ELM 402
Moral Theology
Fr. Christopher Roberts, STB, MA
Winter 2016
Opening Questions
• What expectations do you have for this class
as regards:
• Tools?
• Methods?
• Topics?
• Take aways?
Where do we come from when it
comes to the moral life
• At Harvard, I battled moral relativism and turned
to Plato, Aristotle and St. Thomas to counter it
• At the Gregorian, I encountered proportionalism
• At the Angelicum, I went back to St. Thomas
again
• As a priest, I have had seven-plus years of
pastoral experience
• A have also spent one year of my priesthood
working in the world
• Where do you come from?
A Brief (and highly simplified) History
of Modern Moral Theology
• The Pelagian Controversy (the estrangement
between nature and grace in the West)
• Monastic Theology (Platonism)
• Scholasticism (The rise of Aristotle)
• The Protestant Reformation and Catholic
Reform (Move from virtue ethics to law)
• Cauisistry: Laxists, Rigorists and
Equiprobabalists
After the Council
• Proportionalism: Conscience, a specifically
Christian morality, fundamental option
• Josef Fuchs (1912-2005), the Kennedys,
abortion and contraception
• Veritatis Splendor: Conscience and divine law,
natural law, intrinsically moral evils
• The return of virtue ethics and Pinackers
Our perspective in the class
• “Today, having a clear faith based on the Creed of the
Church is often labeled as fundamentalism. Whereas
relativism, that is, letting oneself be ‘tossed here and
there, carried about by every wind of doctrine’, seems
the only attitude that can cope with modern times.
• We are building a dictatorship of relativism that does
not recognize anything as definitive and whose
ultimate goal consists solely of one’s own ego and
desires.”
Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, Homily, MISSA PRO ELIGENDO
ROMANO PONTIFICE 2005
General Presuppositions
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Moral absolutes exist
Something is different in Christian morality
The twofold significance of conscience
Scripture and Sacred Tradition are
authoritative
• We can trust the Magisterium of the Church
• Humanae Vitae was right
Course Projects
• Four, 2-3 page reflection papers
• Due on February 4, 25 and March 10 and 24
• Specific topics will be given the week before
and will arise out of class discussion
• Class participation is a very important element
of learning.
• Class participation will also be an important
part of your grade
The Internet
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Classes will be recorded and posted online
Power points will also be posted
These are not substitutes for class attendance
Please inform me of absences ahead of time
My email address is
stmaryuc@embarqmail.com
• Please address class correspondence to me via
email
Sources of Christian Morality
• The Natural Law: Romans 1:18-21
• [18] For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against
all ungodliness and wickedness of men who by their
wickedness suppress the truth.
• [19] For what can be known about God is plain to them,
because God has shown it to them.
• [20] Ever since the creation of the world his invisible
nature, namely, his eternal power and deity, has been
clearly perceived in the things that have been made. So
they are without excuse;
• [21] for although they knew God they did not honor him as
God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their
thinking and their senseless minds were darkened.
Natural Law
• Knowable through reason
• And also through revelation
• Why both? Because salvation should not be only for
the intelligent
• Its universality is why St. Thomas and other moralists
quote Plato, Aristotle, Avicenna and Maimonides
• The cardinal virtues:
• Prudence
• Justice
• Fortitude (Courage)
• Temperance
Sources of Christian Morality (cont.)
• The Ten Commandments (natural law)
• The Sermon on the Mount (Mt. 5-7), which
includes the :
• Beatitudes
• And other moral precepts
The three theological virtues:
• Faith
• Hope
• Love (Charity)
The Gifts of the Spirit
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Is. 11:13, LXX
Wisdom
Understanding
Counsel/Right Judgment
Fortitude/Courage
Knowledge
Piety/Reverence
Fear of the Lord/Wonder and Awe
Fruits of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23)
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charity
joy
peace
patience
kindness
goodness
generosity
gentleness
faithfulness
modesty
self-control
chastity
The works of the flesh (Gal. 5:19-21)
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fornication
impurity
licentiousness
idolatry
sorcery (pharmakeia)
enmity
strife
jealousy
anger
selfishness
dissension
factions
envy
drunkenness
carousing
and the like
The seven deadly sins
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From the monastic tradition
Evagrius – Cassian – Gregory the Great
Pride
Anger
Greed (avarice)
Gluttony
Envy
Lust
Sloth
Our Guide: Servais Pinkaers, OP (19252008)
Information on Pinackers
• Dominican Friar
• Author of The Sources of Christian Ethics
• Professor of Moral Theology at the University
of Fribourg
• Member of the International Theological
Commission
• Influential in drafting the moral section of the
Catechism of the Catholic Church
A Course in Three Acts
• Act One: The Sermon on the Mount (one
paper)
• Act Two: moral theology as such (one paper)
• Act Three: A rapid reading of the moral
section of the Catechism of the Catholic
Church (two papers)
Looking forward to next week
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Read:
Dt. 5
Ex. 20
Mt. 5-7
Gal. 5,
Is. 11:1-3
Pursuit, 1-110
Key Concepts for Next Week
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Key scriptural foundations of Christian morality
The Sermon on the Mount
The “negative” beatitudes
Think about the relationship between these three
words
• Blessed
• Happy
• Holy