Verit_Splend Pinckaers

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Ven ta isSplendorand the Renewal

of

Moral Theology

Edited byJ.A. DiNoia, O.P.

and Romanus Cessarlo, O.P.

SCEPTER PUBLISHERS

OUR SUNDAY VISITOR, INC.


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Veritatis splendor and the

Renewal of Moral Theology

is published by

SCEPTER PUBLISHERS

P.O. Box 1270Princeton, New Jersey 08542

e-mail: [email protected]

OUR SUNDAY VISITOR, INC.200 Noll Plaza

Huntington, IN 46750

MIDWEST THEOLOGICAL FORUM712 South Loomis St.

Chicago, Illinois 60607Tel. 312-421-8135 Fax 312-421-8129

e-mail: mail @mwtf.org

Excerpts from the English translation of the Catechism of

the Catholic Church for use in the United States of America.1994, United States Catholic Conference, Inc.Libreria

Editrice Vaticana. Used with permission.

"Moral Absolutes in the Civilization of Love," by RomanusCessano, O.P., was originally published in Logos 1 (1997).Permission to reprint has been granted by Logos.

Copyright 1999. Midwest Theological Forum.All rights reserved.

ISBN 0-87973-739-5Printed in the United States of America.


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An Encyclical for the Future: Veritatis splendor

Servais (Th.) Pinckaers, O.P.(translated by Sr. Mary Thomas Noble, O.P.)

The encyclical Veritat is splendor, following in the wake of the Cat-echism of the Catholic Church, has met with great success in book-stores. Reactions in the press, in reviews, among publishers, andfrom theologians, have been varied. Nowhere does it meet within-difference. Now that the first wave of commentaries and criticalrevisions has played itself out, it seems the time has come fordeeper reflection.

On taking up the text, it is good to remind ourselves that ourreading of this encyclical must be a real dialogue in which both

reader and document have a part. A minimum of openness andgood will is indispensable if we are to welcome and grasp anywriter's thought, discover his message, and draw profit from it.

The suggestion of the apostle St . James is also relevant: "Be quickto listen and slow to speak." In other words, we first have to readit through attentively, a little as if we were listening to a friend.We need to take time out, too, for reflection, to make sure wereally hear what it is saying. Then we shall be able to make aninformed judgment and perhaps later some pertinent comments.We can-not race through Veritatis splendor as we would anewspaper. It calls for thought, some experience of the subjectsdiscussed, and a bit of theological formation. But it offers farmore substantial fare than the daily news: solid nourishment, and

doctrine to guide us in living.My object is to help the reader to discover the true dimensions

of the encyclical and to perceive both what is at stake in the ques t

tions it raises and the significance of the answers it proposes.Among other things, I should like to demonstrate that Veritatissplendor is far more innovative than first appears. It is not satisfiedto defend traditional positions. It points out paths that will lead


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to a profound renewal in the way Catholi c moraltheology is taught. I might even say that it launchesa k ind o f d is cree t revol ut ion i n the concept o f Christ ian moral i ty, down to i ts very foundations. I tcarries us far beyond the so-ca lled progressivepositions which it critiques, and invites us to revisemany ideas which have been acceptedunquestioningly or are too narrow.

Introduction: The Reason for the Encyclical; its

Preparation

Before exami ni ng the encyc li ca l chapter bychapter, I should l ike to mention several pointswhich will be helpful for a balancedinterpretation.

A. The Twofold Purpose ofV e r i t a t i s s p l e n d o r

Initially, we are faced with the question: What was JohnP au l 1 1' s p ur po se i n w r i t i ng t hi s e nc yc li ca l? I t had beenannounced as far back as 1987 in the Apostol icLetter Spiritus Domini, which celebrated the secondcentenary of the death of the patron of moraltheologians, St. Alphonsus Liguori . I t doesn't takea genius to guess the reason for i t: indubitably itw as th e cr is is in m or al it y w hi ch h ad b ee ndeveloping within the Church and society for thelast quarter of a century. Even some priests hadcome to wonde r i f such a thi ng as C hr is ti anm or al it y s ti ll ex is te d. M an y m or al is ts h adabandoned the teaching on natural law that had

formerly been the foundation of moral ity. Parentsbemoaned the fact that the Ten Commandmentswere no longer taught to chi ldren in catechismclass, and were rare ly mentioned in sermons tothe laity. The moral theology which had formerlybeen taught, and which had been a significant partof Chr is tian formation , seemed to have beenconsiderably watered down, i f indeed it was notv iewed as a ltogether obsolete. Furthermore,almost everyone was attempting to construct a

moral system according to his own conscience(read opinions) and personal convenience.

Nevertheless, the part icular preoccupationthat inspired the project of the encyclical was t het ea ch in g o f m or al t he ol og y w i th i n the Church, or moreprecise ly: "the lack of harmony between thetradi t ional response of the Church and certaintheolog ica l posi tions , encountered even inseminaries and in faculties of


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theology, with regard to questions of the greatestimportance for the Church and for the life of faith ofChr is tians" (VS 4 .3). Such are the pos it ions oropinions critiqued in Chapter 2 of the encycl ical .Clearly, this quotation gives us the determining goalof V e r i ta t i s sp l e n d o r .

However a second purpose, and one of equalimportance, complements the f irst rather polemical

one. It is well to stress it, because it could easily gounnot iced . I n con fo rm ity w ith the counc il 'srecommendation that moral theology should be en-hanced through a presentation more richly nourishedby Sacred Scripture (Decree Opta tam to t ius on theformation of priests, n. 15), John Paul I I has wishedto r e n e w th e we a ke n e d l i n k b e twe en Ca th o l i c mo r a l t e a ch i n g a n d th eGospe l . An essential condition for any true renewal oft he t ea chi ng o f m or al t he ol og y i s t he r ees -tabl ishment of a profound and sustained contactwith that primary source of inspiration for Christianl i fe and theology that is the Word and Person of

Christ. This is the aim of Chapter 1 of the encyclical.I t g ives an evange l ica l d imens ion to the en-t iredocument. These two goals, the one constructive inthe gospel sense and the other more controversial ,are complementary and balance each other like twocolumns g iv ing proport ion and s trength to thearchitectural structure of the document. We cannotinterpret any section of i t without taking both aimsinto account.

B. Discussions that Preceded V e r i t a t i s s p l e n d o r

It will also be helpful to take a look at the theologicaland ethical debates which were the forerunners ofthe encyclical.

Without a doubt, the stand taken by Pope Paul VIin 1968 on the means of art if icial contraception,articulated in his en-cycl ical Hu ma na e v i ta e , played ahistoric role in the development of the moral ity cri sisamong theologians. This document aroused a waveo f s ho ck w hi ch i n o ne c as e th e p ro bl em o f contraceptionwent so far as to challenge traditionalteaching on moral laws in general, and the manner

of thei r appl icat ion. Thus in opposit ion to post-Tr iden ti ne mora li ty a new and wi de -s pr ea d sy st emof moral ity has gradual ly been worked out. I t isthi s devel opment , earmarked by the names"proportionalism" and "consequential ism," thatV e r ta t i s sp l e n d o r challenges.


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In this connection I might mention two publications broughtout before the encyclical which indicate the state of thequestion before the latter was drawn up. These are reportsof a Symposium held in Rome in 1981. Present were classicaland "innovative" moralists, exegetes, and patrologists, cometogether to discuss the theme of universal and unchangeablemoral laws. The reports were published for the German- andEnglish-reading sector by Father W. Kerber under the title

"Sitt l iche Normen. Zum Problem ihrer al lgemeinen and

unwandce

lbaren Geltung" (Dsseldorf, Patmos, 1982) andfor the other participants by Father J. C. Pinto de Oliveira andme in "Universalit et permanence des Lois morales."(Fribourg, Editions universitaires, 1986).

In these exchanges the two principal objects of the encycli-cal can already be distinguished: the linking of morality withthe Gospel and the discussion of the "new" theories proposedby some moralists as solutions to ethical problems. The plan ofthe book, "Universalit e t p er ni an en ce d es Loismorales," follows this order. The first part studies moral lawin Sacred Scripture and especially in the Sermon on theMount, while the second follows a historical plan, treating lawand the forming of a moral judgment according to the Fathersof the Church, particularly St. Augustine and St. Basil, and thenaccording to St. Tho-mas Aquinas with his study of natural law.Next come post-Tridentine theology, Newman's teaching onconscience, and finally the question of the authority of themagisterium in the field of morality. The third part is devotedto current discussions on the universal application of ethicalnorms, the question of intrinsically evil actions, and theobjectivity of the judgment of conscience, while the final partsituates these studies within the framework of the gospel Law.A later contribution to the debates is found in my book, WhatOne May Never Do: The Question of Intr ins ical lyE vi l Act ions . H is to ry and D iscuss ion (Fribourg,

Editions universitaires, 1986).

