Powerpoints_files/Catholic Morality
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Based on the work of
Richard M Gula
Faith Informed by Reason
An understanding
of Catholic
Morality begins
with two essential
questions.
What sort of
person should I
try to be?
How should I live
my life?
The two core
principles of
Catholic morality
are human dignity
and community.
We believe that
actions are always
an expression of a
person.
Three aspects of moral
actions:
1. The Intention
2. The Act Itself
3. The Circumstances
What actions are good?
How do you know what’s
good?
What is the source of
goodness?
How have ideas about
goodness developed?
Aristotle believed that the
good is happiness.
A good man is one who
functions according to his
nature, which is a rational
nature. Hence, a good man is
one who reasons well and
chooses well.
Hedonists believe
that good is
pleasure.
In very simple
terms, a hedonist
strives to maximize
pleasure and
minimize pain.
Utilitarians
believe that good
is what is most
useful for most
people. Actions
are measured by
their
consequences.
Jeremy Bentham
The basic
conviction of
Catholic morality
is that God is
good.
We believe that we
are first called to be
loving persons in
the imitation of
Christ.
What sort of action
should I perform
because I believe in
Christ?
We believe
that every
human
person is
created in the
image of God
To be a human
person is to be
essentially directed
to others. We are
communal at our
core.
A person’s
subjective
responsibility for
moral behaviour is
relative to the
development of that
person’s moral
capacity.
How does the
Church teach about
morality?
From Scripture and
Tradition, we
understand:
Original sin
Actual sin (mortal
and venial)
Social sin
Norms are derived
from experience,
the value of
persons and social
relationships.
Scripture is our
normative criterion
of judgment.
It is the privileged,
though not
exclusive, source of
our knowledge of
God and good.
How do we form
our conscience?
The Story of Jonah
The Church is the
shaper of Catholic
moral character.
bearer of moral
tradition.
community of moral
deliberation.
We are called to
discernment,
to know who we
are – how we
stand before God
and one another.
Catholic Graduate Expectations
A discerning believer formed in the Catholic
faith community
An effective communicator
A reflective and creative thinker
A self-directed, responsible, life-long learner
A collaborative contributor
A responsible citizen
Catholic Morality
Faith Informed by Reason
Based on the work of
Richard M Gula
Produced by
Alfred Guidolin
for
Nipissing University
EDUCE 1526
© 2009 A San Marco Production