CFE 102: CHRISTIAN MORALITY IN OUR TIMES

MIDTERM

The Church’s (Catholic) Social Teaching

 Salvation is not limited for individual but for the whole Church. Salvation is the liberation and transformation of
society.
 Catholic Social Teaching is based on the belief that God has a plan for creation, a plan to build his kingdom of
peace, love and justice. It holds that God has a special place in this story for each of us, whoever we are.
 Catholic Social Teaching is a branch of moral theology addressing contemporary issues within the social
structures of society: political, economic, and cultural.

Themes of the Church’s (Catholic) Social Teaching According to PCP II

1. The Principle of Reflection

2. Criteria of Judgement
3. Directives for Action

Principles of Church (Catholic) Social Teaching

1. Life and Dignity of the Human Person

 What is happening to People?
 Gen. 1:26
*God endowed every human creature with value.
*Dignity, by biblical definition, is tied to the biblical concept of glory. The Bible uses God’s glory,
His weightiness, His importance, and His significance, to describe the fountainhead of all dignity.
 Belief in the inherent dignity of the Human Person is the foundation of all Catholic Social
Teachings.
 The Catholic Church proclaims that human life is sacred and that the dignity of human person is
the foundation of a moral vision for society. Thus, Dignity is connected to human life.
 Every human being is created in the image and likeness of God and redeemed by Jesus Christ.

#Respect of Human Life

2. Common Good
 Is every group able to share in the benefits of the society?
 Are some groups excluded?
 Acts 2:42-47
*Speaks of a system of distribution of goods that led wealthier Christians to sell their
possessions when the needs of the community’s poor required it.
 1 Cor. 10:23-33
*It reminds every person to “seek the good of others”.

 The common good is the social condition that promotes the dignity of persons, allowing them to
reach their full potential and receive the rights and privileges necessary for a happy life. The
good of “ALL OF US”. Every social group must take into account of the needs and legitimate
aspirations of other groups, and even the general welfare of the entire human family.
 It is how we organize economics, politics, law, and policies in our societies directly affects
human dignity and the protection of human rights.
 In moral society, economics, politics, law, and public policy protect human dignity.
* It will always involve creating the conditions in which every member of the community,
especially the poorest, can flourish.

#Social Justice (being responsible with each other)

3. Call to Family, Community, and Participation

 What is happening to families today?
 Do we participate in our Family’s activities and community’s activities?
 1 John 4:19-21
*Loving God is loving our brothers and sisters
 Gal. 6:1-10
*It reminds every person to give practical advice to each and every member of the community.
 Romans 12:4-8
*It is a reminder that everyone has some gift that can be used for the benefit of the community.
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 Dignity and rights are realized and protected in relationships in wider society.
 All persons have the right and the responsibility to participate in the economic, political, and
cultural life of society. Thus, each person contributes to the good of the whole society to
promote the common good and well-being of all human beings.

#Human beings are fulfilled in family and community

#Responsibility to participate in society

4. Rights and Responsibilities

 Do we respect the rights of others?
 Every human person has a fundamental right
*to life
+to the necessities of life (access of basic needs)
+to things necessary to live a full and decent life (education, employment – humane
working condition, health care, ownership of property-affordable and descent housing).
*to freedom (freedom of speech, freedom of religion)
 Rights and freedoms comes with duties and responsibilities
*to family
*to help sustain, promote and respect the rights and freedoms of others
*to participate in forming and maintaining a just society

#Protect Human rights

#Freedom and responsibility

5. Option for the Poor and Vulnerable

 Who are poor in the society?
 What is happening to the poor people?
 1 Peter 4:8-11
*It is all about Christian charity. Be hospitable to one another without complaining.
 The moral conscience of a society can be measured by “How it treats its most vulnerable
members. The poor are the most urgent moral claim on the conscience of the nation”.
 Nations are called to develop and uphold policies that protect the poor and vulnerable: widows,
the unborn, persons with disabilities, the ill, the homeless and the elderly.
#Value of being Pro-poor
6. The Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers
 What is work?
 What are the rights of the workers?
 Lk. 19:11-27
*The parable reminds every person about his/her conduct as faithful and productive servant.
 Ben Sira 38:24-34
*Ben Sira speaks of vocations and characters of the skilled worker and the Scribe.
 The economy must serve people, not the other way around. Work is more than a way to make a
living; it is a form of continuing participation in God’s creation. If the dignity of work is to be
protected, then the basic rights of workers must be respected--the right to productive work, to
decent and fair wages, to the organization and joining of unions, to private property, and to
economic initiative.
 All workers have the right to productive work, to a safe working environment, and to a fair wage.
#Value work and workers
7. Solidarity
 Who do we really care?
 Would we like this to happen to us?
 Lk. 10:25-37
*The parable of the Good Samaritan emphasizes the character of a true neighbor.
 Mt. 25:35-46
*Corporal works of Mercy which concern is the material needs of a person.
 Ezekiel
*Spiritual works of mercy which concern is the spiritual needs of person.
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 Solidarity helps us to see the “other” because every human being belongs to the one family of God.
If we acknowledge human dignity, we are our sisters’ and brothers’ keepers.
 To be in solidarity in a global and interdependent world means to respect and promote personal,
social, economic, and political rights throughout the world and for all people.
#Responsibility to our brothers and sisters
8. Care for God’s Creation
 What is happening to our environment today?
 What is our role or contribution to make this planet earth a better place for the next generation?
 Gen. 1:1-31
 Gen. 2: 15-20
 All that is good in this world is a gift from God.
 The creator is present in the beauty of created things. God calls us to share in His Creation. He calls
us to be good and wise stewards of these gifts.
 We show our respect for the Creator by our stewardship of creation. Care for the earth is not just an
Earth Day slogan, it is a requirement of our faith. We are called to protect people and the planet,
living our faith in relationship with all of God’s creation. This environmental challenge has
fundamental moral and ethical dimensions that cannot be ignored.
#Stewards of God’s Creation
9. Subsidiarity
 Who is making the decisions?
 Can everyone participate?
 The principle that decisions should always be taken at the lowest possible level or closest to where
they will have their effect.
 The principle of subsidiarity is about how participation and decision-making should be organized.
Responsibility should be kept as close as possible to the grassroots. The people or groups most
directly affected by a decision or policy should have a key decision-making role in it.
 Social organization and governments exist for the good of the individual.
#No bigger than necessary, no smaller than appropriate
10. Universal Destination of Goods
 Are the goods well distributed?
 Different cultures, nationalities, races, and religions make up the mosaic of human life exemplify God’s
gift of diversity and these are not justification for prejudice and discrimination.
 God intends for the goods of creation to be at the service of all humanity.
#Equity
# You are not making a gift of your possessions to the person. You are handling over him what is his. For what
has been given in common for the use of all, you have arrogated (taken up) to yourself. The world is given to all,
and not only to rich.
-St. Ambrose