C. A Look at the Teaching of Moral Theology before the

Council

In order to take an accurate measure ofVeritatis splendorfrom the point of view of its background and the contributionsit makes, we need some point of comparison. This is actuallypre-supposed: it is the organization of morality found intextbooks

used in seminaries after the Council of Trent. Their presenta-tion of material, which became standard, shaped preaching andcatechesis. It is characteristic of what has come to be called

casuistry. While in no way denying the solidity of thisteaching, the encyclical renews its perspectives and enrichesits content, so that morality may the better harmonize withthe Gospel. Thus it indicates, for Christians and moralists alike,the paths to be followed in the effort for moral renewal,together with the task of a "new evangelization," which is the

concern of all the baptized.This point of comparison also enables us to situate the "in -

novative" morality, which the encyclical critiques. Despite itsnew interpretations, this systematization is, in fact, an out-growth and variant of casuistry, whose basic categories andsome of whose typical methods of judging it revives.

The fundamental plan followed by the textbooks in thepresentation of moral theologyand it is easily recognizable asthe most prevalent concept of Catholic morality observable inre-cent centuriescan be summarized as follows.

Moral theology is divided into two main parts: fundamentaland specific morality. The four treatises that make up fun-

damental moral ityare:1. Law, chiefly natural law as expressed in the Decalogue. Law isseen as the source of moral obligation, setting limits tofreedom.

2. Conscience, which in its capacity as witness to andinterpreter of law, plays the role of an interior judge ofactions;

3. Human acts, considered chiefly in relation to cases ofcon-science, whence the name of casuistry, which is givento this type of morality;

4. Sins, which form the matter of the sacrament of Penance,the principal object of post-Tridentine morality. These willbe studied in detail.Specif ic moral ity borrows its principal divisions from

the Ten Commandments and adds the commandments of theChurch, and certain prescriptions of canon law. Here, moralityis under-stood to be the domain of strict obligations that areimposed on all, and the Decalogue to be the code ofcommands and prohibitions dictated by God. This limitation ofmorality to duties


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and prohibitions has become generally accepted. Thus a FrenchTV correspondent in Rome explains that the moral section of the

Catechism is, so to speak, the Church's civil code, to be com-pleted by the penal code.

Asceti cal and mys tical theology, preferably termed spiritualitytoday,or spiritual theology, have been added to the moral systemdescribed above. Ascetical and mystical theology deal with theways of perfection which, transcending the ordinary requirementsof morality, are proposed in the form of counsels rather thanprecepts. They are the concern of an elite, generally identified asreligious. Ascetical theology studies the search for perfectionthrough the virtues, with the aid of ordinary grace, while mysticaltheology presupposes special graces, easily confused withextraordinary phenomena, and attributed to the gifts of the HolySpirit.

Basically, these are the divisions and categories which havebecome standard in moral theology. While taking the will of God,the supreme Legislator, as its principal reference, this moralsystem tends to be mainly rational. It belongs to the same schoolas that of the modern moralists of obligation, who situ-ate thesource of morality in the imperatives of reason, like Kant, or inthe prohibitions of society. These moral categories have been

transposed in exegesis where, for example, a separation hasbeen made between ethics, which formulates obligations in theimperative mode, and parenesis, viewed as a simple exhortationrelating rather to spirituality. This explains the scant attentionpaid by exegetes and moralists to apostolic catechesis, whichthey view as parenesis. Such a systematization is thus suited tothe mentality of a period. As serious critics have already doneeven before the council, we need to note the limitations of thismethod of organizing morality, particularly in view of itsseparation from Scripture and its neglect of the teaching on thevirtues.'

D. Some Helpful Clarifications

It is helpful to observe the correspondence between the Cat-ech ism o f t he Catho li c Church and Veri tat is splendor. The twodocuments were drawn up at the same time. Yet it was appro-

priate, as the encyclical itself affirms, that the Catechismshould

appear first, because it is set in a broader perspective and hasthe more general purpose of providing an overall, well-orderedteaching on morality as related to the Creed, sacraments, andprayer. The encyclical is more limited in its object, since its fo-cus is limited to certain basic questions and theories which areopen to criticism in view of Catholic tradition. In carrying out its

purpose, it looks to the Catechism as to "a sure and authen-

tic reference text" (VS 5.3; Fidel depositum, 4).The encycl ical states that this is t he f i rs t t ime the magiste-

rium of the Church has pronounced with authority on funda-mental elements of moral teaching and explained them in such de-tail (VS 115.1). Formerly, the Church had taken stands in par-ticular areas, such as marriage and social justice. In the seven-teenth century, at the time of the dispute over probabilism,which offers many analogies with the current crisis, Rome hadbeen obliged to condemn a number of laxist or rigorist propo-sitions. For example, in connection with problems of that pe-riod, the following propositions held by some moralists werecondemned: "If a knight is challenged to a duel, he may acceptthe challenge for fear of being accused of cowardice" (DS1102); or again, "It is lawful for a religious or a priest to kill a

person who threatens to spread grave calumnies about himselfor his Order, if there is no other way of defending himself" (DS1117). We recognize here one of the propositions which Pascalhad opposed, saying that in this case the Jansenists werealready dead men (7th Provincial). But here is something whichactually remains to this day: "It seems likely (and thereforetenable) that the fetus does not have a rational soul as long asit is in the womb of its mother and only acquires it at birth.

Therefore it must be admitted that murder is not committed inany abortion" (DS 1185). The encyclical takes its stand on adifferent plane than these questions of cases of conscience, andaddresses fundamental problems.

Again, it is helpful to know that translations of the encyclical

were based on the Italian text, while the Catechism was firstdrawn up and published in French. We may then consider theItalian text as a reference for other translations of the encycli-cal, since translations are not always perfect.


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E. The Plan of the Encyclical

We are now ready to take our document in hand, beginning

with the Table of Contents.Veritat is splendor is divided into three chapters, the first of

which is entitled, "Christ and the Answer to the Question aboutMorality." This is not simply a preamble, a kind of introductoryspiritual meditation. Rather, it is a constructive chapterpresented in the form of an in-depth reflection on the incident

of the rich young man. This is indicated in the quotation addedto the title: "Teacher, what good must I do . . . ?" It is withinthe framework of this question that the entire encyclical iswritten and must be interpreted.

Chapter 2 discusses "The Church and the Discernment ofCertain Tendencies in Present-Day Moral Theology." This sec-tion is critical in the main and addresses the determining pur-pose behind the encyclical.

The principal object of Chapter 3 is to spell out how the en-cyclical should be applied by those responsible for teaching inthe Church: moral theologians and bishops, to whom this let-ter is directly addressed. It is entitled: "Moral Good for theLife of the Church and the World."

I. Moral Theology and the Gospel: Six Guidelines for

the Renewal of Catholic Moral Theology

The first chapter of the encyclical is undoubtedly the easiest tograsp. Because of its gospel presentation of morality and its spiri -tual content, it has aroused the greatest interest among ordinaryreaders. It has also for the most part won the approval oftheological commentators, but these, after a few words of praise,give it very little attention. They apparently view this first sectionas a spiritual meditation, meant to introduce the discussion ofmoral problems in Chapter 2. It is an introduction which in their

view calls for no particular comment. Their interest l ieselsewhere.This simple observation is an indication of precisely the basic

problem which the encyclical's introduction wishes to address: thegap between morality and the Gospel which exists in the minds ofmany moral theologians. For them, a reflection on the Gospelwould seem to betoken spirituality rather than morality and tohave

no direct, inevitable effect upon moral problems. Therefore it couldnot, in their view, be anything more than a preamble.

I maintain that the first chapter of Veritat is splendor is every bitas important as the second, because it traces the broad lines of arenewal of Catholic moral theology through a return to its chiefsourcethe Gospelwhich means bridging the gap which hasbeen created between morality and spirituality. In doing this, theencyclical carries forward the work of biblical research undertaken

by the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Chapter 1 is basically con-structive, and for this reason it merits profound study. At the sametime it offers a major censure of the moral theories critiqued inChapter 2, namely, that in systematically separating morality fromrevelation by means of their categories, they have definitivelymoved away from evangelical renewal.

As 1 see it, we can distinguish in Chapter 1 sixguidelines for theevangelical renewal of moral theology. They stand out most clearly whenwe contrast them with the preconciliar moral theology whose char-acteristic traits and divisions we have described above.

A. The Relationship Between Moral Theology and Scripture

In line with the council's wishes regarding the teaching of

theology, and notably moral theology, Veri tat is splendor rees-tablishes profound and sustained ties between moral theologyand Scripture, particularly the Gospels. Three examples of thisfollow.

1. The Frequency of the Citat ionsAs in the Catechism, Scripture is quoted far more often than in

the textbooks of moral theology, which date from a periodwhen anti-Protestant reactions had set extreme limitations on

the use of the Bible in the Catholic Church. The gospel textsserve as a source of doctrine and a basis for reflection. They are

no longer merely props, used to "confirm" the arguments ofreason. Even the encyclical's Table of Contents is studded with

scriptural quotations. Here we gather the fruits of the biblical

renewal encouraged by the council, which truly restored theBible to the People of God. The Pope gives us an example of areading of Scripture that is shot through with moral teaching.

