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l\MhKltL\ virr. r..,, r.o z

$n GivingMoral ddviceBy IAMES Ir. KEENAN

O STUDENTS PREPARjIIC for priesthcxrd and lay minisay, Ite|Lh Ll')r dreaded subject of rnnral theology at Weston Jesuit School ofT'he.:logy in Cambridge, Mass. These sudents are inteUigent, articulateand in love with their respective v

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fioe; the other was critically irrjured. Fo' a yetr she hadbeen on a rotadng bed, attached lc a test';rai()r. Since theaccideot, dtis 2O-year-otd womar had l(:!'e! regaind con-sciousness and had been rcsuscitated more titan six times.Her parcnts tried for a year-to win hcr rceoiery, sparing noxpensc or devotion. But afte! the mother had spent a fidlyear slceping in the hospital by hr daughrr's bedside,they began to understand that she would rflver come backto them. Not loowing how to lct go of thrrr daughter, theyaskd for my advice.I discovered that while IIIyknowledge about extraordi-tary nreans, benefits and bur-dens was ftesh, their way ofproceeding did not ea.sily con-forrn to what I had leamed. Atfust, tbey rje.ted I "Do NotResuscitato" order. Theyfeared that in the event ofanotber seizur, she migbtcome out of her coma andhear the doctors say her par-ents did noa want htr rcsusci-tatd. kter they gave up thatfcar rnd ordercd the D.N.R.Thcir daughter sufferedanolher seizure, but an intemotr duty who had not read thechart resu$citated her. In spiteof this, the parcnts wereunable 1o consider anotheroption-rcmoving the youngwomaD from tbe respirator.Thcy urderstood that the res-likelihood of her death soon after its rernovai . t inally theydecided to stop $e bcd's rotation. She died quietly severaldays latcr. The parcnts had needed to figuie out in theirown way, wilh their own reasomng, how tD let go of tbeirdaughter. I leamed from them.

Ho* *, *SON is a rery human prcuess. If weare to advise others, we must iearn to llstDir. r&b must leamto discover how these others reason. We lcarri this f'rom thepeople we serve. As we loam to listen, 'vc *,ill grow incompetence. Along the way, it may bu good also toremember thar unlike Catheri[e of Siorrr. rvho is said tohave leamed Latin ovemight bi, diyine insFjr|tirtn, most ofus will spend our lives acquiring con]eetcir.iy as advisors.2. Be positit'e.Moral theology hal bcen ar irs best whenteachers snd plcachers ralked pritFa..ily abogr goals andvirtues, not about sin or wronA wayr of aiting. ln thepaFistic perio4 in tbe writrngs of Saint Francis of Assisi.Saint Albert dr Grcat and Sainl Thomcs Aqainas, and inlhc docurnnts of th Second Vaticafl Corrncil. we arc told

to lrced the Script.lres and to follow Jesus' call to disciplFship. V/c' must encourage people to look fqward itr tllcirpursuit o1'the Lord. And if, like Lot's wife, they insist onlooking back and begin worying about smngn&s and sirand what they sbould avoid, wc may remind thm rhalsimers in the Nevr Testament {E lqrown not for.wh* dpvdid, but for what rhey /..ired to do-for failing to bohd.Dives did not bot]ler with Lazarus; thc pri&t and thckvite pussed by the injured man; thc .goats. failed iofeed thc bungry; the lonnever went iDto thc fiild :towork; thc fearful onc. budedhis one talcnt Thc love 6m.mand in the Scriiituie$riirarcly about avoiding'aitioruit is about acting. ..i I ....;y.;1;1f;o;,3. Ir.Yitc@L b stit ioitls-lOften wc live in dxi'worfd irf"8.R.," ir 'wnichi: eiiiii

