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$n Giving
Moral ddvice
By IAMES Ir. KEENAN
O STUDENTS PREPARjIIC for priesthcxrd and lay minisay, I
te|Lh of rnnral theology at Weston Jesuit School of
Ll')r dreaded subject
T'he.:logy in Cambridge, Mass. These sudents are inteUigent, articulate
and in love with their respective v<rations. But they arc demanding.
'l'hey insist that what I teach be releyant to their future pastoral work^
The caller begins Thi:-v have made me a better leacher and theologian by directing me
toNaid allvays integrating theory and practice.
a complicated {.}ne of the basic tasks that they and, in fact, all of us face has ro do
with moral advice. ln making moral decisions, we all eidrcr consult or
explanation af ar.c ir:nsulted. Since that moral ta^sh above all others, integates theory
an(i practice, let me indicate l3 fundamental hsights that I have acquired
anri have lbund helpful in the grving of moral advice.
the background. i . I..istt' . l frequently get cals from people of conscience wanting to
hnd our whedrer their way of deliberating about a particular rnatter is
I stand in fvigltt right. 'the caller begins by explaining something about bookkeeping,
gcnelic structures, surgical devices, legal appeals or union balloting.
and wonde.r, .Aiter cne minute, I stand in fright and wonder, "Whal on earti is this
perrorr going to ask?" At that moment I realize again how litde cnmpe-
krce I have.
'What on enrth li's a commonplace to criticize priests for knowing notlting about sex
aori orarriage. Some remark: "Why talk to priests about sex and marriage
is this persln \rllcIr they know nothing about it1" I mar-vel that the charge srops therel I
a|ir irrompetent in most professic.nal areas, but people still ask my
going ta ssk?' ad',i.e about all solts of miittcrs, im:luding sex and marriage. This may
tr Lrccause I've leamed lo iister tlnd fo rccognize how comperent my
o,!!lcr'-{ themselves are not on!} alxrvt accounting, molecular biology ;urd
!.(,rts. bLrt also about moral reasoning. And they, like so many people.
d
wiilri solneone whose reasoning and iistering they trust as well.
lrr 1983, alter my first year of gradu;ite studics in moral theology, my
dad s folrncr panncr in the New 1'ork City Police Department called nre.
Hiii two nieces had been in a car accident a year earlier. One walked away
I:
IAI\{ES F. KEENAN, S.I"/ is the author of GoolheJs and Rightness in
'l')tr.'ntas Aquinas's " Summu Theologiae" (1992) and coeditor with
'Ilrrrrnas
A" Shannon af The Context of Casuistr!^ (1995).