Some have faulted Veritat is splendorfor its manner of read-ing and exploiting Scripture. This is a basic problem for ex-


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egetes as well as theologians: how to draw theological teach-ing from Scripture, particularly in the field of moral theology;and how to extract Scripture's moral and spiritual riches with-out losing sight of them in discussions about history andhermeneuticswhile at the same time maintaining due respectfor the contributions of positive study. The encyclical does nothave to deal with such problems. It traces out the path andshows every Christian that the Gospel contains a word ad-dressed to him personally even as it was addressed to the richyoung man, a word which goes deeper than any human word.

2. At th e He ar t of th e Go sp el St an ds th e Pe rs on of Ch ri stThis is a point of major importance, transcending our initial ob-servation, which was still at the material level : morality drawnfrom the Gospel focuses on the very person of Christ. The Bibleis a hook like no other. Far from being simply a historical docu-ment, Scripture is the bearer of a Word which touches us per-sonally and puts us in an intimate relationship with Christ infaith. And according to the encyclical, the moral teachings ofthe Gospel too converge in the person of Jesus. Christian mo -rality cannot be reduced to a code of commands and prohibi-tions. It consists basically in "holding fast to the very person of

Jesus . . . sharing in his free and loving obedience to the will ofthe Father." "Following Christ is thus the essential and pri-mordial foundation of Christian morality" (VS 19.2). This is howone becomes a true disciple. The imitation of Christ, par-ticularly in the practice of fraternal love, constitutes the moralrule of Christian life (VS 20).

3. Jesus' Conversation wi th the Rich Young Man is theStart ing Point ofVeritatis splendorIt introduces a concept dear to John Paul II, posing the most fun -damental moral question: "What good must I do to have eternallife?" (Mt 19:16). Jesus replies that God alone is good and tellshis questioner to observe the Commandments. As the youngman is still not satisfied, Jesus exploits his desire for the good toshow him the way of perfection, which means giving up his

possessions, distributing them to the poor, and following him.Meditation on this passage carries us far beyond the realm ofpious considerations. It poses the most basic of moral questionsand continues with an in-depth reflection on the dominantthemes of Christian morality,

shaping them into closer conformity with the Gospel. The story ofthe rich young man thus becomes the setting for the entireencyclical. This method has the merit of presenting morality to usconcretely, in a dialogue with Jesus. It moves us to questionourselves personally in our turn, in a similar conversation withthe Lord. In this way the encyclical provides us with a model forreflection on moral questions in the light of the Gospel.

B. The Moral Question, "Teacher, what good must Ido?" and the Question of Happiness

Another important change is indicated by the formulation of themoral question, which is different from the rich young man's,"What good must I do to have eternal life?" The encyclical seesin his words a question in the moral order that arises in theheart of every person who, consciously or not, approaches Jesus.It is about the full meaning of life, rather than about rules to befollowed. It expresses a yearning for absolute good, whichreveals to man the "call which comes from God who is the ori-gin and goal of man's life." It directs the Church's mission toevery man's encounter with Christ (VS 7).

This phrasing of the moral question opens up to us a muchbroader horizon than that of casuistry. Morality is not now lim-ited to the problem of what is permitted or forbidden in casesof conscience. From the start it is situated within a perspectiveas vast as human life, thanks to this basically positive question,

"What is good in life?" It is a clear invitation to p lace at the verybeginning of moral teaching the question of happiness and of the pur-

po se of li fe , as did the Fathers of the Church and St. Thomas. TheCatechism of the Catholic Church has clearly shown the way at theopening of its section on morality, by linking man's creation inthe image of God to his vocation to happiness, which finds itsexpression in the gospel Beatitudes (CCC 1716-29).

This modification of the moral question has an important re-sult. It used to be possible to address the problem of what was

permitted and forbidden by formulating purely rational laws,and to remain within the parameters of a purely human moral-ity. However, one cannot give a fully satisfactory answer to thequestion of "what is good," and the desire for happiness, with-out bringing in God. In fact, God is the only one who can an-


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swer the question about what is good, since he is Goodnessit-self, according to Jesus' word, "No one is good but Godalone." Thus the encyclical restores its religious dimension tomorality by relating it to the love of God, who is "the source ofman's happiness and . . . the final end of human activity" (VS8-9). The consideration of beatitude and of our final end oncemore lays the foundation needed for complete harmony withChrist's moral teaching and for the elaboration of anauthentically Christian morality, based on charity.

C. The Reinterpretation of the Decalogue with Love as

the Starting Point

Basing morality on the question of goodness leads to a reinter-pretation of the Decalogue with significant consequences. Ac-cording to the standard presentation in textbooks and cat-echisms, the Decalogue had appeared as a summary of obliga-tions, commands and prohibitions imposed on man by God un-der pain of sin, with the threat of punishment. Considered tobe the expression of the natural law inscribed in man's heart bythe Creator, as we read in St. Paul (Rom 2:15), it was nonethe-less experienced as an external, restrictive law, a kind of legalor natural authority set up in opposition to our freedom.

The encyclical maintains the interconnection between theDecalogue and natural law, seeing the latter as the work of Godthe Creator acting within man's heart as "a light of the intelli-gence infused in us by God," to use St. Thomas's definition,which is corrective of legalistic voluntarism. However, it putsthe law back into the scriptural setting of God's covenant withhis people. The Decalogue is a g i f t of God, which has"brought into existence the people of the Covenant" and made

of them "a holy nation." It is l inked with the promises of God concerning the promised land which was shown to Mosesand which is a symbol of eternal Life. God's Commandments"show man the path of life and they lead to it" (VS 12.2). TheDecalogue is not simply a barrier that may not be crossed; it

takes on a positive role in pointing man to the kingdom of God.Thus conceived, the Decalogue elic its from man

something far greater than material and servile obedience. Itcal ls f o r "a re sponse o f l ove " in keeping with thefundamental command-

ment of Deuteronomy: "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God isone Lord; and you shall love the Lord your God with all yourheart, and with all your soul, and with all your might (6:45)"(VS 10). In keeping with the structure of the Decalogue, thisresponse takes on the twofold form of love of God andneighbor.

It will be helpful to pause for a moment over this response

of love which is asked of us. In reality, Veritatis splendorchangesthe foundation supporting morality and brings out its quintes -

sence: Is i t love or is i t o bedience to obl igations? Inthe traditional textbooks, the general foundation lay inobligations and the predominant virtue became, in actual fact,legal obedience. The section on charity was revealing in thisconnection, since, practically speaking, it was limited to anexplanation of man's obligations to, and sins against, God andneighbor. The study of charity itself, viewed as an upwardthrust of the heart toward God, pertained to spirituality ratherthan to moral theology. Here we are faced with the question,Is it possible to love out of a sense of duty? If morality is thedomain of obligation, then it can have little connection withthe question of love.

The encyclical reverses this outlook, which has been too

heavily influenced by the legalism of a historical period. It quiteopenly returns to Scripture and specifically to the gospel inter-pretation of the Decalogue, beginning with the commandmentof love. It quotes St. Augustine, who explains this decisivequestion of priorities with acumen. "Does love bring about thekeeping of the Commandments, or does the keeping of theCommandments bring about love? ... But who can doubt thatlove comes first? For the one who does not love has no reasonfor keeping the Commandments" (VS 22.3). The encyclical in-vites us, therefore, to correct our idea of morality so as to as-sure the definitive primacy of charity, thanks to a rereading ofthe Ten Commandments. The C at ec hi sm o f t heCathol ic Church does the same thing.

1. Love's Twofold Response to the DecalogueTaking its inspi ration from the teaching of St. Thomas, and inparticular from his preaching on the two commandments oflove and the Ten Commandments of the Law, Veritatissplendor shows how the Decalogue gives a twofold form tothe response


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of love, which it enjoins on us. In the first place it teaches usabout loving God "with our whole heart," exemplifying this in

the Commandments of the f irst tablet. Here, in adoration, we rec-ognize God as "the one and absolute Lord," and follow throughwith obedience and the exercise of justice and mercy. This is"the very core, the heart of the Law," from which its particularprecepts flow (VS 11.1); or to put it differently, it marks the"centrality of the Decalogue" (VS 13.2).

Then comes love of neighbor, regulated by the precepts of

the second tablet, which are summed up in the Commandment,"You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Here the encyclicalintroduces the personalist themes so often developed in JohnPaul II's catechesis: respect for the particular dignity of thehuman person, to be shown by safeguarding his spiritual andmaterial goods in relationship to God, his neighbor, and thematerial world. Placed at the service of charity, thesecommandments indicate the duties and guarantee thefundamental rights of the human person (VS 13.2).

Taking up once more the pedagogical perspective, whichwas all too rare in post-Tridentine morality, the encyclical ex-plains how necessary the role of the Decalogue is during thefirst stage of the development of the moral personality on its

journey toward spir itual freedom. As St. Augustine affi rms,avoidance of the serious sins forbidden by theCommandments forms in us "an initial freedom. . . but this is

only the beginning of freedom, not perfect freedom" (In loannisevangelium tractatus, 41, 10: CCL 36, 363; cf. VS 13.4).

