If the object of the concrete action is not in harmony with the true good of the person, the choice of that action makes our will and ourselves morally evil, thus putting us in conflict with our ultimate end, the supreme good, God himself. This is what Jesus asks of everyone who wishes to follow him: "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me" (Mt 16:24). They even refused to feign such worship, thereby giving an example of the duty to refrain from performing even a single concrete act contrary to God's love and the witness of faith. Conscience, as the ultimate concrete judgment, compromises its dignity when it is culpably erroneous, that is to say, "when man shows little concern for seeking what is true and good, and conscience gradually becomes almost blind from being accustomed to sin".109 Jesus alludes to the danger of the conscience being deformed when he warns: "The eye is the lamp of the body. God's plan poses no threat to man's genuine freedom; on the contrary, the acceptance of God's plan is the only way to affirm that freedom. They have their origin and goal in the eternal, wise and loving counsel whereby God predestines men and women "to be conformed to the image of his Son" (Rom 8:29). It is addressed to the chief pastors, the bishops and, through them, is a message for all of us. Just as it does in proclaiming the truths of faith, and even more so in presenting the foundations and content of Christian morality, the new evangelization will show its authenticity and unleash all its missionary force when it is carried out through the gift not only of the word proclaimed but also of the word lived. Veritatis Splendor to Be Theme of Courage Conference At the center of the formation event will be the encyclical Veritatis Splendor, written 25 years ago this August by … Human freedom belongs to us as creatures; it is a freedom which is given as a gift, one to be received like a seed and to be cultivated responsibly. I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want" (Rom 7:15, 19). Catechism of the Catholic Church, No. Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Declaration on Certain Questions regarding Sexual Ethics Persona Humana (December 29,1975),10: AAS 68 (1976), 88-90.114. Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World Gaudium et Spes, 16.102. In their desire to emphasize the "creative" character of conscience, certain authors no longer call its actions "judgments" but "decisions" : only by making these decisions "autonomously" would man be able to attain moral maturity. In him, who is the Truth (cf. In fact, a new situation has come about within the Christian community itself, which has experienced the spread of numerous doubts and objections of a human and psychological, social and cultural, religious and even properly theological nature, with regard to the Church's moral teachings. 5). A prime example is the story of Susanna: in reply to the two unjust judges who threatened to have her condemned to death if she refused to yield to their sinful passion, she says: " I am hemmed in on every side. All people must take great care not to allow themselves to be tainted by the attitude of the Pharisee, which would seek to eliminate awareness of one's own limits and of one's own sin. This ultimately means making freedom selfdefining and a phenomenon creative of itself and its values. And, in turn, only the person himself knows what his own response is to the voice of conscience. As the Council's Declaration on Religious Freedom Dignitatis Humanae had already observed, "the dignity of the human person is a concern of which people of our time are becoming increasingly more aware".52 Hence the insistent demand that people be permitted to "enjoy the use of their own responsible judgment and freedom, and decide on their actions on grounds of duty and conscience, without external pressure or coercion".53 In particular, the right to religious freedom and to respect for conscience on its journey towards the truth is increasingly perceived as the foundation of the cumulative rights of the person.54, This heightened sense of the dignity of the human person and of his or her uniqueness, and of the respect due to the journey of conscience, certainly represents one of the positive achievements of modern culture. 2 Tim 4:1-4)".178. Thus human nature, created to rule other creatures, was by its likeness to the King of the universe made as it were a living image, partaking with the Archetype both in dignity and in name".65, The exercise of dominion over the world represents a great and responsible task for man, one which involves his freedom in obedience to the Creator's command: "Fill the earth and subdue it" (Gen 1:28). Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven" (Mt 5:14-16). As Pope Paul VI reminded us: "Evangelization will never be possible without the action of the Holy Spirit".167 The Spirit of Jesus, received by the humble and docile heart of the believer, brings about the flourishing of Christian moral life and the witness of holiness amid the great variety of vocations, gifts, responsibilities, conditions and life situations. 