The Moral Virtues and Theological Ethics, Second Edition

Romanus Cessario O.P.

Description

Since it was first published in 1991, The Moral Virtues and Theological Ethics has received praise from a wide range of commentators, both Catholic and Protestant. This second edition includes discussion of works that have appeared since the early 1990s, especially the first papal document to address fundamental questions of moral theology, Veritatis Splendor. Those who already have adopted the book for classroom use will welcome this new edition, while those who have just been introduced to it will find an authoritative account of the status that virtue-centered theological ethics enjoys today.

Following a new preface, the text of the six chapters from the original edition remains unchanged. However, Romanus Cessario has substantially updated his notes to account for recent literature on the subject, and a new chapter that accommodates his original study to current developments in moral theology. This second edition will inspire a new generation of students and teachers.

Sujets

• Philosophie
• Philosophie de la religion
• Religious
• PHILOSOPHY
• Philosophie et théologie
• Theology
• Ethics
• Religion

Informations

• Publié par: University of Notre Dame Press
• Date de parution: 15 novembre 2008
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780268076801
• Langue: English

Extrait

THE MORAL VIRTUES AND THEOLOGICAL ETHICS
Second Edition
Romanus Cessario, O. P.
UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME PRESS
NOTRE DAME, INDIANA
This book is printed on recycled paper. -->
Copyright © 2008 by University of Notre Dame
Notre Dame, Indiana 46556
All Rights Reserved
E-ISBN 978-0-268-07680-1
This e-Book was converted from the original source file by a third-party vendor. Readers who notice any formatting, textual, or readability issues are encouraged to contact the publisher at [e-mail] www.undpress.nd.edu Manufactured in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Cessario, Romanus. The moral virtues and theological ethics / Romanus Cessario. — 2nd ed. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and indexes. ISBN-13: 978-0-268-02297-6 (pbk. : alk. paper) ISBN-10: 0-268-02297-6 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Virtues. 2. Christian ethics—Catholic authors. I. Title. BV4630.C47 2009 241'.4—dc22 2008035610 -->
FOR MICHAEL PAUL AND MARY GERTRUDE CESSARIO
In Piam Memoriam
CONTENTS
Preface to the Second Edition
Acknowledgments
INTRODUCTION
1. THE MORAL VIRTUES AND CHRISTIAN FAITH
Issues in Philosophy and Theology
Virtues and the Gospel
Realist Moral Theology
Human Psychology and Gospel Grace
2. HABITUS, CHARACTER, AND GROWTH
Habitus and Christian Kenosis
Habitus and Personality
Development of Habitus
3. WHAT IS A MORAL VIRTUE?
Moral Virtue and the Goal of Christian Life
The Nature of Moral Virtue
Virtue and Human Capacities
Christian Faith and Disordered Emotions
4. PRUDENCE AND THE MORAL VIRTUES
Communio and the Moral Life
Prudence and the Moral Virtues
The Role of Prudence
Prudence and Divine Providence
5. WHAT CAUSES THE MORAL VIRTUES TO DEVELOP?
Moral Virtue and the Theological Life
Virtues in Nature
Acquired Virtue
Infused Virtue
How to Distinguish Infused from Acquired Virtue
Dynamics of Infused Virtues
6. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE VIRTUES
Distinctiveness of Christian Teaching
The Mean of Virtue
Connection of the Virtues
Equality of the Virtues
7. AFTER VERITATIS SPLENDOR : THE MORAL VIRTUES AND CATHOLIC MORAL THOUGHT
Miraculous Herrings
The Casuist Eclipse
The Thomist Influence on Magisterial Teaching
Allergy to Imposed Moral Obligation
Classical Teaching on the Christian Virtues
CONCLUSION
Notes INDEX OF SUBJECTS INDEX OF NAMES INDEX OF SCRIPTURE REFERENCES -->
PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION
This new edition of The Moral Virtues and Theological Ethics responds to an ongoing interest in virtue theory, one sustained by developments in several disciplines, especially the psychological sciences, philosophy, and theology, which have occurred since the book’s original publication by the University of Notre Dame Press.
The preparation of this revised edition has afforded me the opportunity to take account of certain suggestions that were contained in the overall warm reviews that The Moral Virtues and Theological Ethics first received in the major theological journals. What is useful and pertinent among recent publications, including references to research in the psychological sciences, is noted mainly in the updated bibliographical information found in the footnotes and, more fulsomely, in the new chapter devoted to the present state of discussion about the human virtues. The newly composed essay, chapter seven, also considers certain official documents of the Catholic Church that bear on the discussion of the virtues and theological ethics. These include the 1992 Catechism of the Catholic Church , the 1993 encyclical Veritatis Splendor , and more recently in 2005, the first encyclical of Pope Benedict XVI, Deus Caritas Est . Drawing on these documents that interest religious and all people of good will, the new concluding chapter aims to illustrate the perennial value of theological instruction about the moral virtues for safeguarding human life and society.
I express my gratitude for the initiative taken by Chuck Van Hof on behalf of this revised edition, and also to the other gentle people at the University of Notre Dame Press who have made for more than a decade and a half the first edition available to their readers, especially to teachers, who, I am told, continue to find The Moral Virtues and Theological Ethics a valuable tool to introduce their students to the dynamics of living a happy life. It is my hope that the revised edition will augment the book’s attractiveness for use both in the classroom and elsewhere.