The encyclical concludes i ts reflection on the Decalogue by

making an important point about the relationship between the twocommandments of love: "They are profoundly connected andmutually related." We cannot separate them (VS 14.2). Wecan-not separate love of neighbor from love of God. Love ofGod is first and it alone gives the complete answer to themoral question about what is good from the viewpoint of

eternal life. This point has its application in the theories,critiqued by the encyclical, that attempt to limit morality tohuman relationships on the so-called horizontal plane.Obviously it is impossible to conceive of love of God apartfrom love of neighbor without contradicting the formalteaching of St. John and the Synoptics.

In such a scenario we would be talking about an entirely ver-tical morality. In former periods the tendency to do this couldbe observed in a contemplative life marked by a certainasceticism in regard to human relationships. Let us note thatthe same tendency can also emerge in "horizontalist"teachings, in the form of an ideology that loses sight of theconcrete individual flesh and blood neighbor who is the objectof gospel love.

D. The Reintegration of the Sermon of theLord and the New Law in Moral Theology

We have come to a central point. On several occasions (nn. 12,15-16, 24, 25), the encyclical appeals to the Sermon on theMount and the teaching of the New Law. In discussing Jesus'second answer to the rich young man, in which he reveals tohim the way of perfection, it shows them at the summit ofChristian morality.

1. The New Law in St. Thomas and in Moral Theology TextbooksAt this point we need to take a glance at the history of theol-ogy, in order to appreciate the innovation and gauge itsimpor-tance. After a first elaboration in the Franciscan Summa

of Alexander of Hales, the teaching on the New Law receivedfrom St. Thomas Aquinas its definitive theological formulation(STh III, qq. 1068). This is an expression of the powerful spiri-tual movement of the thirteenth century, exemplified by St.Francis of Assisi and St. Dominic. Its originality lies in the factthat it defines the gospel Law as an interior law. The source ofthis teaching is the prophetic text of Jeremiah about the newCovenant, the law inscribed in hearts and minds (31:31), whichthe Letter to the Hebrews cites and applies to Christ (8: 6-13).St. Paul does the same thing when he speaks of the law of theSpirit (Rom 3 and 8), as also St. Augustine, in his commentaryon the Sermon of the Lord, and his work, "The Spirit and the

Letter," which is a meditation on these beautiful texts. To sumup, the entire scriptural and patristic tradition is gathered to-gether and emphasized in the work of the Angelic Doctor. Ac-cording to St. Thomas the New, or Gospel, Law is fundamen-

tally, at its powerful core, an interior law. It is the very grace of


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the Holy Spir i t , received through fai th in Christ who justi f ies and operating through charity whichsanctifies. This is its inmost essence. But the New Law alsopossesses secondary and more material elements, necessary inorder that the grace of the Spirit may act in us. These are thetext of Scripture, epitomized in the Sermon on the Mountwhich thereby becomes the New Law's specific text as theDecalogue was for the Old Lawand t h e sa c r a me n ts insofar asthey are the means adopted to communicate the grace of Christ

to us ( S Th III, q. 106, a. 1, and q. 108, a. 1). Thus de-fined, theNew Law fulfills the Decalogue and brings it to perfection (q.107). It regulates man's interior acts at the level of the "heart,"where faith and charity operate with the other virtues, while theDecalogue bears directly on external actions (q. 108, a. 3).

This teaching, which attributes a primary role to the actionof the Holy Spirit and the theological virtues in the Christianlife, and which takes so exact an account of the evangelical di-mension of morality, had unfortunately been neglected bymoralists since the rise, in the fourteenth century, of nominal-ism, which restricted morality to the domain of obligation. Thusthe New Law and the Sermon on the Mount are never men-

tioned in modern textbooks or in the moral section of cat-echisms appearing after the Council of Trent. If they are alludedto, they are never assigned an important role in the scheme ofmoral teaching. This is evident in the rift which has been cre-ated between the Gospel and the teaching of moral theology.

The result has been a real impoverishment of tradition.

2. The New Law in the Catechism of the Catholic ChurchWe had to wait until the middle of this century for the firstsigns of a rediscovery of the New Law by exegetes and theolo-gians. The Ca te ch i sm takes full advantage of this renewal (nn.196586). In its discussion of moral laws, after considering natu-ral law and the Mosaic Law it takes up "the New or gospelLaw," which it places a t t he h ea d o f a ll m or al

legislation in direct relation to grace (nn. 196574). TheNew Law is presented as "the perfection here below of thedivine law, natural and revealed," a reference to St. Thomas'sdefinition, which we gave above. The Ca te ch i sm then commentsbriefly on the Sermon on the Mount, which explains this Law asit corresponds to the new

commandment of love found in St. John (13:34), and shows ushow this law causes us to act out of love, not fear. The New Lawis a law of grace, conferring the strength we need; it is a law offreedom, giving rise to spontaneous action, which advances usfrom the condition of servants to that of friends of Christ andliberates us from the old observances. Such is the freedom oflove, set in motion and manifested by the evangeli-calcounsels.

Finally, we note that the Ca te ch i sm (n. 1971), which is clearer

on this point than the encyclical (VS 26), adds to its commen-tary on the Sermon on the Mount "the moral catechesisof the a p o s to l i c te a ch i n g s , " or paraclesis. (I believe this term isto be preferred to paranesis, because of its frequent, almosttechnical, use in the presentation of moral teaching.) Thisparaclesis is found in the great Epistles containing the moralteaching of the apostles: Romans 1215; 1 Corinthians 1213;Galatians 5; Ephesians 45; Philippians 2:117 and 3:14, 9;Colossians 34; 1 Thessalonians 45; James; 1 Peter; 1 John.Clearly, therefore, the Sermon of the Lord is not an isolatedtext, but rather the privileged apogee of the moral teaching ofthe New Testament and of all Scripture.

3. The Future of the New LawThe introduction of the New Law into fundamental moral the-ology is an innovation which I believe is prophetic. It is still farfrom being generally accepted. Yet it is an absolute conditionfor the evangelical renewal of moral theology and an essentialcontribution to the undertaking of "re-evangelization" promotedby John Paul II. In this regard Veritatis splendor is ahead ofcurrent ideas in the field of moral theology, which are stilldetermined by casuistic categories. Even the various editions ofthe Ca te ch i sm demonstrate the difficulty encountered in intro-ducing the New Law into the generally accepted moral catego-ries. The thematic index of the French edition, which has beenadopted by the Italian edition, does not include the Sermon on

the Mount, although several Numbers of the Ca te ch i sm deafwith it and it is cited in a number of instances. The Germanedition compiled its own index; but it too fails to mention the

"Bergpredigt."The English edition which has just come out hasnot corrected the omission. Yet if we consult the biblical index


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we find 139 quotations from Matthew 5-7. The Sermon of theLord, which is the representative text of the New Law, doesnot yet seem to have a place among the familiar concepts ofmoral theology. Our mental categories lag behind.

4. The Sermon and the New Law in Veritatis splendorThe diff iculty I have just pointed out is understandable. TheSermon on the Mount cannot be fitted into a moral system thatis conceived to be the domain of obligations and prohibitions.It introduces quite a different type of morality, in which love

takes precedence over legal obligation. The encyclical itselfnotes this: we are no longer dealing with commandments "un-derstood as a minimum not to be exceeded, but rather as apath on which we pursue a moral and spiritual journey towardperfection, at the heart ['soul,' in the Italian text] of which islove" (VS 15.2). In other words, we are moving from a staticmorality, primarily bent on determining what we should notdo, to a dynamic morality in which the impulse of love urgesus on to continual progress.

This is very much the thrust of the encyclical. Theinterpretation of the Sermon on the Mount which it proposesis based on growth in charity. The Beatitudes at thebeginning of the Sermon can in no way be opposed to the

commands which fol-low them, the encyclical remarks. Quitethe contrary: through their promises they orientate thecommandments to the perfection of charity. If we study them

in depth, they present "a sort of sel f -port ra it of Chr ist " andinvite us to follow him and to live in communion with him (VS16.3). Actually, it is possible to discern the spiritualphysiognomy of Christ throughout the Sermon. He offershimself as a model and companion on our journey along thepaths of the Kingdom which its precepts indicate.

In its second part, the Sermon deals with the principalCommandments of the Decalogue. It interiorizes andradicalizes love of neighbor, and proposes as our model the

perfection of the Heavenly Father in his merciful love. Itshows us in Jesus the living fulfillment of the Law, the Masterwho would have us communicate in his love and who gives usthe power to bear witness to it in our actions and choices (VS15).

For this reason, the Sermon on the Mount could be called

the magna carta of evangelical morali ty. We can consider it as the

fundamental constitution of the Christian people. It is also thefirst rule of religious orders and of all who consecrate them-selves to the evangelical life. Should it not serve as the foun-dation of canon law?

Further on, in connection with the relationship between law

and freedom (VS 45), Veri tat is splendor explicitly presents th eThomist ic teaching on the New Law, namely, that it is an interiorlaw written in the hearts of the faithful, a law of perfection andfreedom. A passage is cited from St. Thomas' commentary on

the Letter to the Romans, which shows the close link betweenthis Law and the Holy Spirit and which paves the way, throughthe grace of the Spirit, for the definition which the Summatheologiae was to give: the New Law is the Spirit himself dwell-ing in the soul to enlighten and incline it to act rightly, or in-deed the effect of the Spirit, that is, faith, operating throughcharity. The New Law is likewise evoked in connection with theneed for grace (VS 24). I shall return to this point later.