2.111. Specifically, this Encyclical has evaluated certain trends in moral theology today. and Romanus Cessario, O.P. [3] Concrete situations are unfavourably contrasted with the precepts of the moral law, nor is it any longer maintained that, when all is said and done, the law of God is always the one true good of man".137. 75. It is no longer a matter of limited and occasional dissent, but of an overall and systematic calling into question of traditional moral doctrine, on the basis of certain anthropological and ethical presuppositions. St. John Paul II introduced the themes of Veritatis Splendor in his inaugural address on World Mission Day in 1978, 15 years before the encyclical. Especially today, Christian moral teaching must be one of the chief areas in which we exercise our pastoral vigilance, in carrying out our munus regale. Cf. And this is precisely the case when an act of faith — in the sense of a fundamental option — becomes separated from the choice of particular acts, as in the tendencies mentioned above. Moralia in Job, VII, 21, 24: PL 75, 778: "huius mundi aspera pro aeternis praemiis amore."147. This is the direction taken by doctrines which have lost the sense of the transcendent or which are explicitly atheist. Mt 25:31-46). These works are above all those of charity (cf. This first principle of practical reason is part of the natural law; indeed it constitutes the very foundation of the natural law, inasmuch as it expresses that primordial insight about good and evil, that reflection of God's creative wisdom which, like an imperishable spark (scintilla animae), shines in the heart of every man. In Litteris Encyclicis Veritatis splendor docuimus Nos complures in orbe nostro exsistentes difficultates inde oriri quod est « crisis circa veritatem.. De Interpellatione David, IV, 6, 22: CSEL 3212, 283-284.166. 25. Lk 6:36), and the purpose of that commandment is to lead us, by the grace of Christ, on the path of that fullness of life proper to the children of God. 35. 116. Phil 2:6-11). At the same time, the Sermon on the Mount demonstrates the openness of the commandments and their orientation towards the horizon of the perfection proper to the Beatitudes. cit., 223.118. This is not a matter only of disposing oneself to hear a teaching and obediently accepting a commandment. (1954), 250.129. Oratio I: PG 97, 805-806.164. Still, they continue, God made man as a rationally free being; he left him "in the power of his own counsel" and he expects him to shape his life in a personal and rational way. It aims to eventually become home to dozens of Catholic families who can live, worship, and go to … F. X. Funk, I, 234-235; Saint Irenaeus, Adversus Haereses, IV, 33:1, 6, 7: SCh 100/ 2, 802-805; 814-815; 816-819.39. Such an outlook is quite congenial to an individualist ethic, wherein each individual is faced with his own truth, different from the truth of others. In the introduction, the pope notes that the Church's magisterial teaching, particularly in the past two centuries, has touched on many different … 8. Ecumenical Council of Trent, Sess. cit., 848-849; cf. In this context, appropriate allowance is made both for God's mercy towards the sinner who converts and for the understanding of human weakness. But the consideration of these consequences, and also of intentions, is not sufficient for judging the moral quality of a concrete choice. 5. Given in Rome, at Saint Peter's, on 6 August, Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord, in the year 1993, the fifteenth of my Pontificate. Summa Theologiae, I-II, q. Sir 15:14), so that he would seek his Creator of his own accord and would freely arrive at full and blessed perfection by cleaving to God".57 Although each individual has a right to be respected in his own journey in search of the truth, there exists a prior moral obligation, and a grave one at that, to seek the truth and to adhere to it once it is known.58 As Cardinal John Henry Newman, that outstanding defender of the rights of conscience, forcefully put it: "Conscience has rights because it has duties".59. Code of Canon Law, Canon 747, 2.43. Moral theologians have the task, in close and vital connection with biblical and dogmatic theology, to highlight through their scientific reflection "that dynamic aspect which will elicit the response that man must give to the divine call which comes in the process of his growth in love, within a community of salvation. Pius XII, Encyclical Letter Humani Generis (August 12,1950): AAS 42 (1950), 561-562.63. This kind of investigation is legitimate and necessary, since the moral order, as established by the natural law, is in principle accessible to human reason. 1 Jn 5:3); his yoke is easy and his burden light (cf. He is a devout Israelite, raised as it were in the shadow of the Law of the Lord. But it is also a dialogue of man with God, the author of the law, the primordial image and final end of man. 139. The service which moral theologians are called to provide at the present time is of the utmost importance, not only for the Church's life and mission, but also for human society and culture. We must first of all show the inviting splendour of that truth which is Jesus Christ himself. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World Gaudium et Spes, 16.7. The weighing of the goods and evils foreseeable as the consequence of an action is not an adequate method for determining whether the choice of that concrete kind of behaviour is "according to its species", or "in itself", morally good or bad, licit or illicit. 115. In Veritatis Splendor John Paul II quotes St. Gregory of Nyssa on the royal dignity that pertains to those who have this kind of dominion over themselves. The Crucified Christ reveals the authentic meaning of freedom; he lives it fully in the total gift of himself and calls his disciples to share in his freedom. 64. Having come not to judge the world but to save it, he was uncompromisingly stern towards sin, but patient and rich in mercy towards sinners".152. This is evident from his conversation with the teacher of the Law, who asked him a question very much like the one asked by the young man. Paul VI, Address to the General Assembly of the United Nation (October 4, 1965),1: AAS 57 (1965), 878; cf. Human nature, understood in this way, could be reduced to and treated as a readily available biological or social material. Jn 14:15). Saint Augustine defines this as "the reason or the will of God, who commands us to respect the natural order and forbids us to disturb it".79 Saint Thomas identifies it with "the type of the divine wisdom as moving all things to their due end".80 And God's wisdom is providence, a love which cares. Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Instruction on the Ecclesial Vocation of the Theologian Donum Veritatis (May 24,1990),11: AAS 82 (1990), 1554; cf. These definitions not only point out that the body, which has been promised the resurrection, will also share in glory. God gave this light and this law to man at creation".19 He also did so in the history of Israel, particularly in the "ten words", the commandments of Sinai, whereby he brought into existence the people of the Covenant (cf. The immediate object of such acts would not be absolute Good (before which the freedom of the person would be expressed on a transcendental level), but particular (also termed "categorical" ) goods. 91, a. Acknowledging the Lord as God is the very core, the heart of the Law, from which the particular precepts flow and towards which they are ordered. Only Christian faith points out to man the way to return to "the beginning" (cf. They are authentic teachers, that is, teachers endowed with the authority of Christ, who preach to the people entrusted to them the faith to be believed and put into practice; they illustrate this faith in the light of the Holy Spirit, drawing out of the treasury of Revelation things old and new (cf. It is the Gospel which reveals the full truth about man and his moral journey, and thus enlightens and admonishes sinners; it proclaims to them God's mercy, which is constantly at work to preserve them both from despair at their inability fully to know and keep God's law and from the presumption that they can be saved without merit. The Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation on Reconciliation and Penance in the Mission of the Church Today cites other texts of the Old and New Testaments which condemn as mortal sins certain modes of conduct involving the body: cf. John Paul bases this on the argument that certain acts are so destructive to the human person that there are no extenuating circumstances that would allow them. While not denying the validity of such methods, but at the same time not restricting its viewpoint to them, moral theology, faithful to the supernatural sense of the faith, takes into account first and foremost the spiritual dimension of the human heart and its vocation to divine love. ibid., Nos. In response to the encouragement of the Second Vatican Council,60 there has been a desire to foster dialogue with modern culture, emphasizing the rational — and thus universally understandable and communicable — character of moral norms belonging to the sphere of the natural moral law.61 There has also been an attempt to reaffirm the interior character of the ethical requirements deriving from that law, requirements which create an obligation for the will only because such an obligation was previously acknowledged by human reason and, concretely, by personal conscience. Attaining such perfection means personally building up that perfection in himself. Nevertheless, in order to "reverently preserve and faithfully expound" the word of God,48 the Magisterium has the duty to state that some trends of theological thinking and certain philosophical affirmations are incompatible with revealed truth.49, 30. Radio Message for the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Encyclical Letter Rerum Novarum of Leo XIII (June 1, 1941): AAS 33 (1941), 195-205. It is a response of love, according to the statement made in Deuteronomy about the fundamental commandment: "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Man's capacity to know the truth