AMERICA MARC) t 2, 1996


fioe; the other was critically irrjured. Fo' a yetr she had to lrced the Script.lres and to follow Jesus' call to disciplF
been on a rotadng bed, attached lc a test';rai()r. Since the ship. V/c' must encourage people to look fqward itr tllcir
accideot, dtis 2O-year-otd womar had l(:!'e! regaind con- pursuit o1'the Lord. And if, like Lot's wife, they insist on
sciousness and had been rcsuscitated more titan six times. looking back and begin worying about smngn&s and sir
Her parcnts tried for a year-to win hcr rceoiery, sparing no and what they sbould avoid, wc may remind thm rhal
€xpensc or devotion. But afte! the mother had spent a fidl simers in the Nevr Testament {E lqrown not for.wh* dpv
year slceping in the hospital by h€r daughr€r's bedside, did, but for what rhey /..ired to do-for failing to bohd.
they began to understand that she would rflver come back Dives did not bot]ler with Lazarus; thc pri&t and thc
to them. Not loowing how to lct go of thrrr daughter, they kvite pussed by the injured man; thc .goats. failed io
ask€d for my advice. feed thc bungry; the lon
I discovered that while IIIy never went iDto thc fiild :to
knowledge about extraordi- work; thc fearful onc. buded
tary nreans, benefits and bur- his one talcnt Thc love 6m.
dens was ftesh, their way of mand in the Scriiituie$rii
proceeding did not ea.sily con- rarcly about avoiding'aitioru
forrn to what I had leamed. At it is about acting. ..i I ....;y.;1;1f;o;,
fust, tbey r€je.ted I "Do Not @L
3. Ir.Yitc b stit ioitls-l
Resuscitato" order. They Often wc live in dxi'worfd irf
feared that in the event of "8.R.," ir 'wnichi: eiiiii
anotber seizur€, she migbt instancc of tmat tought and
come out of her coma and action looks lite a reaction.
hear the doctors say her par- True, moral dilenmas often
ents did noa want htr rcsusci- do lmk like e uneticipatcd
tat€d. kter they gave up that problem affiving on a guEy,
fcar rnd ordercd the D.N.R. but much of Iift onoems '0r
Thcir daughter suffered expecred. Cosidci; fri erirn-
anolher seizure, but an intem ple, that parcatc decidi'-on
otr duty who had not read the schoolr fc ftiir dhil&iaribd
chart resu$citated her. In spite that students '. tlicmsFlvgi
of this, the parcnts were chmsc counas. A gcbd dial
unable 1o consider another of our lift is +e* dcsigdftb;
option-rcmoving the young dr€aning and planaing. Sbc
womaD from tbe respirator. moal lifie is not usirat\irabiih
Thcy urderstood that the res- a catastrophe that his just
OcCUned :,j;._.'1,,+.;.
One way to help people to be pro.active ir inmal living
likelihood of her death soon after its rernovai . t inally they
-
is to ask them what we call fire tbree 'lyirttc,olrcstions?-r
decided to stop $e bcd's rotation. She died quietly several "Who re you?' "Who Oo yor want ti'liii
days latcr. The parcnts had needed to figuie out in their can you get there?" By inviting pcoplcltii
own way, wilh their own reasomng, how tD let go of tbeir themselves bener and to set goo\ we can @ tirii:tbiilj
daughter. I leamed from them. son lxncr as moral individuals. Remembef,, itr modt arEa6
of Ufe-family, tinancral rnacers, 1"i",ag md i,n*+;ait
ple make plar)s about what tttcy witl &; Wc csn iDlite
Ho* *, *SON is a rery human prcuess. If we them to think :timil;irly about the noral life. :,
are to advise others, we must iearn to llstDir. r&b must leam 4- Tblk ahout the virtues. One w^y of scaiag goals is.to
to discover how these others reason. We lcarri this f'rom the ask people whethcr they want to becom€ mote just, faitt-
people we serve. As we loam to listen, 'vc *,ill grow in tul, self-caring or prudenr. parcnts, in podorlr, totdtbc
competence. Along the way, it may bu good also to virtues, because in parenting they look foi ways tb'i!&h
remember thar unlike Catheri[e of Siorrr. rvho is said to their children abour faimess and friends and family. Thus
have leamed Latin ovemight bi, diyine insFjr|tirtn, most of they help rb{:m lorrn friendships, play with siblinis, take
us will spend our lives acquiring con]eetcir.iy as advisors. care of themselves and respect proFrty. Through a vatricty
2. Be positit'e.Moral theology hal bcen ar irs best when of exe.rcises, fr.om hosting birthday parties and plannin!
teachers snd plcachers ralked pritFa..ily abogr goals and fam y ourings (o settiog times for study,-telcvisim and
virtues, not about sin or wronA wayr of aiting. ln the bedtime, parcnts estabtish habihral poms c
aonon itiirr'
paFistic perio4 in tbe writrngs of Saint Francis of Assisi. guide their children thmugh thsir livcs Tho*c exctrcircs
Saint Albert dr€ Grcat and Sainl Thomcs Aqainas, and in arE thc stuff of vfutue. ,r j. . ,...i'|';Jdi'
lhc docurn€nts of th€ Second Vaticafl Corrncil. we arc told 5- Resped the cirnsciencc. Thomas Aquinas, at an endy

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AMERICA MARCH E 1996 al


slage of his reaching ninish_w. argued that thc l2th,centu,] lhe.
ologian Pei{]r l-omhard was wrong to claim that if chRrch and
conscience conflict, one should always obey the forme(. The
young Aquina$ wrote boldly in his Commcntary on the Fourlh
Book of the Sentenccs oJ Peter Lombard: ..Here the Master
[-ombard] is wroag; ir. is better to die excorununicated than to
violak the conscience-"