5. Return to the Patrist ic Tradit ionIn its presentation of Catholic morality, the encyclical is pro-foundly intent on renewal, for it returns by way of St. Thomasto the patristic tradition growing out of the New Testament. It

is essential to understand that this tradition is not somethingmaterial and static like the transmission of a text or a piece oflegislation. According to the very definition of the New Law,we are dealing with a living tradition, and with the communi-cation of the source of life and permanent renewal, which isthe grace of the Holy Spirit. The encyclical invites ustherefore to return to the interior source of all spiritualrenewals which have ever been produced in the life of theChurch, through recourse to the Gospel. Guided and renderedauthentic by the Sermon of the Lord and the apostoliccatechesis, our effort for renewal should also be nourished bythe sacraments in a liturgy ani-mated by the spirit of prayer.

St. Thomas' definition of the New Law can be of enormous

help to us in disposing the various elements of the Christian lifdin their proper order. The formulation of this teaching, the fruitof one of the great spiritual renewals of history, has acquireda universal value and may be considered as the theologicalex-pression of gospel living for all times. In the structure ofthe


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Summa theologiae the treatise on the New Law is the keystonesupporting all of moral theology in its relation to the life of the

Trinity, through the Holy Spirit who communicates the Father'slove to us ( P r ima pa rs ) , and to the person of Christ, through

faith and the reception of sacramental grace (Tertia pars ). It isvery fitting, therefore, that the encyclical should have turnedto this teaching. Yet St. Thomas is no more than an interpreterof the Gospel. He leads us to the Spirit, our Sanctifier, and toChrist our Savior, "the way of truth by which we may come,

through the resurrection, to the blessedness of eternal life"(prologue ofTertia par s) .

E. The Link between Observance of theCommandments and the Search for Perfection

Let us return with the encyclical to our meditation on the storyof the rich young man. Jesus, aware of his eager desire for thegood, which will not allow him to settle for mere observance ofthe Commandments, reveals to the rich young man his call tocomplete goodness, the perfection of love. He would have himtranscend, in a sense, the Old Law regulated by the Decalogue,and pass on to the New Law.

1. The P rob lem o f a Doub le S tandard o f Mo ra l i t y Here we come to an important problem of interpretation, whichthe encyclical resolves with perception and vigor. The story of

the rich young man has often served as an illustration of thes e pa ra t io n b e tw ee n m o ra l it y a n d t he s e ar c h f or

pe r fec t ion , and a basis for it. When Jesus in his first responsequotes the chief Commandments of the Decalogue, he isreminding the rich young man of the precepts which areimposed on everyone and which constitute morality. His secondresponse, phrased condition-ally, "If you wish to be perfect. . . ,"indicates something special, a higher kind of life reserved forthose who, like the apostles, have freely committed themselvesto the search for perfection. This story has therefore served as

an evangelical basis for the setting up of two states of life, ortwo degrees, within the Church: one for the generality of thefaithful, for whom the observance of the Decalogue in the formof a series of obligations is sufficient; and another for thosewhom the evangelical counsels have summoned to a higherperfection, and who are

generally identified as religious. This is what led Protestantwriters to speak of a double moral standard in the CatholicChurch, one for ordinary Christians and the other for monks.

This division corresponds to the teaching of the textbooks onmoral theology mentioned above. On the one hand there is mo-rality properly so called, with obligations based on the Decalogueand incumbent upon everyone. On the other hand we find asceti-cism and mysticism, which treat of ways of perfection reservedfor the elite. The first moral system is reduced to a minimum of

observances and a concern to avoid mortal sin; the secondentails a search for perfection aided by asceticism andadditional observances. One of the disadvantages of this view ofthings has been to cut ordinary Christians off from the vocationto perfection and the desire for sanctity. They could safelyassume that for the generality of the faithful it was enough toconform to the minimum which was strictly required.

2. The Response o f th e Catechism and the Encyc l i ca l

The Catechism takes a definite stand in opposition to these di-visions and corrects the perspective. It recalls the teaching of

Lumen gen t ium on the un iversa l ca l l to ho l iness : "AllChristians in any state or walk of life are called to the fullness of

Christian life and to the perfection of charity." This it confirmswith a quotation from the Sermon on the Mount: "Be perfect, asyour heavenly Father is perfect" (Mt 5:48; cf. CCC 2013). Itmakes it clear that the life of every Christian possesses amystical dimension: "Spiritual progress tends toward ever moreintimate union with Christ. This union is called 'mystical'because it partici-pates in the mystery of Christ through thesacraments'the holy mysteries'and, in him, in the mysteryof the Holy Trinity. God calls us all to this intimate union withhim." It is well, however, to distinguish this life of union withChrist, which constitutes the essence of the Christian life, from"the special graces or extraordinary signs of this mystical life[which] are granted only to some for the sake of manifesting

this gratuitous gift given to all" (CCC 2014). We should nottherefore identify mysticism, as has often been done, with theextraordinary phenomena which may accompany an intenseparticipation in the "mystery" of Christ, such as thestigmatization of St. Francis of Assisi. The mystical life unfoldsin the day-to-day events of the


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Christian life, through the profound working of the theologicalvirtues and the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

This is a confirmation of the renewal of spiritual ity initiatedby Msgr. Saudreau in France at the end of the last century andcontinued by Fr. Arintero in Spain, by Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange inRome, and by many others. They all maintained that thespiritual life, even in its mystical dimension, is accessible toevery Christian through the reception of the sacraments, theliturgy, and the practice of prayer under the impulse of theHoly Spirit. It now remains to reintegrate spirituality, thusrenewed, into the mainstream of the teaching of moraltheology.

Along the same lines, V e r i ta t i s sp l e n d o r presents a r e n e we d i n -t e r p r e t a t i o n o f f l u ' s t o r y o f t h e r i c h y o u n g m a n . According to theencyclical, there is no separation, still less a break, between thetwo successive responses of Jesus. Rather, there is a p r o fo u n d co n -t i n u i t y b a se d o n th e ch a r i t y already evidenced in the young man'sinclination toward "the good," in such wise that the two re-sponses express two stages, and not two independent states, inthe progress of the one charity toward its perfection.

Appealing to St. Augustine, who sees moral growth towardthe perfection of love as coinciding with freedom's growth

toward maturity, aided by the Law of God (VS 17), theencyclical differentiates between two attitudes: theobservance of the Law seen as a burden and a restriction ifnot denial of freedom, as would be the case where obedienceis rendered purely out of a sense of obligation; and on theother hand an observance in-spired by love, which senses "theinterior impulse" of the di-vine law and spontaneously seeks tolive out all its exigencies in their fullness, going far beyond theBeatitudes' required minimum (VS 18). The root of theproblem of our relationship to God's law is this: either weobserve the Decalogue with love, and it becomes a teacherleading us beyond itself toward the New Law, or we obey itunder the constraint of obligation and experience it as a

burden which we seek to lighten.Taking as its foundation and starting point the presence of

inchoate charity at the origin of every Christian life, Ver i ta t issp lendor can affirm that "the vocation to perfect love is notrestricted to a small group of individuals," but is addressed toeveryone, since charity, like all life, tends spontaneously togrow toward

"that perfection whose measure is God alone" (VS 18.2). Ac-cording to the teaching of Jesus, this perfection will take on atwofold form: the radical exercise of love of neighborexpressed in giving one's possessions to the poor, and love ofGod proven in the following of Jesus. Clearly, the concretemodalities of the response to such a call will vary considerably,according to vo-cations and personalities. From the viewpoint ofthe Gospel, the essence of the response lies at the level of theheart. The question is, whom do we love, whom do we prefer

and choose to follow? The conditional phrase, "If you wish to beperfect..." does not signify a counsel which we are free tofollow or reject indifferently. In calling the rich young man tofollow him, Jesus, by his exhortation, wishes to awaken love inhis heart and to entice him beyond his chrysalis of observanceof the Commandments.

3. T h e F o l l o w i n g a n d I m i t a t i o n ofC h r i s t

V e r i t a t i s sp l e n d o r thus leads us to recapture the gospel theme ofthe Christian life understood as a following and imitation ofChrist. This will enable us to restore to moral theology its per-sonal and spiritual dimension.

We should note that the encyclical is at pains to associate

the two expressions, "following" and "imitation" of Christ, incontrast to Luther, who set them in opposition, moving awayfrom the theme of imitation, which is so important in Catholicspirituality, and which he faulted for giving too much emphasisto human effort and merit. The expression "followers of Christ,"used to indicate the disciples, is found chiefly in the Synoptics,who describe Christ's life with his disciples as they followed himabout in his wanderings through Galilee and Judea. The themeof imitation appears in the two Letters to the Thessalonians (1

Thess 1:6; 2 Thess 3:7; see also Phil 2:5; and 1 Pt 2:21), whichare addressed to Christians who, after the death and ascensionof Jesus, were following him no longer physically but spiritually.

