Catholic Moral Theology in the United States

Catholic Moral Theology in the United States !@ QW Selected titles from the Moral Traditions Series James F. Keenan, SJ, series editor American Protestant Ethics and the Legacy of H. Richard Niebuhr William Werpehowski Aquinas, Feminism, and the Common Good Susanne M. DeCrane The Banality of Good and Evil Moral: Lessons from the Shoah and Jewish Tradition David R. Blumenthal A Call to Fidelity: On the Moral Theology of Charles E. Curran James J. Walter, Thomas A. Shannon, & Timothy E. O’Connell, Editors Catholic Moral Theology in the United States: A History Charles E. Curran The Catholic Moral Tradition Today: A Synthesis Charles E. Curran Catholic Social Teaching, 1891–Present: A Historical, Theological, and Ethical Analysis Charles E. Curran The Context of Casuistry James F. Keenan, SJ, & Thomas A. Shannon, Editors The Christian Case for Virtue Ethics Joseph J. Kotva Jr. The Critical Calling: Reflections on Moral Dilemmas Since Vatican II Richard A. McCormick, SJ Defending Probabilism: The Moral Theology of Juan Caramuel Julia Fleming Democracy on Purpose: Justice and the Reality of God Franklin I. Gamwell The Ethics of Aquinas Stephen J. Pope, Editor Ethics and Economics of Assisted Reproduction: The Cost of Longing Maura A. Ryan The Fellowship of Life: Virtue Ethics and Orthodox Christianity Joseph Woodill Feminist Ethics and Natural Law: The End of the Anathemas Cristina L. H. Traina The Global Face of Public Faith: Politics, Human Rights, and Christian Ethics David Hollenbach SJ The Ground Beneath the Cross: The Theology of Ignacio Ellacuría Kevin F. Burke, SJ Heroes, Saints, and Ordinary Morality Andrew M. Flescher Introduction to Jewish and Catholic Bioethics: A Comparative Analysis Aaron Mackler Jewish and Catholic Bioethics: An Ecumenical Dialogue Edmund D. Pellegrino, & Alan I. Faden, Editors John Cuthbert Ford, SJ: Moral Theologian at the End of the Manualist Era Eric Marcelo O. Genilo, SJ Josef Fuchs on Natural Law Mark Graham Loyal Dissent: Memoir of a Catholic Theologian Charles E. Curran Medicine and the Ethics of Care Diana Fritz Cates, & Paul Lauritzen, Editors The Moral Theology of Pope John Paul II Charles E. Curran The Origins of Moral Theology in the United States: Three Different Approaches Charles E. Curran Prophetic and Public: The Social Witness of U.S. Catholicism Kristen E. Heyer Theological Bioethics: Participation, Justice, and Change Lisa Sowle Cahill United States Welfare Policy: A Catholic Response Thomas J. Massaro, SJ Catholic Moral Theology in the united States A History !@ QW Charles E. Curran georgetown university press Georgetown University Press/Washington, D.C. Georgetown University Press, Washington, D.C. www.press.georgetown.edu 2008 by Georgetown University Press. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Library of Congress-in-Publication Data Curran, Charles E. Catholic moral theology in the United States: a history / Charles E. Curran. p. cm. — (Moral traditions series) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN–13: 978–1–58901–195–3 (hardcover: alk. paper) ISBN–13: 978–1–58901–196–0 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Christian ethics—Catholic authors—History. 2. Christian ethics—United States—History. I. Title. BJ1249.C78 2008 241' .04273—dc22 2007025020 This book is printed on acid-free paper meeting the requirements of the American National Standard for Permanence in Paper for Printed Library Materials. 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 08 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 First printing Printed in the United States of America To the moral theologians who have gone before especially Tom Dailey Joe Fuchs Bernard Häring Dick McCormick May they rest in peace Contents Preface xi 1 The Nineteenth Century 1 2 The Twentieth Century before Vatican II 35 3 Twentieth-Century Social Ethics before Vatican II 63 4 The Setting of Moral Theology after Vatican II 83 5 The Aftermath of Humanae vitae 102 6 The Aftermath of Vatican II and Other Developments 131 7 Fundamental Moral Theology 165 8 Sexuality and Marriage 191 9 Bioethics 219 10 Social Ethics 249 Conclusions: Looking Backward and Forward 281 Bibliography 287 About the Author 327 Index 329 preface This book tells the story of Catholic moral theology in the United States. Those interested in the discipline of moral theology will find here the first monograph telling the story that began in the middle of the nineteenth century in this country. The title clearly indicates what the book attempts to do, but three aspects of the title need further explanation. First, what is moral theology? Moral theology is the name the Roman Catholic tradition gives to the theological discipline that deals with Christian life and action. Protestants often call the same discipline by the name of Christian ethics. In one sense all theology is one, but to facilitate the study of the various aspects of theology, separate disciplines have come into existence. The various theological