instancc of tmat tought andaction looks lite a reaction.True, moral dilenmas oftendo lmk like e uneticipatcdproblem affiving on a guEy,but much of Iift onoems '0rexpecred. Cosidci; fri erirn-ple, that parcatc decidi'-onschoolr fc ftiir dhil&iaribdthat students '. tlicmsFlvgichmsc counas. A gcbd dialof our lift is +e* dcsigdftb;draning and planaing. Sbcmoal lifie is not usirat\irabiiha catastrophe that his justOcCUned :,j;._.'1,,+.;.- One way to help people to be pro.active ir inmal livingis to ask them what we call fire tbree 'lyirttc,olrcstions?-r"Who re you?' "Who Oo yor want ti'liiican you get there?" By inviting pcoplcltiithemselves bener and to set goo\ we can @ tirii:tbiiljson lxncr as moral individuals. Remembef,, itr modt arEa6of Ufe-family, tinancral rnacers, 1"i",ag md i,n*+;aitple make plar)s about what tttcy witl &; Wc csn iDlitethem to think :timil;irly about the noral life. : ,4- Tblk ahout the virtues. One w^y of scaiag goals is.toask people whethcr they want to becom mote just, faitt-tul, self-caring or prudenr. parcnts, in podorlr, totdtbc

virtues, because in parenting they look foi ways tb'i!&htheir children abour faimess and friends and family. Thusthey help rb{:m lorrn friendships, play with siblinis, takecare of themselves and respect proFrty. Through a vatrictyof exe.rcises, fr.om hosting birthday parties and plannin!fam y ourings (o settiog times for study,-telcvisim andbedtime, parcnts estabtish habihral poms c aonon itiirr'guide their children thmugh thsir livcs Tho*c exctrcircsarE thc stuff of vfutue. ,r j. . ,...i'|';Jdi'5- Resped the cirnsciencc. Thomas Aquinas, at an endy' 1.1:;,:alMERICA MARCH E 1996

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14 AMEA,ICC MARCI I 2, 199d

slage of his reaching ninish_w. argued that thc l2th,centu,] lhe.ologian Pei{]r l-omhard was wrong to claim that if chRrch andconscience conflict, one should always obey the forme(. Theyoung Aquina$ wrote boldly in his Commcntary on the FourlhBook of the Sentenccs oJ Peter Lombard: ..Here the Master[-ombard] is wroag; ir. is better to die excorununicated than toviolak the conscience-"O,r* t*oarrnN has always included a srrong, continu-otts argument upholding tlte primacy of the conscience. Certairilysome have rnisused this teaching, giving people license to dowhatever they wish. Eut the priruacy of the conscience rneansthat each pe$on is reqronsible for forming and foltowing a rightconscience. Be rnindfuli, thouglr, ofttos lr,ho qualify this prima-cy. Like Peter lomtrard, they fail to se that each disciple mustanswer the call of Chdst at the depth of her or his very ownbeing. Aay comprr,mire of the primacy of corscience compro-mises the very possibility of that cau.6" Donl solve people s poblems; rathe4 h.b tham forw thcirown cansciences. We should see everjr oc.,casioqr in which somermeasks us fol advice as an opportunity fc aiding the questioner tolook at larger questions that can help them becorne more self-reliant and setf-directed 'Ihis is impfftant Moral progress alwaysoccurs when people tale steps of their own aod in tireir own way.Consider Rosa Parks taking her place on the segregated bus inMontgomery, Thomas More refusing to take the Oath ofSupremacy, Martin Luther King Jr. wdting to white Fachers onscraps of paper in a Birmingham jail, Gdansk shipyard workersgoing on strike fu thelr rights or tfte anmynous Chinese studentstepping forwarrl to rneet an oncming tltrk in Tlanarnen Square, Lreach instance, a lersoll moved histoq/ and humanity forward witha conscience that demitnded persooal {crion. But remembei tlrar