The two expressions are therefore complementary. I m i t a t i o n i sa n i n t e r i o r f o l l o w i n g , at the level of heart and morality, under theimpulse of the Spirit; it means b e i n g c o n - f o r m ed t o C h r i st . St.Augustine puts it very clearly in a homily on St. John: " I f anyonewould serve me, let him follow me'. What


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does 'let him follow me' mean, if not 'let him imitate me'? For'Christ,' says the apostle Peter, 'suffered for us, leaving us anexample that we might follow in his footsteps' . . . What is theresult of this, what is the reward, the advantage? That 'where Iam, there also my servant will be.' May he be freely loved,and may this be the reward for work done in his service: to bewith him" (Homily51.11).

The encyclical orientates the following and imitation ofChrist to the fraternal love shown by Christ in the account of

the washing of the feet, the prelude to the Passion, and indi-cates its measure in the new commandment: "Love oneanother as I have loved you" (Jn 15:12). Thus, seen from theviewpoint of charity, "Jesus' way of acting and his words, hisdeeds, and his precepts constitute the moral rule of Christianlife" (VS 20.1).

F. The Need for Grace

The beauty and nobil ity of the moral teaching in the New Law,which Christ proposed first to the rich young man and then toall the disciples, gives rise to a crucial question. Is i t p o ss i b l e to

p u t s u ch loftyt e a c h i n g i n t o p r a c t i c e ? The question had already

been raised regarding the Decalogue, as it is raised in regardto every demanding moral system. But it becomes more press-ing in the case of gospel morality, above all when it is to beapplied universally, as the encyclical proposes.

Here we encounter the major difficulty with which modernexegesis and theology have grappled in their interpretation ofthe Sermon on the Mount. Doesn't the Lord's Sermon demandthe impossible in presenting an ideal too high for ordinarypeople to attain? The difficulty becomes insurmountable whenwe think of morality as consisting entirely of obligations. Fromthis perspective the precepts in the Sermon, which reach downinto our most intimate depths, seem to increase the burden ofour obligations beyond endurance.

This problem posed by the Sermon has elicited various re-sponses. Some Catholics have distinguished between moralityproperly so called, which is meant for all and limited to theDecalogue, and the spirituality which the Lord's Sermon pro-posed, not to the crowd but only to those chosen discipleswho

drew near to Jesus to hear himaccording to one interpretationof Matthew 5:1. This spirituality would be meant for an elitecalled to a perfection defined by the evangelical counsels. Onthe other hand, Luther challenged the distinction between pre-cepts and counsels and ascribed to the Sermon the same role asthat of the Law of Moses. As with the latter, the first aim orfunction of the Sermon, according to him, was to convince usof our sinfulness and make us turn to pure faith. Christ alonehad lived out the teaching of the Sermon, said Luther, and he

clothes us, by means of faith, with the justice which this dis-course sets before us. Others have spoken of the Sermon on theMount as an ideal moral system, unattainable yet still useful inencouraging moral progress. Again, it has been interpreted asan exceptional morality appropriate for those Christians whobelieved that the Parousia was imminent, but hardly one to beextended to the Church of all times.'

V e r i t a t i s s p l e n d o r presupposes this problem regarding evan-gelical morality and also takes into account the very concretedifficulties which Christians can encounter in the practice of theChurch's moral teaching.

The answercomes to us from St. Paul and the Fathers of the

Church. Ma n ca n n o t i m i ta te Ch r i s t ' s l o ve b y h i s o wn p o we r , b u t o n l y b y v i r tu e o f a gifto f Go d . This, precisely, is the grace of the Spirit ofLove, who defines the New Law. In relation to this needed help,the law has a teacher's function. It makes us aware of our sinand powerlessness and incites us to pray and to welcome theSpirit (VS 23). The encyclical repeats a formula of St. Au-gustine which is remarkable for its clear expression of the in-teraction between law and grace: "The law was given so thatwe might ask for grace; grace was given so that we might fulfillthe law" [and not: "the obligations of the law," as the Frenchtranslation has it]. This question is brought up again in Chap-ter 3 of the encyclical at the end of the section on moral prob-lems. Whatever may be the temptations and difficulties, theLord always enables us to observe his commandments throughthe gift of his grace in cooperation with our human freedom (VS102-3). The very consciousness of our weakness prepares ourhearts to receive God's mercy and awakens in us the desire forhis help, which we express in prayer.


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With this as a background, we need to perceive theSermon on the Mount not as a code of supplementaryobligations but as an expression of the manner in which theHoly Spirit acts. It is an exhortation to perform the works hewishes to produce in us by means of faith and love. Supportedby the Our Father, which is placed at the center of theSermon, we keep our eyes fixed on the promises of theBeatitudes.

1. The Tr e a t i se o n Gr a ce i n Mo r a l Th e o l o g y

Those who are famil iar with theological systems will quicklynotice the changes that have been introduced. Th e t r e a t i se o i l

g r a ce mu s t be restored to i ts place i n fu n d a me n ta l mo r a l t h e o l o gy ,alongside law. This change is a direct consequence of theinsertion of the New Law in the section which treats of laws.Ac-cording to Veritatis splendor, we can no longer teach moraltheology without referring to grace, giving it a major role andshowing how it intervenes in the life of every Christian. This istrue not only of all the concrete actions of a person but alsoof his prayer, where faith, hope, and charity are expressed andwhere the loftiest action of the Spirit is experiencedfor he isthe teacher of prayer as well as the inspirer of our actions.

Clearly, the rich young man's question about what is goodin view of eternal life has changed the moral question andbroadened it. Only God, who alone is good, can give the com-plete answer. In the light of Scripture, we have revised the in-terpretation of the Decalogue by considering it as a gift of Godcalling for a response of love. Viewed under the impulse oflove, which it guides and protects in its first stages, theDecalogue prepares us to rediscover the way of perfectiontraced in the Sermon of the Lord and elucidated by the NewLaw. Thus a continuity can be reestablished between the vari-ous stages of progress in love and a profound unity at the heartof the Christian people, in keeping with the appeal addressedto all to follow Christ and to walk in the ways of holiness. Fi-

nally, the teaching of the Lord and the very awareness of ourweakness show us our need for grace in order to respond tosuch a vocation. This grace has happily gone before us. All weneed do is welcome it in faith with the free spontaneity oflove.

Central to this renewal of perspectives on morality is theteaching of the New Law, which expresses theologically the

heart of the Gospel. Because of the connection between theNew Law and natural law, we are able to reconstruct a moralsystem which will be at once authentically Christian and fullyhuman. It remains for us to develop the potentialitiescontained in the gospel teaching. In my opinion, the mostfruitful way to do this is to recapture a morality that is basedon the virtues and the gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to themodel supplied by St. Thomas Aquinas, always with thecondition that we give full value to the evangelical elements

that his teaching presents. The encyclical has, in its firstsection, restored to morality its Christian foundation. It is upto moral theologians to build on it. There is still much work tobe done.

II. The Church and the Discernment of

Certain Tendencies in Current Moral Theology

Chapter 2 is considered the most difficult chapter in the encycli-cal. It should not be faulted for that, however. It was necessary todiscuss the theories of certain moral theologians who make wavesand often express themselves in very technical terms. We should

be thankful that these theories have been brought forward andanswered in a simple manner that focuses on essentials and avoidsthe excessively abstract terminology so dear to specialists. Weshould note too that the encyclical summarizes the theories it cri-tiques without naming authors, and thus avoids personal polem-ics. It gives nuanced answers, discerning both the admissible andthe unacceptable in a calm and reasoned way. The subjects underconsideration are treated with seriousness and composure.Doubt-less the discussion is open to further clarifications andmore technical details, but that is the business of theologians.

The encyclical has given us the essential points. The reactions ofthose who feel they have been targeted confirms the fact that ithas brought to light the real problems that underlie a tangle of

opinions and the subtleties of reasoning.The central question in the debate is about the range of moral

law and its application. We can formulate it in this way: are morallaws, stemming from natural law and formulated principally by theDecalogue, universal and unchangeable, and do they remain per-manent through all the changes of history? Or more precisely, are


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there certain moral laws which always apply, without exception,because they have to do with intrinsically evil actionsthings onemay never dosuch as the murder of an innocent man orabortion? Or should we rather say that moral laws and theirapplication change with changing periods of history, places,cultures, circumstances, and personal situations? Obviously thesolidarity of the entire body of morality is at stake, particularly inregard to natural law, which has served as a fundamental base forclassic moralists. If the foundation is shaken, the whole building is

at risk of col-lapsing. And how is it to be restored? The need for ananswer to this question is urgent if we are to ensure a firm defenseof human rights and dignity at a time when ethical problems areuppermost in our minds and their gravity is most apparent.

V e r i t a t i s s p l e n d o r classifies the problems according to the four

principal elements of morality current today:1. Freedom and law.2. Conscience and truth.3. Fundamental choice and concrete performance.4. The human act and criteria for judging its moral quality.