O,r* t*oarrnN has always included a srrong, continu-


otts argument upholding tlte primacy of the conscience. Certairily
some have rnisused this teaching, giving people license to do
whatever they wish. Eut the priruacy of the conscience rneans
that each pe$on is reqronsible for forming and foltowing a right
conscience. Be rnindfuli, thouglr, ofttos€ lr,ho qualify this prima-
cy. Like Peter lomtrard, they fail to s€e that each disciple must
answer the call of Chdst at the depth of her or his very own
being. Aay comprr,mire of the primacy of corscience compro-
mises the very possibility of that cau.
6" Donl solve people s poblems; rathe4 h.b tham forw thcir
own cansciences. We should see everjr oc.,casioqr in which somerme
asks us fol advice as an opportunity fc aiding the questioner to
look at larger questions that can help them becorne more self-
reliant and setf-directed 'Ihis is impfftant Moral progress always
occurs when people tale steps of their own aod in tireir own way.
Consider Rosa Parks taking her place on the segregated bus in
Montgomery, Thomas More refusing to take the Oath of
Supremacy, Martin Luther King Jr. wdting to white
F€achers on
scraps of paper in a Birmingham jail, Gdansk shipyard workers
going on strike fu thelr rights or tfte anmynous Chinese student
stepping forwarrl to rneet an oncming tltrk in Tlanarnen Square, Lr
each instance, a lersoll moved histoq/ and humanity forward with
a conscience that demitnded persooal {crion. But remembei tlrar
every consqienc€ will tle diffedent. As we listen ard help p€ople to
se( their goals, w€ must also respect tE int€grity of the c
as the place wbere each persoa heas the voice of GotL
Mark 'lwain undersrood tbis.whea he dscribed Huck Firm.s
conflict prompted by (what-Huck calle.d) his ..conscience.',
Formed_ by his local community, Huck's ,.conscience,, requires
him under paiu of daffnation to rcspect Crod and neighbor and to
ist poor "Olc l',{iss Watson" tnow the wbereabouts of her nrn-
away slave, ^Iim. Reluctantly, I{uck composes a lettel; but soon
after he thinks of .Iirn eot as Miss r atsofs .bmperty," but as his
oln companiorr. Ile remembers what Jim has done for him and
what he h,rs rkxrc for Jim, eod how much the two of them have
ieame.d togctber abqut iife and fiiendship. He continues:

...and at last I sfuck the tirne I saved him by telling the


rnen we had snrail-pox aboar4 and he was so grateful, and
said I was the berst fiiend old Jim ever had in the world, and
thc arlv one lrc's pot now: and theo I happcned to look
around, and see tbat paper.
It was a closc placc. I took it up, a.od held it in my hand. I
was tremhling. becaus€ I'd got ;o decide, forever, betwixr
two rhings, ;md I knorved it. I Sndkd a minute, sort of hold-
ing my breath, ard tilen says to myself: .AIl right, then, ffl
go gJ hell"*-ard tore it up.

