Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 14.djvu/663

 THEOLOGY

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THEOLOGY

chief source of moral theology is Sacred Scripture and Tradition together with the teachings of the Church. However, the following points must be observed regarding the Old Testament. Not all precepts contained in it are univer.sally valid, as many belong to the ritual and special law of the Jews. These statutes never obliged the non-Jewish world and have simply been abrogated by the New Covenant, so that now the ritual observances proper are illicit. The Decalogue, however, with the sole change in the law enjoining the celebration of the Sabbath, has passed into the New Covenant a positive Divine confirmation of the natural law, and now constitutes the principal subject matter of Christian morahty. Moreover, we must remember that the Old Covenant did not stand on the high moral level to which Christ elevated the New Covenant. Jesus Himself mentions things which were permitted to the Jews "on account of the hardness of their hearts", but against which He applied again the law at first imposed by God. Hence, not everything that was tolerated in the Old Testament and its wTitings, is tolerated now; on the contrary, many of the usages approved and established there would be counter to Christian per- fection as counselled by Christ. With these limita- tions the writings of the Old Testament arc sources of moral theology, containing examples of and exhor- tations to heroic virtues, from which the Christian moralist, following in the footsteps of Christ and His Apostles, may well draw superb models of sanctity.

Apart from Sacred Scripture, the Church recognizes also Tradition as a source of revealed truths, and hence of Christian morals. It has assumed a con- crete shape chiefly in the writings of the Fathers. Furthermore, the decisions of the Church must be regarded as a source, since they are based on Holy Writ and Tradition; they are the proximate source of moral theology, because they contain the final judgment about the meaning of Sacred Scripture as well as the teachings of the Fathers. These include the long list of condemned propositions, which must be considered as danger signals along the boundary between lawful and illicit, not only when the condemnation has been pronounced by virtue of the highest Apostolic authority, but also when the congregation instituted by the pope has issued a general, doctrinal decision in questions bearing on morals. What Pius IX WTote concerning the meetings of scholars in Munich in the year 1863 may also be applied here: "Since there is question of that subjection which binds all CathoUcs in con- science who desire to advance the interests of the Church by devoting themselves to the speculative sciences; let the members of this assembly recall that it is not sufficient for Catholic scholars to accept and esteem the above-mentioned dogmas, but that they are also obliged to submit to the decisions of the pa])al congregations as well as to those teachings which are, by the constant and universal consent of Catholics, so held as theological truths and certain conclusions that the opposite opinion even when not heretical, still deserves some theological censure." If this is true of the dogmatic doctrines in the strict sense of the word, we might say that it is still more true of moral questions, because for them not only absolute and mfallibly certain, but also morally certain decisions must be accounted as obhgatory norms.

The words of Pius IX just quoted, point to another source of theological doctrines, and hence of morals, viz., the universal teachings of the Catholic schools. For these arc the channels by which the (^'atholic doctrines on faith and morals must be transmitted without error, and which have consequently the nature of a source. From the unanimous doctrine of the Catholic schools follows naturally the convic- tion of the universal Church. But since it is a dog-

matic principle that the whole Church cannot err in matters of faith and morals, the consent of the various Catholic schools must offer the guarantee of infallibihty in these questions.

IMoral theology, to be complete in every respect, must accomplish in moral questions what dogmatic theology does in questions pertaining to dogma. The latter has to explain clearly the truths of faith and prove them to be such; it must also, as far as possible, show their accordance with reason, defend them against objections, trace their connexion with other truths, and, by means of theological argumentation, deduce fvu'ther truths. Moral theology must follow the same processive questions of morals. — It is evi- dent that this cannot be done in all branches of moral theology in such a way as to exhaust the subject, except by a series of monographs. It would take volumes to sketch but the beauty and the harmony of God's dispositions, which transcend the natural law, but which God enacted in order to elevate man to a higher plane and to lead him to his supernatural end in a future life — and yet all this is embraced in the subject of supernatural morals. Nor is moral theology confined to the exposition of those duties and \irtues which cannot be shirked if man wishes to attain his last end; it includes all virtues, even those which mark the height of Christian perfection, and their practice, not only in the ordinary degree, but also in the ascetical and mystical hfe. Hence, it is entirely correct to designate asceticism and mysticism as parts of Christian moral theology, though ordinarily they are treated as distinct sciences. The task of the moral theologian is by no means completed when he has explained the questions indi- cated. Moral theology, in more than one respect, is essentially a practical science. Its instructions must extend to moral character, moral behaviour, the com- pletion and issue of moral aspirations, so that it can offer a definite norm for the complex situations of human life. For this purpose, it must examine the in- dividual cases which arise and determine the limits and the gravity of the obligation in each. Particu- larly those whose office and position in the Church demand the cultivation of theological science, and who are called to be the teachers and counsellors, must find in it a practical guide. As jurisprudence must enable the future judge and lawyer to admin- ister justice in individual cases, so must moral the- ology enable the spiritual director or confessor to de- cide matters of conscience in varied cases of every-day life; to weigh the violations of the natural law in the balance of Divine justice; it must, enable the spiritual guide to distinguish correctly and to advise others as to what is sin and what is not, what is counselled and what not, what is good and what is better; it must provide a scientific training for the shepherd of the flock, so that he can direct all to a life of duty and virtue, warn them against sin and danger, lead from good to better (hose who arc endowed with necessary light and moral power, raise up and strengthen those who have fallen from the moral level. Many of these tasks are as.signed to the collateral science of jiastoral theologj'; but this also treats a special pjirt o( the duties of moral theology, and falls, therefore, within the scope of moral theology in its widest sense. The purely theoretical and speculative treatment- of the moral questions nmst be supplemented by casuistry. Whether this should be done sc|)aratcly, that is, whether the subject matter should be taken ca,suisti- cally before or after its theoretical treatment, or whether the method should be at the same time both theoretical and casuistical, is unimportant for the matter it.self; the i>r.actical feasibility will ilecide this point, while for written works on moral llicology the special aim of the autlior will determine it. How- ever, he who teaches or wTites moral theology for the training of Catholic priests, would not do full justice