Introduction to Moral Theology General Editor: Romanus Cessario, O.P. Introduction to Moral Theology Romanus Cessario, O.P. The Catholic University of America Press Washington, D.C. Copyright © The Catholic University of America Press All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standards for Information Science—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library materials, .-. ∞ -- Cessario, Romanus. —Introduction to moral theology / Romanus Cessario. ———p.mcm. — (Catholic moral thought) ——Includes bibliographical references and index. —— --- (cloth : alk. paper) — --- (pbk. : alk. paper) ——. Christian ethics.m. Catholic Church—Doctrines.m. Title.m. Series. —.c— —´.—dc For Bernard Francis Cardinal Law Archbishop of Boston on the occasion of his seventieth birthday Contents Acknowledgments, ix Introduction, xi . The Starting Point for Christian Moral Theology Sacra Doctrina and Moral Theology, The Human Person as Imago Dei, Human Flourishing and Beatitudo, . Moral Realism and the Natural Law Divine Providence and the Eternal Law, A Christian View of Natural Law, . The Origin and Structure of Virtuous Behavior The Voluntariness of Christian Freedom, Human Action and the Guidance of Church Teaching, The Primacy of Prudence for a Virtuous Choice, A Brief Speculative Excursion into Freedom and Providence, . The Form of a Good Moral Action Christian Realism and the Form of the Moral Good, Finding Goodness in Objects, Ends, and Circumstances, Virtue, Teleology, and Beatitude, . The Life of Christian Virtue and Freedom Habitus and Virtues: Pattern of a Graced Life, The Gifts of the Holy Spirit: Guides for the Moral Life, The New Law of Freedom: Christ’s Gift to His Church, Appendix Flight from Virtue: The Outlook of the Casuist Systems, Select Bibliography, Index, Acknowledgments “To live is Christ” (Phil :). This book represents the fruit of two decades of teaching moral theology in Catholic settings. I acknowledge especially the support and invaluable assistance given, most recently, by the Reverend Monsignors Richard G. Lennon, Rector, and Laurence W. McGrath, Librarian, at Saint John’s Seminary (Brighton, Massachu- setts). Sister Susan Heinemann, O.P., Monastery of Our Lady of Grace (North Guilford, Connecticut) transformed the text into a useful in- strument by her meticulous indexing. My gratitude to her extends also to those other Dominican nuns who have been a source of special en- couragement. The initiative for this volume and the series it initiates came from Dr. David J. McGonagle at the Catholic University of America Press. His co-workers, the Mmes. Susan Needham and Eliza- beth Benevides, have exhibited a spirit of dedication that transcends what professional responsibility imposes. This volume is dedicated to His Eminence, Bernard Cardinal Law, Archbishop of Boston, who has helped so many people throughout the world learn the meaning of “to live is Christ,” especially by his promotion of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The ninth anniversary of its publication this year coincides with the Cardinal’s seventieth birthday. Ad multos annos. Brighton, Massachusetts March Feast of Saint Joseph, Patron of the Universal Church ix Introduction The present volume introduces a series of textbooks which aims to provide upper division and graduate students with a well-rounded and readable account of the principal branches of moral theology according to the way that the discipline has actually developed and is now prac- ticed within the Roman Catholic tradition.1 Each volume in the Catholic Moral Thought Series is designed to provide students with a comprehensive presentation of both the princi- ples of Christian conduct and the specific teachings and precepts for fulfilling the requirements of the Christian life. The authoritative state- ments of the Roman Catholic Church supply the normative principles for determining what constitutes these basic elements of moral theolo- gy. Although the several authors who contribute to the series have been trained in various approaches to and outlooks on Christian ethics and moral theology, they each agree that it is impossible to develop success- fully a moral theology without first holding by divine and Catholic faith to the once and for all divine revelation that the Church of Christ safe- guards for every generation. Soundly based, then, in the teaching of the Church, the volumes of the series will set out in depth, in a manner and style suitable for scholars, students, and general readers, the basic prin- ciples of Catholic moral thought and the application of those princi- ples within areas of ethical concern that are of paramount importance today. For theological reasoning to illuminate honestly and explicate ade- . Though each volume in the Catholic Moral Thought Series treats a specific area of moral theology, the volumes complement one another. References to the present text will be found in subsequent volumes of the series so that the reader will possess an easy way to cross reference topics and undertake a more developed and unified research. Each