14
AMEA,ICC MARCI I 2, 199d
Huck's own too easy ond sitn-
(:xperience chal- ple. Pat answers
lenges the "con_ are usually in-
rcience" of the accurate. Simply
crommunity and glidirg over cir-
prompts him to cumstances with
rlct as his own soms gencral prin-
Inan. ciple is not hclp-
7.Remenber ful- Remember,
the parable of the too, Aquinas's
llood Samaritan. important insight:
(.ioncretely, this General principles
parable accentu- apply generally.
r.tes the difflculty Nothing more,
rve feel w hile nothing less. None
rushing to ow jobs are worse on
?nd passing home- this topic th.n the
l:ss people asking media, who love
for handouts. reminding their
On one leYel the listeners that any
Frarable never lels serious issue they
r.s feel comfort- i^. 'tt'ttt1lr
" "
Present. is "very
able. It reminds :.I complicate4" but
Llsthat we haYe who insist that
rnany neighbors the solutions be
in need. The para- describable in a
t,le never lets micro-sccond.
r.s fall into self- Taking a per-
comPlacency, but son off a life suP
ralh€r calls us to port system usual-
p,reater vigilance ly does not mean
and atlentiveness. killing that per-
Iror this reason, son, but letting
tre great contem- him .or her die-
p'orary American ethicist, Stanlc) Ilaucrv,,:r.,, rcrninds us 'lblling a person who is tl.l.V-positive and refuses td
tlrat Christians must always be $c1chful. (-)n rr)11\tar)t alert abstain lir)m scxuai relations that he should use a condom
i\ not pr,llDot,nF <crual activity, but protecting.tbe.con-
mon good. lol('raling a moralty wrong activity is qd$g,
N ANOTHER LEVEL wc 5ee lhe irry srrrprising sanle as daing rhe wrong aclivity. If moratiry ii abriiri
answer to the question originally poscd to Je:rus. "Who is undeFtanding who we are and what we ought to do, thed,
rry neighbor?" What is the answcr? lsn l jt.'ii1e one who Ior starters, ir c ought to bc. careful how we describe what
showed mercy?" Too ofl.en, whcn we thiqk ,rf ihe parable, u'e do. Sioppv descriptions do not help in moral advice,.::.
v/e believe that the neighbor is someorc \r'ir1r !eed\ lo be 9. Re rtspons[hle with church teacrzing. Rome is com-
helped: but in the Gospel. .Icsus lc!che,, us ri,iri ()ui ncigh- plicated; irs hisrory is complex. There is nothing disre-
Lor is the one who sirows mercv. Ir nr', rrL,,r iile- I know spectlul rit serking accuracy, whether about the way tlre
the importance of having ueigi;bor; iir:.- inc Gond church e:<crcrses its i'uthority lt a given momeut or about
S amaritan. One fiierd of rnine rs a pa:;ror in ., pi',rr neigh. the historical ciairDs ri makes lor a particular teaching. .As
borhood in Boston who routincll fi1crs tl),, icrlihl. bur- niniste$" v.'e ;ire passing on a tradition that is not the dead
dens of working with lhe poor Arroth.r rs ;: je5urt physi- faith of tlrc Uving, bur the livilg faith of the dead. 'that
cian $'ho has [orked for l0 ycars i! r]i,: ,\.!DS llllil i]t- living histu|ic:rl lrir(liiior rnust l}e handed on wilh integd.
tioston City Hospital and is pr.parinu ior llork in ly. Morcovci hisrory concerns the progress of humanity,
lJganda. As I work and teach in (':rrnbnr|,c. I n*ctl lricnds and in thcr pro-qrcss titete is growth. Thus, on moral mat-
and neighbors like that. We all do. ters our perspectivo develops and even changes- For
8- Be attentive to distinclions.ll rs a grcai J.iuit legacy cxample, a wisc rcctor in Rome rernarked to me that if in
t,l recognize and heed the clainrs ot distinctions. We are vitlo fertilization wcrr available irfthe lTth century, rhat
correct to stress lhem, because often !'/hcr, i.\,e hear that is. if they had rhen had rhe technology by which a woman
n.toral issues are complicated, wc seei $()lotii-rns tbai are could conc'eive a chilij witlout sex, the chuch would have