Romanus Cessario, O.P.
Boston, Massachusetts
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Preparation for the present volume actually began some ten years ago when circumstances at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, D.C., obliged me to give some lectures in moral theology. Although theological interest in the moral virtues had not then peaked, the course nonetheless enticed certain students in the Washington Theological Consortium. John Ehmann, Administrative Director of the University of Notre Dame Press, took note of this course and urged the publication of its scriptum. First of all, then, I would like to express my appreciation to Mr. Ehmann for this initiative and his subsequent encouragement. At the same time, I gratefully recognize the contributions made by the diverse theological students who, for various reasons, assisted at the lectures in Washington.
Although modern technology has moved us far beyond the collaborative methods of the medieval scriptoria, the production of a book-length manuscript still requires the work of different people. I am grateful, then, to Robert Twele, O.F.M. Conv., and Stephen Dominic Hayes, O.P., for their technical assistances and to John McIntyre, S.J., and Russell Shaw for their literary services. Daniel Bourgeois, Fraternité des Moines Apostoliques, and Peter John Cameron, O.P., also contributed verily and variously to the refinement of the text.
Finally, I owe a debt of gratitude to the Dominican Fathers at the Albertinum, Fribourg (Switzerland). During my first sabbatical year from teaching, the Prior, Guy Bedouelle, O.P., and community welcomed me with characteristic generosity and warmth, so that I was able to complete work on this project promptly, easily, and joyfully. According to established custom, I am especially happy to dedicate this study to my parents, who, during their lifetimes, gave me concrete example of the virtues, both acquired and infused.
INTRODUCTION TO THE FIRST EDITION
In order to explicate what Christians believe about the moral life, theological ethics has long employed both the vocabulary and the rhetoric of virtue theory. Arguably, one can discover the substance of a well-developed theology of virtue even in the earliest patristic writers. But a fourth-century Christian apologist, Lactantius, gave the subject of virtue in the Christian life its first embellished treatment in his Divinae Institutiones . 1 Of course, justification for this practice derives from the New Testament itself. Even a casual perusal of the Gospels and the writings of the apostles reveals the specificity of Christian teaching on the virtues. In general, the New Testament presents virtue as an interior principle of the moral life which directs the individual’s relationship with God and with neighbor. As such, Christian virtue remains a stable reality, something which firmly establishes in the believer the capacity to accomplish those deeds which are worthy of the Kingdom of God.
To cite but a single example, consider the parable of the wise and foolish maidens (Mt 25:1–13). Jesus compares those ready to welcome the reign of God with five prudent maidens, whose virtuous character primed them even for the unexpected arrival of the bridegroom. The principal point of the parable illustrates the kind of preparedness Jesus expects of his disciples, but the wise or prudent maidens also represent all those who possess the ensemble of virtues which characterize a complete Christian life. The burning oil lamps which they carry into the wedding feast symbolically portray Christian wisdom, the crown of the other gifts of the Holy Spirit and of the infused moral virtues. This Christian wisdom empowers all those who embrace prudence and the other moral virtues to fulfill the requirements of an integral and holy life. At the same time, the wise maidens present themselves as both qualified and eager to enter into the company of Christ. As a biblical symbol, the marriage feast represents beatitude, the definitive embrace of divine love for the creature, which constitutes the final perfection that Christian belief and practice achieve in each one of us.
The New Testament authors may use the term “virtue” sparingly, but, as in so many similar cases, the substance of the concept pervades their moral teaching. Moreover, ample documentation exists to show that some of the earliest moral instruction in the Church uses the language of virtue. In fact, St. Augustine spoke about the virtue of Christ himself as the principal support of the believer’s whole life. 2 This justifies his confidence when, commenting on the verse of the psalm, “My mouth is filled with thy praise, and with thy glory all the day” (Ps 71:8), St. Augustine asks: “What does it mean ‘all the day’?” He gives this reply: “It means without interruption: In good times, because Christ consoles us; in bad times, because he corrects us; before we came to be, because Christ made us; as long as we exist, because he has given us salvation; when we sin, because Christ ignores it; when we are converted, because Christ urges it; when we shall have endured, because Christ crowns our perseverance.” 3 Clearly, St. Augustine understood the controlling truth of the Christian religion, namely, that our lives find fulfillment only by following the rhythm which Christ himself establishes.
This book provides a general introduction to the study of the Christian moral virtues. It is a practical book, which purports to he