the world. Over time, Chris- has emphasized, these gains are not trivial, and on no tianity powerfully influenced the character ofWest- account must we countenance their reversal. The ern culture and even political life, but it owed much puzzle remains that they have been accompanied of its success to its remarkable ability to adapt to by-and many would argue have depended upon- prevailing institutions and relations. a hardening of attitudes towards the intrinsic value of Only with the birth of modernism, notably in all human persons and, especially, towards the bind- the dangerous-if widely celebrated-cogito ergosum ing ties among persons. of Rene Descartes, did the disembedding of the indi- These two tendencies confront us with a para- vidual person from the collectivity that grounded his dox. On the one hand, we have a decreasing respect identity begin to be viewed as a positive good. And for the bonds among persons, and on the other an only with the Enlightenment and the great eigh- increasing commitment to the value and rights of teenth-century revolutions, notably the French previously oppressed groups of persons. On the one Revolution of 1789, did the ideal of individual free- hand we have an inflated concern for the rights and dom attain preeminence over all forms of depen- sensibilities of the individual, on the other a callous dence and connection.