vol- ume refers readers to the secondary literature so that both student and teacher can pur- sue in a fuller way those specialized topics that would be impossible to summarize with- in the scope of the present project. xi xii Introduction quately the general principles of ethical decision-making requires that moral theologians remain faithful to their ecclesial vocation. What is handed over in divine revelation not only provides the first principles for developing a moral theology, it also and antecedently commits one to a particular view of the Church. “For the believer,” explains Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, “the Church is not a sociological subject created by human agreement, but a truly new subject called into being by the Word and in the Holy Spirit.”2 Theologians enjoy the responsibility of helping the Church safeguard the deposit of faith (depositum fidei), so that the bonds of unity in the apostolic faith will continue to grow ex- tensively and develop coherently. The authors who contribute to this se- ries seek to fulfill this mission for the benefit of those who will use the volumes of Catholic Moral Thought, normally but not necessarily un- der the tutelage of a person trained in theology. In order to introduce this series, I want first to say something about the current climate, at once cultural and ideological, that attends any consideration of moral theology today; secondly I will describe the se- ries generically; and finally I will offer a summary-analysis of the pres- ent volume. I It has been observed that the Catholic moral theologian is obliged to carry out in the midst of a largely alien cultural environment the respon- sibility confided to him or her by the Church. Because of the shaping forces active in contemporary culture, insisting on the perennial validity of norms for human conduct, especially those precepts that, because of their necessary relation to fostering the good of the human person, al- low for no exception, has generated a challenging project. Even secular authors recognize both the dominant cultural attitudes and the risks in- herent in allowing them to remain unchallenged. For instance, Alan Wolfe has observed that while most Americans want to decide for themselves what is right, good, and meaningful, this kind of autonomy . See his “Deus locutus est nobis in Filio: Some Reflections on Subjectivity, Christology, and the Church,” in Proclaiming the Truth of Jesus Christ. Papers from the Vallombrosa Meeting (Washington, D.C.: United States Catholic Conference, ), p. Introduction xiii risks weakening the institutions that make civil life possible.3 When one accedes to the abandonment of metaphysical study that the ultimate hu- man questions impose on the human spirit, he pays the price. One conclusion that has emerged among some theologians active in the post-conciliar period is that Enlightenment views about autonomy are difficult, if not impossible, to reconcile with the demands of Chris- tian discipleship. Furthermore, it is little appreciated to what extent pe- culiarly modern versions of individual liberty are able to thwart the power inherent in moral action to unite human beings in achieving com- mon goals that embody the goods of excellence. The Gospel announces that human communion achieves its summit in a divinely initiated com- munion of charity. This means that the deleterious effects of an alleged conflict between enjoying freedom and pursing the good threaten direct- ly what the Christian believer holds most dear, namely, life in Christ. As the device for the Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, reminds us, the Church of Christ is committed to ensuring that “to each his own” will not prevail (“unicuique suum non praevalebunt”). Exaggerated conceptions of human freedom, when allowed to gov- ern a Christian’s spiritual life, undermine even those moral actions strengthened by the virtue of charity. When reliance on God is removed from the practice of the moral life, the theological virtues are impeded, as the Catechism says, from providing “the foundation of Christian moral activity” (). The confusion that arises from competing claims about what constitutes human freedom and what perfects human nature intrudes into every area of the Christian life.4 Because of this situation, the need for sound instruction in each branch of moral theology ac- quires a new urgency. The great advantage that an authentically Christian moral theology affords the believer derives principally from the fact that moral teaching is located within a larger picture of saving doctrine. As the very ordering . Alan Wolfe, “The Pursuit of Autonomy,” The New York Times Magazine, May , , pp. –: “No strong God. No strong rules. No strong superiors, moral or other- wise.l.l.l. Most Americans want to decide for themselves what is right, good, and mean- ingful.” . Veritatis splendor, nos. ff., explicitly acknowledges this development: “The modern concern for the claims of autonomy has not failed to exercise an influence also in the sphere of Catholic moral theology” (no.