disciplines today include systematic theology (in the past often called dogmatic theology), which deals with Christian faith, moral theology, spiritual theology, pastoral theology, liturgical theology, historical theology, and biblical theology. Di- visions are necessary for the study of theology, but they always remain somewhat artificial. The boundaries of moral theology are quite porous because Christian life and action are clearly connected with faith as well as with spiritual, pastoral, historical, liturgical, and biblical theologies. Thus, at times, it is difficult to discern what belongs to moral theology and what does not. This book follows the practi- cal criterion of determining the field of moral theology on the basis of how people who call themselves moral theologians have dealt with these issues. Within moral theology different divisions exist to facilitate the study of the subject matter of the discipline itself. This volume follows the often-used divisions of fundamental moral theology, sexual, bioethical, and social moral theology. Fundamental moral theology considers those aspects of the discipline such as the person as moral agent and subject, virtues, principles, conscience, and human actions in general that come into play in all the different areas and issues of human moral activity. The division among sexual, bioethical, and social moral theology derives from the areas and subjects considered. These divisions are certainly helpful, but there is the danger that some aspects of personal morality tend to be overlooked by this tripartite division. Second, what is meant by Catholic moral theology? This book considers those theologians who write from the Catholic moral tradition. The ecumenical charac- ter of Catholic moral theology in the United States in the last half century, how- ever, tends to blur somewhat the boundaries of Catholic moral theology. Catholic xi preface moral theology, especially after Vatican II, has learned much from ecumenical dialogue especially with Protestant thought. The subsequent pages occasionally rec- ognize the influence and importance of the ecumenical dialogue, but the focus is on Catholic moral theology and not on the broader discipline of Christian ethics understood as involving all those who write from the broader Christian tradition. In the present ecumenical climate, Catholic moral theologians will sometimes write from the general Christian perspective and address a broad Christian audience rather than from a specifically Catholic perspective and for a specifically Catholic audience. Parameters of Catholic moral theology were much more clear and sharp in the pre-ecumenical era before Vatican II. Third, the United States part of the title also raises some boundary issues. The Catholic Church is universal and the universal Church strongly influences what occurs in any individual country. In the world of theology in general and moral theology in particular, Europe was the primary home of Catholic theology well into the post–Vatican II era. Books by European authors frequently had English translations and exerted a great influence in the United States. In addition, English- speaking theologians, especially from England, Ireland, Canada, and Australia, have been in dialogue with moral theologians in the United States. This book rec- ognizes the existence of these contributions, but because of space and the need for strict limits, the focus remains on moral theologians from the United States. I have written in some detail about aspects of the history of Catholic moral theology in the United States, especially with regard to the nineteenth century, and with regard to Catholic social ethics in the twentieth century. In this book I will depend on these earlier writings. I have always been interested in the history of Catholic moral theology, and in the back of my mind I had the intention at some time to write a complete history of Catholic moral theology in the United States. My intention has come to fruition in the present volume. Catholic theology lately is very conscious of social location and the effect that has on one’s theology. My social location has certainly influenced how I have ap- proached this history. I received doctorates in moral theology in Rome in 1961 and began teaching moral theology even before the start of Vatican II. As a result I have personal familiarity with much that has occurred in Catholic moral theology in the United States, including the pre–Vatican II period. I write this history as a participant observer and do not claim to be neutral. The challenge is to strive to be objective in reporting and assessing what has occurred in moral theology but at the same time to explain my own approaches and positions. This role of a participant-observer is not an easy one. In this context I use the third person to refer to my past writings and actions and the first person to refer to the judgments and positions I take as the author of this history.

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