Moral Theology
Chapter 2
1. Moral Theology
a. A science which accepts and examines divine revelation while at the same
time responding to the demands of human reason.
i. A reflection concerned with the good and evil of human acts and of
the person who performs them.
ii. It also acknowledges that the origin and end of moral action are
found in the One who “alone is good” and who, by giving himself to
man in Christ, offers him the happiness of divine life.
b. Moral theology enables the human mind to make correct moral choices
i. Guided by the principles set forth by the Magisterium
ii. Guides us to live the new life received in Baptism
iii. Enables us to receive our reward of eternal life
iv. Its ethical principles are discovered in revelation and the life of
Jesus
v. It is aided by human sciences where appropriate
1. Insights from psychology explain how a person is motivated
to make moral choices
vi. Answers determined by moral theology are guaranteed to be
sufficient and free from error
1. As long as they are grounded in revelation and human
knowledge and in accordance with the teaching of the
Church
2. Ethical systems based on reason alone are prone to error
because they lack the insights found in revelation and are
not directed by the Magisterium
vii. Failure to take God’s revelation into account can explain why many
ethical systems fall short of their goals
1. Failure is related to the desire to set up a system apart from
God’s vision that is the only true understanding of human
dignity.
a. Communism and Socialism are examples
2. Our moral conduct depends on the very concept of man
a. Every person has a standard of behavior by which he lives
i. If a person believes that he is nothing more than a highly-evolved
animal, then the moral standards by which he tries to live will be no
more than biological rules
1. He will live as an animal because animals are not capable of
making moral choices
2. This is a morality of instinct
ii. Sociobiology theorizes that man is an animal who is genetically
determined
1. Our choices are genetically fixed
2. Choices have no moral component
3. Therefore no moral demands can be made on people
iii. Humanism does not accept the existence of God, an immortal soul,
or an afterlife
1. Some common aspects shared by humanism and
Christianity
2. Christian view is radically different
iv. Other extreme is that humans are purely spiritual
1. Favors ethical principles that favor a spiritual life
2. No consideration of the body
3. Denies the role of the body in relation to human perfection
4. Buddhism is an example of this viewpoint
3. The Christian concept of mankind
a. Christianity separates itself from theories that do not believe in the
existence of an immortal soul in each person
i. The existence of an immortal soul in each person differentiates us
radically from animals
ii. The term soul is applied to describe the human being’s capacity to
think and choose in imitation of its creator
1. Fundamentally a Western idea
2. Also an undeniable reality in Eastern thought
iii. Christianity has been the force that confirmed and fully developed
the Western understanding of an immortal soul
iv. Inordinate stress (in this century) on the scientific method and
materialism has led to denial that the human has an immortal soul
1. If it can’t be measured or observed, it doesn’t exist
2. Ignores the fact that we can conceive of abstract ideas
a. The word mind is used by some to describe this
phenomenon
b. Others use the word soul
v. There is widespread agreement that there is an additional element
that is neither reducible to the brain nor identical to the mind.
b. The human soul is created directly by God
i. The Church teaches that every spiritual soul is created immediately
by God.
1. Not produced by the parents
2. Is immortal
3. Does not perish when it separates from the body at death
4. Will be reunited with the body at the final resurrection
ii. The soul is a spiritual reality
1. Free and immortal
2. Ordered to God
3. Destined for heaven
iii. Through the soul, each person is the image of God
1. Since God is spirit, the soul is non-material
2. Like God, the human being has the ability to think and
choose (Has an intellect and a will)
c. Both the body and the soul belong to the being of man
i. Properly speaking, a person does not have a soul, rather he
integrates the soul into his own being.
1. He “is” a soul
ii. Similarly, a person does not have a body, he is a body
iii. Each person is one in body and soul.
d. Both body and soul constitute one unity
i. The soul is created in the image of God and is united to the human
body.
ii. This is a special unity of body and soul and negates any
interpretation of man as two separate entities
iii. This unity is found under the ideas of matter and form
1. Example of a statue
a. Made up of matter
b. Has a shape
2. The person is made up af matter (the body) and Form (the
soul)
iv. To separate the body and soul is to destroy the person
v. Since the human is both a spiritual and corporeal reality, mortality
affects both the body and the spirit.