every consqienc will tle diffedent. As we listen ard help pople tose( their goals, w must also respect tE intgrity of the cas the place wbere each persoa heas the voice of GotLMark 'lwain undersrood tbis.whea he dscribed Huck Firm.sconflict prompted by (what-Huck calle.d) his ..conscience.',Formed_ by his local community, Huck's ,.conscience,, requireshim under paiu of daffnation to rcspect Crod and neighbor and toist poor "Olc l',{iss Watson" tnow the wbereabouts of her nrn-away slave, ^Iim. Reluctantly, I{uck composes a lettel; but soonafter he thinks of .Iirn eot as Miss r atsofs .bmperty," but as hisoln companiorr. Ile remembers what Jim has done for him andwhat he h,rs rkxrc for Jim, eod how much the two of them haveieame.d togctber abqut iife and fiiendship. He continues:...and at last I sfuck the tirne I saved him by telling thernen we had snrail-pox aboar4 and he was so grateful, andsaid I was the berst fiiend old Jim ever had in the world, andthc arlv one lrc's pot now: and theo I happcned to lookaround, and see tbat paper.It was a closc placc. I took it up, a.od held it in my hand. Iwas tremhling. becaus I'd got ;o decide, forever, betwixrtwo rhings, ;md I knorved it. I Sndkd a minute, sort of hold-ing my breath, ard tilen says to myself: .AIl right, then, fflgo gJ hell"*-ard tore it up.

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Huck's own(:xperience chal-lenges the "con_rcience" of thecrommunity andprompts him torlct as his ownInan.7. Remenberthe parable of thellood Samaritan.(.ioncretely, thisparable accentu-r.tes the difflcultyrve feel w hilerushing to ow jobs?nd passing home-l:ss people askingfor handouts.On one leYel theFrarable never lelsr.s feel comfort-able. It remindsLls that we haYernany neighborsin need. The para-t,le never letsr.s fall into self-comPlacency, butralhr calls us top,reater vigilanceand atlentiveness.Iror this reason,tre great contem-p'orary American ethicist, Stanlc) Ilaucrv,,:r.,, rcrninds ustlrat Christians must always be $c1chful. (-)n rr)11\tar)t alert

N ANOTHER LEVEL wc 5ee lhe irry srrrprisinganswer to the question originally poscd to Je:rus. "Who isrry neighbor?" What is the answcr? lsn l jt.'ii1e one whoshowed mercy?" Too ofl.en, whcn we thiqk ,rf ihe parable,v/e believe that the neighbor is someorc \r'ir1r !eed\ lo behelped: but in the Gospel. .Icsus lc!che,, us ri,iri ()ui ncigh-Lor is the one who sirows mercv. Ir nr', rrL,,r iile- I knowthe importance of having ueigi;bor; iir:.- inc GondS amaritan. One fiierd of rnine rs a pa:;ror in ., pi',rr neigh.borhood in Boston who routincll fi1crs tl),, icrlihl. bur-dens of working with lhe poor Arroth.r rs ;: je5urt physi-cian $'ho has [orked for l0 ycars i! r]i,: ,\.!DS llllil i]t-tioston City Hospital and is pr.parinu ior llork inlJganda. As I work and teach in (':rrnbnr|,c. I n*ctl lricndsand neighbors like that. We all do.

8- Be attentive to distinclions.ll rs a grcai J.iuit legacyt,l recognize and heed the clainrs ot distinctions. We arecorrect to stress lhem, because often !'/hcr, i.\,e hear thatn.toral issues are complicated, wc seei $()lotii-rns tbai are

'lblling a person who is tl.l.V-positive and refuses tdabstain lir)m scxuai relations that he should use a condomi\ not pr,llDot,nF

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n()l sirnply permittcd the technology. brrl !vorld havo nT.rr-{Lrlr(/ itl h thc l?th ceitur_v ni,:rsl rn(nilli'.ls .|nd bishopslvcrc so cr)nvinced of lhc probiible mrlrrl hirm that result-ed fronr scxual union that rhey casil'/ would hal,eendorsed separating the proclcative acl t,err the uDitivcact. a position that Rome holds untenable 1.rhy.Firally. we nusr always r.rncmber tbal moral tcaching,at .rnt- level iD tbe church, cones f.om hoDan beings. Wcshould listen b the church, but do so as {du.:ated adults,not as timid children or asrsbclljcus teeD-age$-