-.IMERICA MARCH 2, T995


n()l sirnply permittcd the technology. brrl !vorld havo nT.rr- JIcrr: rt'r- , uir trst:tlippel-y,il{)pe language, not ils trl ir}uurcnl
{Lrlr(/ itl h thc l?th ceitur_v ni,:rsl rn(nilli'.ls .|nd bishops or it rh.: lrst w')rd, tn t to expre{is our initial c(mcems. \\'e
lvcrc so cr)nvinced of lhc probiible mrlrrl hirm that result- can say tlrrDgs lii..e,'T'm concemed that what you'.e sug-
ed fronr scxual union that rhey casil'/ would hal,e gcslirg will bavc ter..ible consequencas." But let Ont iear
endorsed separating the proclcative acl t,err the uDitivc and doub( t€ thc lreginning of the conversation, not ils end.
act. a position that Rome holds untenable 1.rhy. Ily beiug lronest v;ith our initial
assessments, we give others
Firally. we nusr always r.rncmber tbal moral tcaching, the epponunity to know whal we are rEally thinking itnd to
at .rnt- level iD tbe church, cones f.om hoDan beings. Wc rcslxrnd in kind.
should listen b the church, but do so as {du.:ated adults, Wc shoulil also not be al'raid to express our own
not as timid children or as doubts aboul our own abili-
rsbclljcus teeD-age$- ties. We are not perfect. I
10. Avoid the slippery slopr remember that when I first
ar(unent - We lcarned this startcd teaching at Wcstot,
argument when r,r'e weie if a student disagreed with
children. \!'e would ask our me, I used all my skills to
parents i,'just this one night "respond," hoping that the
we could stay up later, and student would not dar€ to
thcy rvould say. "No, because I was incxpe-
disagree again.
lorrorroiv you'll ask to stay rienced, intimidated aud
up evcn later." We knew defensive. Noq with more
thcn, although we forget it confidence aod cxpedeuce, I
often enough today, that ihe welcome students' judg-
"slippery slope" is the worst ments as well as their ques-
moral argument. The slip- tions. Those questions often
pery slope is always used by open up new areas of reUec-
people in power. Upon hear- tion, at oth€r times they
jng a request or a proposal, prompt me to reconsider my
they dismiss it as dangerous: own positions, and some-
It is likely to undermiDe times they leave me in the
authority, causc chaos anrl dark----that's when I answer
unleash moml iurpitude. This arg-,rment i\ designed sim- "I dou t kni-'w." I am no longer afraid of utteriog those
ply to preclude, lbreclose a,rd djsmirs, We use it often but words. I.lrrne of ur; should be.
we shouldn't. lt is aothing more than hca v-v-handedness. li Wc lt,"come v,hat u,e do. ioday we tend to think of
Any authority that we enjoy will dcpcn:) rrn oth- rnor;rlii;: as gnly atout big actions--for example, abor-
"vhether tio!, r) thanasi^ tir grand theft. But for Aquinas, almost
ers find in us an openness neaessary fDr reile.stion.
ll. Use re.tson- Whether w9 agrce or disagree with everythrng we do is a nroral action. He wmie, "a human
peers, employtrs, superiors or pastoni, iet thr: act js a moral act." He rcalized that morality
nghtness of our positions be guided by good, is atrout buman living and that morality
coucrete, rational thinkinEi. It is, after ai!, viev,s a1l actions as opportunities that shape
what the moral theologian Joscf Fuchs, a trs lor be(ter or worse, By our actions. wc
lon-e{ime teacher in Rome, and bcfore hirn worl out the people we eventually become.
Thomas Aquinas called the natural lat:. A lf we are condescending with people. we
good argument rs based on rigltt rras(':) r .{ will necome more armgant, lf we are habit-
drat be our final arbiter, uall',, slL.ppy in our thinking, we lvill
Some people might ask, 'is thar dl therr; heeo,rre cven sloppier If we struggle to lis-
is'i" That is all there has evet hecrr. ln his len. we will eventually listen better. If we
Lettcr to the Romans St. Paul $.ol.e that ali lal(e time ro pray, we will be more open to
people, even tbose who have not vct hcarr,! thg (irr i's ways.
word of God preached, knc'w to alistirgir;sh right from i tell n1y students that we nrust get into the habit of
r,rrong. ln our capacity to rsasrrn wcltr. Gorl lras given us thinllrrg c,i our irinistry as an opponunity nor only to
the tacility and the task to disc{)ver what t,cttefs eur livqs serve orlrrrir. bur irlso to become the penple wc want to be.
and what harms them. God placed us ourside dre garden By lcarnirg r{) a(lvise well, we assist our colleagues,
of Fden but blessed us with .the ability to reflect, under- friends, studonts ol employ€es to judge b€tter, hut we also
stand, judge and decide. That ability to rcasorr well is pre- form ourselves into compet€nt and thoughtful peopl€.
cisely our moral guide- Toward that end, .re must li$ten to our hearts and antici-
L2. Sh4re doubls.When we fea.r tlrsl a pallrcuiar prog:sal pate cvery clrqounter as a fresh moment that all)ws us to
will lead to all sffts of difficulties, wc can sharc tlKlse feats. bccomc more fuli1 that discipte whom Jesus calls.

AMERICA MARCH Z T9{I5

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