1. The body and soul are inseparable
2. The Sacraments address this unity of body and soul
a. Anointing done in Confirmation, Holy Orders, And
Anointing of the Sick
b. The Holy Eucharist in the appearance of bread and
wine
vi. The truths determined by Christian anthropology are:
1. The creation of man by God in his own image and likeness
2. The existence of Original Sin
3. The redemption accomplished by Jesus Christ
a. Makes possible the life of grace given to us in
Baptism
i. One acquires a higher level of participation in
God’s life through grace
ii. A permanent spiritual sign is imprinted on the
soul that consecrates the person to Christ
iii. The baptized becomes a new being, a person
in Christ
b. St. Peter teaches that the baptized “become partakers
of the divine nature”.
i. A child participates in the physical nature of his
parents through genetic structure
ii. The Christian, in a real but spiritual fashion,
participates in the nature of God.
4. The specificity of Catholic Morality
a. It is clear that the believer in Christ has a new way of acting, since he has
supernatural motives – that is, motives directly from God.
b. The New Testament contains superior values and precepts for doing good
that are not found in any other philosophical or religious system.
c. All who are baptized are required to live the theological virtues of faith,
hope, and charity
i. Infused at Baptism
ii. Enable us to share in the divine nature of the Father, Son, and the
Holy Spirit.
iii. They allow us to:
1. Believe where belief does not seem possible
2. Hope where there is no hope
3. Love even those who hate us
iv. Baptism works a conversion that enables us to turn toward God
and away from sin.
v. The morality presented by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount
supersedes any known morality.
d. As a result of Christ’s death and resurrection, the entire natural order has
a new aid
i. The grace of God which makes human life meritorious.
ii. The Christian accepts forgiveness and righteousness from on high
iii. Is enabled to rise above the purely human
1. Not by an exterior change
2. By healing and perfecting the proper order in his soul
e. The Holy Spirit dwells in the Church as the source of her life and sanctifies
human souls through the gift of his grace.
f. When a person accepts the Spirit of Christ, he establishes a way of life
that is totally new and gratuitous.
5. Man is a social being: Moral requirements of human solidarity
a. The natural condition of being a person makes a human both an individual
and a social being.
i. Reason is derived from the very structure of the human person.
1. Made in the image of the perfect community which is the
Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.
ii. Man’s sociability requires that certain ethical demands be
accomplished as part of his relationship to others in society.
1. All have a right to own and use property for their basic
needs.
2. Coupled with this right is the obligation to respect others’
rights in regards to property to ensure the common good.
3. Result – Christian morality has the capability to perfect both
personal and social obligations.
iii. Since man is inclined to ignore his social duties for personal gain, it
is necessary to stress the importance of carrying out these duties.
b. The teaching of the Church attempts to safeguard Christian morality from
being purely individualistic in its approach, where little attention is given to
social duties.
6. Sources of Moral Theology
a. Moral theology has its own sources, while making use of other sciences
that assist it.
i. The sources that moral theology derives its doctrine are essentially
the same as those of theology in general
1. Sacred Tradition
2. Sacred Scripture
ii. Form one sacred deposit, a complete collection of the truths given
to the Church by God.
iii. Theology is a mirror in which the Church reflects upon God
1. The source of all the riches of the Church
iv. The Magisterium is the authority that authentically interprets this
sacred deposit
b. Sacred Scripture
i. Inspired by God and written down by human authors
ii. It must be receptive to what God intended to reveal through his
sacred authors regarding our salvation.
iii. It is the written revelation contained in the Bible that teaches the
ethical values promulgated by God.
iv. In the bible, Christian morality is deduced mainly from the New
Testament.
1. In the Gospels, we find two basic principles
a. The life of Jesus is the main source from which the
believer learns to live a Christian life.
b. The moral doctrine that Jesus preached and taught –
his words, his deeds, and his precepts – constitute
the “moral rule of the Christian life”.