A. Freedom and Truth. Autonomy Received from God.

Without a doubt the pivotal point of Veritatis splendor lies inthe coordination it establishes between human freedom andtruth. The connection is already apparent in the chosen title,"The Splendor of Truth." The word "truth" is placed first inthe Latin so that it will stand out in bold relief. Let me notethat we are not speaking of abstract truth here. Truth is re-lated to the desire for the good, which is at the root of hu-man freedom. Hence the meaning of truth and the meaningof the good together form the fundamental moral question:what is true good, and therefore true happiness? What is itthat is truly good, in terms of the rich young man's question?Far from diminishing freedom, the exigencies of truth in re-gard to the good are necessary for its implementation, and

above all for the formation and growth of love. Our freedomis therefore freedom for truth, for the good, for love, for hap-piness. It is in touch with reality (VS 34).

With this in mind, we turn to a passage in the Catechism:"Freedom is the power, rooted in reason and will, to act or notto act, to do this or that, and so to perform deliberate actionson one's own responsibility. By free will one shapes one's ownlife. Human freedom is a force for growth and maturity in truthand goodness; it attains its perfection when directed towardGod, our beatitude" (CCC 1731). "The more one does what isgood, the freer one becomes. There is no true freedom exceptin the service of what is good and just. The choice to disobey

and do evil is an abuse of freedom and leads to 'the slavery ofsin' " (CCC 1733). So we are not talking about a freedom whichhas been reduced to the power to choose between contraries,between good and evilwhich has been called freedom of in-difference. Rather, the freedom we mean tends spontaneouslytoward whatever possesses truth and goodnessand this wecall freedom for excellence, because it consists in the powerto perform deeds which are true and good. Thus we can saythat freedom is "at once inalienable self-possession andopenness to all that exists, in passing beyond self toknowledge and love of the other" (VS 86).

I . J o h n P a u l I l ' s E x p e r i e n c e

To understand John Paul 's concern and determination on thispoint, I believe it is helpful to recall his experience under theCommunist regime, where he lived under the threat of a veri-table system of lying. The only way a person could defendhim-self against it was to adopt, with the dissident Russians,the watchword "never to lie," never to be caught up in thesystem. In this situation it was clear that loyalty to the truthwas the necessary condition for freedom. The smallestconcession to lying would lead to slavery. Thereforeacceptance of truth was clearly a source of interior freedomand the only defense of human dignity.

In connection with this, it is enlightening to reread

Galanskov's "Human Manifesto," proclaimed in a square in,Moscow and quoted by V. Boukovsky in his book, A n d th e W i n dB l o w s R o u n d a n d R o u n d :


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I shall go out intothe squareand there,for all the city to hear,I shall fling out

a cryof despair.

I t is I.

I appeal to truthto justiceTo revolt !I am he who will no longer serve.I smash your black fetters

Tissue of lies.I have no need of your breadMixed with our tearsI fall to earth and I vanishIn a half-delirium Ahalf-sleep ...And I feel

the human within mestifled.

The problem has not disappeared with the fall of commu-nism in the Eastern countries. It is present in the West in moresubtle forms. In the very name of freedom people have lostinterest in truth and have reduced it to mere personal opinion,feeling, or advantage. Since they are no longer sustained by astrong and challenging idea of truth, their freedom has grownweak and proves powerless against the drives of passion orselfishness and the external pressures of their social orintellec-tual environment, the mass media, and political power. InWestern countries as in the East, the rift between freedom andtruth leads to enslavement. Only a vigorous love of truth canempower us to defend our freedom and give us courageenough to face up to life's problems and trials.

2. The Debate on Freedom, Conscience, and LawIn discussing the connection between truth and freedom, theencyclical strikes at the root of the present moral problem. Ithas the merit of revealing the two fundamental questionsunderly-

ing the current debate: what is the nature of freedom and

how does it relate to the moral law?

Veritatis splendor takes a stand against an ideology whichwould make freedom a kind of absolute and its own justifica-tion, and which would cede to it the power to determine whatis good or evil. Where this is done, freedom becomes the prin -cipal criterion of moral judgment: whatever favors freedom ismorally good; whatever diminishes or opposes it is evil.

This concept in turn leads to the claim of autonomy for in -dividual freedom, in the strict sense of the word. In such a sys-tem freedom, aided by reason, becomes a law unto itself, with

a resulting purely rational and human morality. This is an ap-plication of the Kantian problematic, which opposes autonomyto heteronomy. (As "nomos" means law or rule and auto-nomous means self-rule or self-made law, and as we speak ofan automobile as a vehicle which has its own motor, so heter-onomy refers to rule by another, "heteros," and to laws con ingfrom another.) Similarly we speak of "theonomy" when therule or laws are received from God ("theos") (VS 36). Thequestion of the autonomy of morality has been discussed atlength by moralists; the discussion is still going on.` The claimto complete autonomy has as its corollary the rejection of alllaw im-posed on man from without or from above, particularlydivine authority. It goes hand in hand with secularization.

In the sane line of thought we find a "creative" concept ofthe moral conscience. While taking into account the indicationsof general laws or norms, "the individual conscience . . . wouldin fact make the final decision about what is good and what isevil" (VS 56.1). It would thus enjoy decisive autonomy in con-crete moral judgment, at the risk of confusing conscience withpersonal, subjective opinion.

Here we see man focusing on freedom and considering it, inone way or another, as the source of moral values. Because ofhis freedom and reason the human subject, the personal con-science, would be the ultimate judge of what is good and evil.Moral law would thus become relative to subjective judgment.Of course it would be given a certain general value, but excep-tions could always be made according to circumstances, and itsapplication would ultimately depend upon the judgment of theindividual. This sublimation of freedom is very widespread inour liberal societies.


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So we are witnessing a kind of revolution in Catholic moraltheology. The casuistry of recent centuries had placed moralityin the framework of a debate between freedom and law, con-ceived as two opposite poles, with law having a restrictive ef-fect and imposing itself upon freedom with the force of obli-gation. Freedom and law confront each other like two landown-ers, disputing the territory of human acts. Generally speaking,moralists would say: "Law governs one kind of action, freedomanother." For example, law takes over Sundays, when manual

work is forbidden, while freedom takes over the rest of theweek, when we are free to work. Formerly, moralists were thetraditional representatives of moral law and it was their dutyto show conscience how to apply the law in a given case or"case of conscience." Today we observe a strong tendency tore-verse the roles. Moralists now see themselves as defendersof freedom and personal conscience. As for moral law, it hasbe-come the servant of freedom, providing it with generalindications, which may be followed according to personal

judgment. These new theories are actually outgrowths of theconcept of freedom of indifference, which underlies casuistry.Freedom of indifference attributes to the will alone the powerto choose between contraries, between good and evil, to

choose for or against the law. It thus sets up a tension inrelation to law, which it sees as a purely restrictive, externalwill. The claim to this kind of freedom is at the origin ofmodern individualism. The encyclical rightly notes, moreover,that this heightened freedom is being widely contested by thehuman sciences, which are busy demonstrating theconditionings it is undergo-ing.

3. The C on ve rg en ce of F reedo m, Law, a ndConscience

Veritatis splendor proposes a different concept of man andfreedom, inspired by Scripture and Christian tradition. Man wascreated in the image of God in his spiritual nature. Hence he iscapable of knowing and loving God and is given mastery overhis actions, or freedom, which is patterned on the freedom ofGod. This free-dom, quickened by the desire for truth andgoodness, enables man, both in his own regard and in regard tothose who depend upon him, to share actively in God'slegislative power, his government, and his providence. Theorigin of moral law is in Godfrom this

viewpoint we call it the divine or eternal lawbut this law is in-scribed in a unique way in the human heart and mind, and in manit is called natural law. It is placed within man, and makes him acollaborator with God in the regulation of his actions and his ownlife (VS 42-43).

Man thus enjoys a real moral autonomy, understood as aparticipation in the sovereign autonomy of God. The encycli-cal, while recognizing this autonomy as did the council, prefersto speak of a "participated theonomy" in order to show clearly

that moral law has its original source in God (VS 41.2).Further-more, we can sayand Christian experience confirmsthisthat the more closely a man conforms through obedienceto the light of God shining in the depths of his soul, the freerhe becomes interiorly. He is autonomous in regard to allexternal pressures and capable of responding personally to thecall of truth, goodness, and love. This is his natural vocation,according to Psalm 4, quoted by the encyclical and also by St.

Thomas in connect ion with natural law: "There are many whosay: Who will make us see good? The light of your face, Lord,is signed upon us" (4:5). Upon us, that is, within us, in thedepths of our hearts where you have inscribed your law.

Let us note that natural law is represented here as an innerlight. It is a work of God's wisdom which speaks to the humanmind and heart. This accords with the relationship betweenfreedom and truth which the encyclical establishes. A contraryconcept views law as the sheer determination of the legislator'swill, imposed from without upon a freedom it wishes to restrict.

This sets up a relationship of force, which no reason can re-solve.