10. Avoid the slippery sloprar(unent - We lcarned thisargument when r,r'e weiechildren. \!'e would ask ourparents i,'just this one nightwe could stay up later, andthcy rvould say. "No, becauselorrorroiv you'll ask to stayup evcn later." We knewthcn, although we forget itoften enough today, that ihe"slippery slope" is the worstmoral argument. The slip-pery slope is always used bypeople in power. Upon hear-jng a request or a proposal,they dismiss it as dangerous:It is likely to undermiDeauthority, causc chaos anrlunleash moml iurpitude. This arg-,rment i\ designed sim-ply to preclude, lbreclose a,rd djsmirs, We use it often butwe shouldn't. lt is aothing more than hca v-v-handedness.Any authority that we enjoy will dcpcn:) rrn "vhether oth-ers find in us an openness neaessary fDr reile.stion.ll. Use re.tson- Whether w9 agrce or disagree withpeers, employtrs, superiors or pastoni, iet thr:nghtness of our positions be guided by good,coucrete, rational thinkinEi. It is, after ai!,what the moral theologian Joscf Fuchs, alon-e{ime teacher in Rome, and bcfore hirnThomas Aquinas called the natural lat:. Agood argument rs based on rigltt rras(':) r .{drat be our final arbiter,Some people might ask, 'is thar dl therr;is'i" That is all there has evet hecrr. ln hisLettcr to the Romans St. Paul $.ol.e that alipeople, even tbose who have not vct hcarr,! thgword of God preached, knc'w to alistirgir;sh right fromr,rrong. ln our capacity to rsasrrn wcltr. Gorl lras given usthe tacility and the task to disc{)ver what t,cttefs eur livqsand what harms them. God placed us ourside dre gardenof Fden but blessed us with .the ability to reflect, under-stand, judge and decide. That ability to rcasorr well is pre-cisely our moral guide-

L2. Sh4re doubls.When we fea.r tlrsl a pallrcuiar prog:salwill lead to all sffts of difficulties, wc can sharc tlKlse feats.

JIcrr: rt'r- , uir trst:tlippel-y,il{)pe language, not ils trl ir}uurcnlor it rh.: lrst w')rd, tn t to expre{is our initial c(mcems. \\'ecan say tlrrDgs lii..e,'T'm concemed that what you'.e sug-gcslirg will bavc ter..ible consequencas." But let Ont iearand doub( t thc lreginning of the conversation, not ils end.Ily beiug lronest v;ith our initial assessments, we give othersthe epponunity to know whal we are rEally thinking itnd torcslxrnd in kind.Wc shoulil also not be al'raid to express our owndoubts aboul our own abili-ties. We are not perfect. Iremember that when I firststartcd teaching at Wcstot,if a student disagreed withme, I used all my skills to"respond," hoping that thestudent would not dar todisagree again. I was incxpe-rienced, intimidated aud

defensive. Noq with moreconfidence aod cxpedeuce, Iwelcome students' judg-ments as well as their ques-tions. Those questions oftenopen up new areas of reUec-tion, at othr times theyprompt me to reconsider myown positions, and some-times they leave me in thedark----that's when I answer"I dou t kni-'w." I am no longer afraid of utteriog thosewords. I.lrrne of ur; should be.li Wc lt,"come v,hat u,e do. ioday we tend to think ofrnor;rlii;: as gnly atout big actions--for example, abor-tio!, r) thanasi^ tir grand theft. But for Aquinas, almosteverythrng we do is a nroral action. He wmie, "a humanact js a moral act." He rcalized that moralityis atrout buman living and that moralityviev,s a1l actions as opportunities that shapetrs lor be(ter or worse, By our actions. wcworl out the people we eventually become.lf we are condescending with people. wewill necome more armgant, lf we are habit-uall',, slL.ppy in our thinking, we lvillheeo,rre cven sloppier If we struggle to lis-len. we will eventually listen better. If welal(e time ro pray, we will be more open to

(irr i's ways.i tell n1y students that we nrust get into the habit ofthinllrrg c,i our irinistry as an opponunity nor only toserve orlrrrir. bur irlso to become the penple wc want to be.By lcarnirg r{) a(lvise well, we assist our colleagues,friends, studonts ol employes to judge btter, hut we alsoform ourselves into competnt and thoughtful peopl.Toward that end, .re must li$ten to our hearts and antici-pate cvery clrqounter as a fresh moment that all)ws us tobccomc more fuli1 that discipte whom Jesus calls.AMERICA MARCH Z T9{I5