is also darkened, and his will to submit to it is weakened. It is in the saving Cross of Jesus, in the gift of the Holy Spirit, in the Sacraments which flow forth from the pierced side of the Redeemer (cf. Christian ethics, which pays particular attention to the moral object, does not refuse to consider the inner "teleology" of acting, inasmuch as it is directed to promoting the true good of the person; but it recognizes that it is really pursued only when the essential elements of human nature are respected. The Second Vatican Council, in the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, makes this clear: "This applies not only to Christians but to all men of good will in whose hearts grace is secretly at work. Jesus' answer is not enough for the young man, who continues by asking the Teacher about the commandments which must be kept: "He said to him, 'Which ones?' They are possible only as the result of a gift of God who heals, restores and transforms the human heart by his grace: "For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ" (Jn 1:17). In any event, both in moral theology and in pastoral practice one is familiar with cases in which an act which is grave by reason of its matter does not constitute a mortal sin because of a lack of full awareness or deliberate consent on the part of the person performing it. The person, including the body, is completely entrusted to himself, and it is in the unity of body and soul that the person is the subject of his own moral acts. Roman Missal, Prayer for the Memorial of the Beheading of John the Baptist, Martyr, August 29.143. 72. On this basis, an attempt is made to legitimize so-called "pastoral" solutions contrary to the teaching of the Magisterium, and to justify a "creative" hermeneutic according to which the moral conscience is in no way obliged, in every case, by a particular negative precept. 91, a.2.83. 178. This is the reason why "the Church affirms that underlying so many changes there are some things which do not change and are ultimately founded upon Christ, who is the same yesterday and today and for ever".97 Christ is the "Beginning" who, having taken on human nature, definitively illumines it in its constitutive elements and in its dynamism of charity towards God and neighbour.98, Certainly there is a need to seek out and to discover the most adequate formulation for universal and permanent moral norms in the light of different cultural contexts, a formulation most capable of ceaselessly expressing their historical relevance, of making them understood and of authentically interpreting their truth. 1 Pet 3:15) to give an accounting for their hope to those who ask it".170. In our own day this attitude is expressed particularly in the attempt to adapt the moral norm to one's own capacities and personal interests, and even in the rejection of the very idea of a norm. Veritatis Splendor is an incisive counter-attack against what the Pontiff takes to be a revision of moral theology undertaken by some since the Second Vatican Council – it is a response to what he calls “a genuine crisis” (§5). But has it fallen with honour? Moral theologians, who have accepted the charge of teaching the Church's doctrine, thus have a grave duty to train the faithful to make this moral discernment, to be committed to the true good and to have confident recourse to God's grace. Furthermore, an intention is good when it has as its aim the true good of the person in view of his ultimate end. Cf. Such is the witness of Sacred Scripture, imbued in every one of its pages with a lively perception of God's absolute holiness: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts" (Is 6:3). Everyone, however, needs to address this question to the "Good Teacher", since he is the only one who can answer in the fullness of truth, in all situations, in the most varied of circumstances. Ps 1:1-2), 42. In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus makes even clearer the meaning of this perfection: "Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful" (Lk 6:36). But this is only the beginning of freedom, not perfect freedom...".23. By the gift of herself, Mary entered fully into the plan of God who gives himself to the world. He who says ' I know him' but disobeys his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps his word, in him truly love for God is perfected. At the dawn of the New Testament, John the Baptist, unable to refrain from speaking of the law of the Lord and rejecting any compromise with evil, "gave his life in witness to truth and justice",142 and thus also became the forerunner of the Messiah in the way he died (cf. In order to offer rational criteria for a right moral decision, the theories mentioned above take account of the intention and consequences of human action. It is a judgment which applies to a concrete situation the rational conviction that one must love and do good and avoid evil. Conscious of the young man's yearning for something greater, which would transcend a legalistic interpretation of the commandments, the Good Teacher invites him to enter upon the path of perfection: "If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me" (Mt 19:21). Code of Canon Law, Canons 252,1; 659, 3.174. 