As for conscience, which receives from God "that primor-dial insight about good and evil," it is like an indestructiblespiritual spark (scinti l la animae) which shines in the heartof every man. The Scholastics called it synderesis. It is alsosaid to be the voice of God. Thanks to this higher light,

conscience

becomes for man an inner imperative and a call to do what good in concrete situations. This is the

origin of moral obliga-

tion, also called the obligation of conscience. Hence conscienceis "the proximate norm" of concrete actions insofar as it is thewitness and instrument of that interior light which finds its


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expression in natural law, "the universal and objective

norm ofmorality" (VS 59-60).

Doubtless conscience can be deceived in itsjudgment , since human reason , faced with complexsituations, is fall ible. But it always retains thatinner, primordial light which spurs it on to seek thetruth unwearyingly and ever to advance in doinggood.

(VS 60-64).Thus man's freedom, conscience, and the law of

God, far from being opposed, "meet and are calledto intersect," in spite of tensions which may arise(VS 41.1) . F reedom needs to he taught andsupported by the law of God. It depends on theinner l ight of conscience to show it what is trulygood and to

foster its growth in truth.

4. Co n sc i e n ce a cco r d i n g to j o i n t He n r i / Ne wma nThe encycl ical fo ll ows the lines of great Chri st iantradition, as recalled by Newman in his "Letter tothe Duke of Norfolk," quoted in part by the Ca te ch i sm( C C C 1 7 7 8 ):

Conscience is but an ensemble of naturalprinciples more primordial than nature itself.It is a law of the mind; yet ]Christians] wouldnot grant that it is nothing more; I mean thatit was not a dictate, nor conveyed the notionof responsibility, of duty, of a threat and apromise . . . . [Conscience] is a messenger ofh im who, both in nature and in grace,

speaks to us behind a veil, and teaches andrules us by his representatives. Conscience isthe aboriginal Vicar of Christ. It is the prophetwho reveals the truth to us, the king whoimposes his orders upon us, the priest whoanathematizes us and who blesses us. If theeternal priesthood of the Church were todisappear, the chief priest would survive thisruin, incarnate in conscience.

In contrast wi th thi s Chr is tian concept of

conscience, Newman describes for us the newmeaning of the word "con-science" being adoptedby many people:

But what does the man in the street thinkabout con-science? . . . When our fellowcitizens claim the rights of conscience theyno longer consider the rights of the Cre-ator nor what creatures owe him in theirthoughts and actions; they think of the

right to speak, write and act according totheir own opinion or mood, without the leastconcern for God or the world. They do notdream of obey-


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ing the moral law. They claim the right forevery English-man to act as he pleases; theright to believe what he likes and to ask noone's advice; the right to regard any priest orpastor, speaker or writer as outdated, whotakes the liberty to react against this way ofrushing without let or hindrance to perdition. Ifconscience has its rights, it is because dutiesare implied. But in our day, in the minds of agreat number of people, the r ights and

freedom of conscience serve only to dispenseconscience. They would like to ignore theLawgiver and Judge, and be free of all interiorobligation . . . . In former times, consciencewas a strict counselor. Nowadays it has yieldedits place to a sham unheard of in eighteencenturies, which would never have takenpeople in if they had known of it: the right todo as you please.

Surely this text sounds a prophetic note.Cardinal Newman indicates the criteria by which we

can discern the difference between a true conscienceand what we might cal l a conscience formed byopinion. The authentic con-science places us beforeGod who stands "behind the veil" of his mystery. Itsubjects us to his Word, precepts, judgment, appeals,and rule. I t is forever chal lenging usand this is asure sign that it is at workbecause it wants us toadvance toward God by that path which the Gospelca ll s narrow . If we f oll ow it s voi ce , the t rueconscience will win for us inner peace and joy even inthe midst of trial and spiritual combat intensified tothe point of persecution. Such a conscience will reallymake us autonomous , capabl e o f j udg ing f or

ourselves, "in secret, where the Father sees us," andof serenely resisting all pressures of public opinion orforce contrary to truth and goodness. Conscience isl ike an inner c itadel . I t strengthens us, becausetogether with the moral law it communicates to us thelight and grace of God.

A conscience formed by opinion is pure il lusion. Itis a con-science fallen captive to our opinion and toour determination to defend and justify our ownfeelings and their worth. It refuses to submit to the

judgment of another or the command of any author -ity whatsoever. This so-called conscience attemptsto set itself up as the judge of good and evil and toshape law, the moral world, religion, and even Godhimself, according to its whim. It would


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rob God of his right to condemn and punish. But despite its ap-parent power, the conscience formed by opinion remains weakin its individualism. It is unable to resist the pressures of itsintellectual environment, the media, and the crowds to whom itinstinctively looks for support and protection from the innerVoice. It al-lows itself to be drawn into agitated discussionsabout freedom, conscience, and peace, which end in dividedopinions, turmoil of hearts, inner emptiness, anddissatisfaction.

So the formation of conscience of which the encyclicalspeaks is clearly indispensable (VS 64). It begins with thediscernment of what a true conscience is and with the joyoushumility of one who has discovered the Light. It grows byattending the school of the Word of God, with the help of theChurch's teaching. It needs to be strengthened by experience,through the exercise of virtue, in the light of faith, under theimpulse of hope and charity; and it operates in prudentialdiscernment. Through docility to the Word of God, which itinculcates in us, conscience frees us from our isolation andintegrates us in the communion of the Church. Thus it fulfills itsrole as "Vicar of Christ."

B. The Temptation of Rationality andTechnology: The "Proportionalist" System

In order to see clearly what is at stake in the debate in which

Veritatis splendoris engaged, we need to understand the theoriesit is challenging. It is not enough to know their salient fea turesand certain aspects which are open to criticism. We also need tosee how they coordinate ideas and categories to form acomplete system of moral thought which is firmly constructedand has its own specific characteristics and logical conse-quences. The encyclical provides us with the principal elementsof this systematization, but I believe it will be helpful to re-group them so that their significance and consequences may be

the more clearly assessed. What, then, are "proportionalism"

and "consequentialism," so often referred to in the encyclical?How have the authors who subscribe to them systematizedthem, and how have they put them into operation in moraltheology?

It is not easy for the uninitiated to form a precise idea of"the proportionalist system," of which "consequentialism " is a

variant. The authors who, with the help of theoreticalreflection, have worked it out in the wake of the encyclicalHnmanae vitae often use very technical language in whichKantian categories shore up and intensify scholastic abstractionin such a way that theologians of other disciplines such asdogma or exegesis have difficulty following them. Moreover,none of these authors have written a book offering apresentation of the system in its totality. They have onlypublished articles or collections of essays that give us partial

insights, depending on the writers' views and preoccupations.Then too, their defensive attitude some-t imes leads them tonuance their positions and explanations to such an extent thatit is difficult to be sure what their chief te-nets actually are.

However, once we become familiar with the literature on thesubject we can more easily distinguish the main categories usedby these authors, their interconnection, and their internal logic.Actually, the "proportionalist" system is heir to the casuistry ofrecent centuries and proposes a revision of it constructed withthe aid of elements borrowed from St. Thomassuch as the pre -dominance accorded to finalitytogether with categories orproblematics of Kantian inspiration. What we are presently wit-nessing is an updated version of the crisis of "probabilism,"

which shook the Church in the seventeenth century. We cer-tainly have to credit the authors, like their predecessors, withthe laudable desire to adapt Christian moral teaching to theideas of our age and its technological mentality, in order toaddress the ethical problems posed at the personal level andwithin the parameters of our society. The question is, whetherthe moral system which they propose provides an adequateresponse, or whether on the other hand it does not systemati-cally ignore the essential dimensions of human and Christianaction, which leads to regrettable consequences at the level ofthe foundations of morality and the treatment of cases. This is

precisely what Veritatis splendorfaults them for.

I shall now sketch"

proportionalism" in broad outline, basingmy analysis on the data provided in the encyclical and takinginto account at the same time current literature on the subject.

Basically, we could say that the construction of the newsystem has been aided and abetted by two separations or dis-


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associations at work in the teaching of Christian morality: first,

the rift created between the transcendental and categorical

levels, and second, the breach between the pre-moral and

moral levels.

i . Transcendental and Categorical LevelsA first cutoff is the distinction, at the heart of Christian moral-ity, between the transcendental and categorical levels. Bor-rowed from Karl Rahner, this distinction has been used in moraltheology to address the question of Christian morality.` At the

transcendental level we find personal attitudes, generalintentions, and behavioral patterns which engage the entireperson and all of life in its commitment to God, Christ, andneighbor. "This refers to virtuous ways of acting, such as faith,love, openness to redemption, the vision of life as a sacrament,the imitation of Christ, etc." In simpler terms the encyclical callsit the order of salvation (VS 37). At this level the contributionof revelation is incontestable, and numerous scriptural textsbear it out. From this point of view we can certainly affirm theexistence of a Christian moral system.

The categorical level includes concrete actions which can begrouped according to various commandments and virtues suchas justice, fidelity, chastity, etc. At this level scriptural texts do

not give us specific, clear, and precise norms that can be appliedat all times. Here Christian morality is identified with a purelyhuman morality, justifiable by reason; Christian data obtainedat the transcendental level simply provides a favorable andsupportive background.

It is easy to see the consequences of this distinction, whichmany authors have adopted w

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