2. Other writings of the NT are also a principle source of moral
knowledge
a. The apostles, besides recalling the moral teachings of
Christ, expose other precepts that are derived from
his doctrine.
i. Applied to the different circumstances of the
first believers
3. Not all biblical teachings are meant to be binding forever.
a. Many OT precepts were circumstantial and were
abolished by Jesus’ preaching.
b. Some NT teachings applied only to early church
communities because of their particular situations.
c. Sacred Tradition
i. From the Latin trader, which means “to hand on,”
ii. Refers to those truths passed from generation to generation, in oral
rather than written form.
iii. Tradition is the very life of the Church.
iv. Writings of the early fathers which systematize moral doctrine and
apply the NT teachings to different times are an important part of
Tradition.
v. Also includes the teaching, life, and worship practices as well as
Papal teachings which reflect these sources.
d. The Magisterium
i. Magisterium is the name given to the Church’s teaching office
ii. Derived from the Latin magister which means “teacher”
iii. Refers to the authority of the Pope and the bishops united with him
in teaching matters of faith and morals.
iv. The teaching of the hierarchy began with the apostles.
v. The head of the Magisterium (the Pope), by divine intuition enjoys
complete, immediate, and universal power in the care of souls.
1. He is guided by the Holy Spirit to authentically interpret the
Christian moral message as head of the college of bishops.
vi. The Magisterium defines both the truths of faith and the Church’s
moral teachings and transmits them to every generation.
vii. The infallibility, or immunity from error and any possibility of error,
of the Magisterium extends to all elements of doctrine, including
moral doctrine to preserve the truths of faith.
e. Ancillary sciences of moral theology
i. Philosophical ethics
1. Aids in the understanding
2. Posing of questions
3. Provides a suitable language for expression
ii. Law
1. Especially Canon Law
2. Systematically studies the norms of the Church
iii. Other human sciences
1. Anthropology
2. Psychology
3. Medicine
iv. These sciences are only supplementary
1. They neither substitute nor diminish the authority of Scripture
and Tradition – including the Magisterium – which constitute
the sources of moral theology
7. The Christian and the defense of truth
a. Plurality of opinion in matters of custom, politics, and other relative matters
is a legitimate exercise of human freedom.
i. Example, in family life, different ways of relating can exist between
parents and their children
1. According to education
2. Environment
3. Social customs
b. While accepting a “healthy pluralism,” Christians nevertheless have the
obligation to acknowledge their beliefs and preach the moral message
given by Jesus.
c. The Church is both the means and the goal of God’s plan.
d. The believer in Christ possesses a qualified certainty about
i. the content of natural law placed in his heart by God
ii. Other truths that help guide his conduct
e. The believer must ensure that Christian ethical principles inform human
society.
f. Pluralism must never lead anyone to refuse to accept a truth od approve
its denial.
g. The Christian ought to defend the truth in a positive manner, respecting
others and living out charity, while, at the same time, proclaiming the truth
without fear.
8. Conclusion
a. Catholic morality offers an unmatched security.
b. It incorporates a clear way of thinking based on sound philosophy, and a
solid idea of mankind discovered from a careful reading of revelation.
c. It acknowledges a legitimate pluralism of opinion when it does not conflict
with God’s revealed truth.
d. No other philosophical or moral system offers such a dignified concept of
the human person.
e. The Church teaches about the precarious state in which each person finds
himself
i. Beginning with the teaching regarding original sin
9. The Common Good (pg 155)
a. Three components
i. Respect for all persons’ natural freedom, conscience, and choice of
vocation as members of society
ii. Accessibility to each what is necessary for a truly human life
1. Work
2. Food
3. Clothing
4. Health
5. Education
6. Participation in culture
7. The right to establish a family
8. Suitable information for their spiritual and mental formation
iii. Peace and stability of a just order with those in authority using
morally acceptable means to ensure the security of society.
b. The common good
i. Must be founded on truth
ii. Built up in justice
iii. Animated by love
iv. Directed toward the progress of persons
1. Spiritually
2. Materially
10. The Fundamental Option (pg 111)
a. Defined as the basic commitment for or against God made by a human
person – the basic orientation of his life in relation to God, either toward
obedience and fidelity or to selfishness and disobedience of God.
b. Christian moral teaching acknowledges the specific importance of a
fundamental choice which qualifies the moral life and engages freedom on
a radical level before God.
c. It is true that a person possesses a profound inclination toward or away
from God, but this disposition is formed, confirmed, or altered by each
particular action.
d. The ideal moral person is not only one who chooses a definitive and
radical mode of conduct befitting a follower of Christ, but one who also
believes that he ought to be careful of each and every one of his actions,
because they manifest the coherency of his faith and his commitment to
God.