22. Certainly, maintaining a harmony between freedom and truth occasionally demands uncommon sacrifices, and must be won at a high price: it can even involve martyrdom. And the greatest mercy of all is found in his being in our midst and calling us to meet him and to confess, with Peter, that he is "the Son of the living God" (Mt 16:16). In this view, deliberate consent to certain kinds of behaviour declared illicit by traditional moral theology would not imply an objective moral evil. Jn 9:39-41). "You will be like God, knowing good and evil" (Gen 3:5): this was the first temptation, and it is echoed in all the other temptations to which man is more easily inclined to yield as a result of the original Fall. The maturity and responsibility of these judgments — and, when all is said and done, of the individual who is their subject — are not measured by the liberation of the conscience from objective truth, in favour of an alleged autonomy in personal decisions, but, on the contrary, by an insistent search for truth and by allowing oneself to be guided by that truth in one's actions. 3: DS, 3008.113. Even when grave matter is concerned, these precepts should be considered as operative norms which are always relative and open to exceptions. Conscience makes its witness known only to the person himself. 7, a. This is the autonomy of earthly realities, which means that "created things have their own laws and values which are to be gradually discovered, utilized and ordered by man".66. The person, by the light of reason and the support of virtue, discovers in the body the anticipatory signs, the expression and the promise of the gift of self, in conformity with the wise plan of the Creator. But whereas the natural law discloses the objective and universal demands of the moral good, conscience is the application of the law to a particular case; this application of the law thus becomes an inner dictate for the individual, a summons to do what is good in this particular situation. In this way, moral theology will acquire an inner spiritual dimension in response to the need to develop fully the imago Dei present in man, and in response to the laws of spiritual development described by Christian ascetical and mystical theology".176. Like the earlier part of Jesus' answer, this part too must be read and interpreted in the context of the whole moral message of the Gospel, and in particular in the context of the Sermon on the Mount, the Beatitudes (cf. (Mt 6:22-23). Col 3:14). Faith is a decision involving one's whole existence. 2 Cor 4:2). If this profound process takes place within him, he then bears fruit not only of adoration of God but also of deeper wonder at himself".16. Ibid., No. Encyclical Letter Humanae Vitae (July 25, 1968), 29: AAS 60 (1968), 501.153. The commandments are linked to a promise. Today, when many countries have seen the fall of ideologies which bound politics to a totalitarian conception of the world — Marxism being the foremost of these — there is no less grave a danger that the fundamental rights of the human person will be denied and that the religious yearnings which arise in the heart of every human being will be absorbed once again into politics. This truth is indicated by the "divine law", the universal and objective norm of morality. (Lk 18:13). If man does evil, the just judgment of his conscience remains within him as a witness to the universal truth of the good, as well as to the malice of his particular choice. And Jesus said, 'You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; Honour your father and mother; also, You shall love your neighbour as yourself.' Cf. In order to justify these positions, some authors have proposed a kind of double status of moral truth. Saint Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, I-II, q. Saint Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, II-11, q. Christ is the Teacher, the Risen One who has life in himself and who is always present in his Church and in the world. Cf. Am 8:4-6), the misappropriation and private use of the corporate property of an enterprise, work badly done, tax fraud, forgery of cheques and invoices, excessive expenses, waste, etc.158 It continues: "The seventh commandment prohibits actions or enterprises which for any reason — selfish or ideological, commercial or totalitarian — lead to the enslavement of human beings, disregard for their personal dignity, buying or selling or ex- changing them like merchandise. "You were called to freedom, brethren" (Gal 5:13), proclaims the Apostle Paul with joy and pride. Warning: `` Teacher, what good must I do to have a nature ; is. Law thus understood does not ignore the individuality of human freedom is simply. '' goods and `` Veritatis Splendor * William E. May Mt 15:19 ) — constitute the moral presents... Makes it his own blood ''.143 are a living remembrance of his glory '' ( Gal )... Catechism of the theologian Donum Veritatis ( May 1, 1: CCL 36 363.24! 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