Person-Centered Morality

It focuses on individuals as the unit of analysis for moral evaluations rather than the consequences of acts.

Specific Set of Claims Regarding the Centrality of Character Evaluation in Moral Judgement

1. Individuals are motivated to assess the character of others, and not just the rightness or wrongness of an act
2. Some acts are perceived as more informative of an individual’s moral character than others, and are therefore
weighed heavily in moral judgement
3. Moral evaluations of acts and character can diverge, resulting in act-person dissociations
4. Judgement of moral character can infuse a host of other judgements that are central to moral evaluation
5. Number of recent empirical findings demonstrating apparent inconsistencies in moral judgement may be better
interpreted as reasonable for an individual motivated to assess the character of an agent rather than as simple
“errors” of moral judgement.

Christian Morality: Cardinal Virtues and Theological Virtues

 Virtue came from a Latin word “virtus” which means “manliness” or courage and the excellence of
perfection of a thing.
 Virtue signifies a habit superadded to a faculty of the soul, disposing it to elicit with readiness acts
comfortable to our rational nature.
#Virtue is intentional! A virtue is a state of will that is “really good”.
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Three Important Elements that must be Taken into Consideration Regarding Virtue

1. A Virtue needs the notion of a habit

 There is consistency in performing and doing something (good habit)
2. A virtue must possess goodness
 Actions should be geared towards the attainment of the good. The idea of goodness should always lead
to the well-being of a person or of creation.
3. A virtue corresponds to human nature
 Everybody is called to be faithful to one’s identity by becoming righteous and by using one’s intellect
and will properly.

#The church teaches that virtues are actions which aim at what is good, are practiced consistently, and are geared
towards the realization of the human nature.

Two Classifications of Virtue

1. Cardinal Virtues
 Cardinal virtues govern one’s actions, order one’s passion and guide one’s conduct to realize how it is to
be a person fully alive. It is within the domain of human capacity developed with God’s inspiration.
1a. Prudence
 Prudence is wisdom, practical intelligence, life experience that has been reflected upon.
 It is a habit of practical reason, a knowledge of what is to be sought and what is to be avoided in the
judgement of a particular cases or contingent actions if it is beneficial or disadvantageous. Thus,
prudence includes consultation and very careful evaluation of other people’s knowledge and wisdom.
1b. Justice
 It is a virtue concerning one’s dealings with others. It is a habit or readiness which inclines one to give
others “what is due to them”.
 It is fairness, dutiful righteousness, a devotion to the Golden Rule.
1c. Fortitude or Courage
 It is a virtue needed in pursuing the moral good, be it the common good or the private good. Fortitude
or courage is the outer power of will because it enables one to endure pain, danger, and death with the
calmness of reason.
1d. Temperance
 Temperance is the ordering or controlling of certain pleasures and desires; this is curiously enough
implied in the saying of “a man being his own master.” It is a moral virtue that regulates the desire for
sensible pleasures and approves modes of social behavior. The human reason and the social norms
should control people from abusing the pleasure of the senses.
 This virtue has subordinate virtues of chastity, sobriety, and abstinence:
 Chastity or purity is a moral virtue ordering under reason the thoughts, desires, words, and
actions connected with sexual pleasure.
 Sobriety is moderation in sensual pleasures and also the ability to control one’s passion, desire
and prejudices.
 Abstinence is restraining from a certain food or any pleasure if necessary.
2. Theological Virtues
 Theological virtues have God as the immediate and proper object, are divinely infused and known only
through divine revelation. Faith, Hope, Love are God’s gifts to the faithful to make them capable of
acting as His children and living in accordance with His will.
2a. Faith
 It is the substance of things to be hoped for, the evidence of things that are not seen.
 It is a gift of God offered to a person. It involves living life according to the ideals and examples of Jesus.
2b. Hope
 Hope is seen as one’s immense longing for the fulfillment of God’s promise which for the Israelites
gradually became more explicit as the messianic reign with the coming of the Messiah, the Anointed
One.
2c. Love
 It is a gift coming from God that is infused into the hearts of people for them to imitate the source of
love. Love is not just an emotion rather it speaks of being a truly human.
 In the Old Testament, God manifested love through the establishment of a covenant between Him and
His people. In the New Testament, God’s love is expressed through the entire ministry of Jesus, in the
passion and death of Jesus.