Moral Theology
Schedule of Classes
The following schedule of classes is somewhat tentative. Particular reading assignments may be changed to accommodate needs that arise as the semester progresses. Changes will be announced at least one class in advance. Students who miss a class are responsible for any and all changes made to assignments in their absence, including the addition of a quiz or written assignment. For this reason student are encouraged to form groups or partnerships so that when a class is missed they will be able to get the class notes from friends. Also changes in assignments will be posted on the instructor’s college webpage.
In the event that a class is cancelled, students are to keep up with the reading assignments printed below until revisions or adjustments are announced in class. If a class for which a quiz or test is scheduled, or at which a written assignment is due, is cancelled, the quiz or test will be given or the paper collected the very next time the class meets.
1. Wed, 23 Jan:
Topics: 1) Introduction: a) texts, b) requirements, c “moral theology,” --what is it?; 2) the distinction between “objective” and “subjective;” 3)
Class Documents: 1) Schedule of classes; 2) Course Requirements; 3) Student Information sheet (returned to instructor); 4) In class no count quiz #1; 5) Rules for papers; 6) Handout #1: Gen 1-3, with reading questions.
2. Mon 28 Jan:
Quiz #1: On course requirements, lesson of first class, and readings for today.
Paper #1 Due: Question/Assignment: Mary and John are both looking at the same garden. Mary describes it objectively and John subjectively. Write two paragraphs the first of which presents what Mary might have said about the garden, and the second what John might have said. Note: As you write, be Mary and then be John. Do not phrases like “Mary might comment on…” One page maximum. Submissions must conform to the “rules for papers” distributed in class and posted on the instructor’s college webpage.
Read and prepare: Catechism of the Catholic Church (hereafter CCC), paragraph #’s 374-379, 388-390, 396-407, and 1691-1715; Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (hereafter, Compendium) #’s 66, 72, 75-78, 357-358; Handout #1: Gen 1-3 with reading questions; and study the Apostles’s Creed, CCC, page 49-50, left-hand column. (or click links for text).
Topics: 1) Happiness; 2) the goal of human life; 3) Creation, the Fall, and Redemption; 4) Man: the Image of God.
Class Documents: 1) Handout #2: Matthew 5-7: The Sermon on the Mount, with reading questions.
3. Wed, 30 Jan:
Read and prepare: CCC paragraph #’s 1716-1729; Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (hereafter, Compendium) #’s 359-362; Handout #2: Matthew 5-7: The Sermon on the Mount, with reading questions.
Topics: 1) Man: the image of God (continued); 2) The Sermon on the Mount; 3) Beatitude: the goal of human life (continued).
Class Documents: Handout #3: Outline of material for first week or so of course; Handout #4: Reading questions for next assignment.
4. Mon 4 Feb:
Quiz #2: On lessons of the last class, including: the human person, the goal of human life, the call to beatitude, the Beatitudes; reading and study assignments for this class.
Assignment: Read: CCC, paragraph #’s 1730-1748; Compendium #363-366; Living the Good Life (hereafter LGL) pp. 13-19, 37-51. Look up and study the dictionary definitions of the following words: culpable, culpability, impute, imputability. Be especially attentive to the meanings that correspond to the way these words are used in your texts.
Topics: Freedom, “Participated Theonomy.”
5. Wed 6 Feb:
Read: CCC para. #s: 1749-1775; Compendium 367-371; LGL pp. 149-176;
Topics: 1) Human acts; 2) Sources of morality of human acts; 4) Proportionalism; 3) passions.
Class Documents: Handout #5: Sources of morality; Handout #6: homework exercises on object, intention and circumstances. Handout #7: Proportionalism, and Passions and the Moral life.
6. Mon 11 Feb
Quiz #3: On material from last weeks classes and the homework assignments for today’s class.
Paper #2 Due. Write a one page answer to question #12 on handout #6: Homework Exercises on Object, Intention and Circumstances. Submissions must conform to the “rules for papers” distributed at the beginning of the semester.
Topics: 1) Moral Conscience; 2) Synderesis; 3) Virtue.
Read CCC para. #s: 1776-1845; Compendium 372-390; LGL pp. 19-39.
Distributed in Class: Handout #8: Synderesis, Conscience, and Virtue.
7. Wed 13 Feb:
Paper #3 due. Write a one page paper completely out of your own head (that is, the only thing you are allowed to consult is your own knowledge and experience) in which you 1) state what you know, if anything, about the Catholic sacrament of confession (also called: Sacrament of Reconciliation and Sacrament of Penance) and 2) state what you think about it. Papers will be graded on the quality of the composition, the logic of the argument, and other principally non-theological criteria. Submissions must conform to the “rules for papers” distributed at the beginning of the semester.
Read: CCC para. #s: 1846-1876; Compendium 391-400; LGL 123-148
Topics: 1) Virtue (cont’d) 2) Sin
Distributed in Class: Handout #9: Sin; Handout #10: Sacrament of Penance: Handout #11: Midterm Exam Study Guide.
8. Wed 20 Feb:
Quiz #4: On conscience, synderesis, virtue and sin.
Topic: The Sacrament of Penance, the human community, and midterm exam review (student qq only).
Read: CCC para. #s: 1420-1470, 1877-1948; Compendium 295-311, 401-414 and handout on the Sacrament of Penance.
Distributed: In class (no count) quiz #2.
9. Mon 25 Feb:
MIDTERM EXAM: from 7-8.15
10. Wed 27 Feb:
Read: CCC para. #s: 1949-1986; Compendium 415-421; LGL pp. 53-74.
Topics: 1) The Natural Law; 2) The Old Law; 3) The New Law.
Distributed in Class: Handout #12, Church as moral teacher; Handout #13: Exercise in using sources.
Assign: Memorize the Precepts of the Church (see CCC para #s 2042-2043 – the precepts are in parentheses in quotes, and also in this handout (click to view, see IV.B.1-5)) and the Ten Commandments (see catechetical formula in the third columns on CCC pp. 496-497) word for word for the next class.
11. Mon 3 Mar
Quiz #5: The Precepts of the Church and the Ten Commandments. Students will be required to write both out, word for word, from memory. Also questions on Law.
Paper #4 due. Based on nothing but your own knowledge of Christian principles, thoughts and experience, write a one page paper in which you 1) state your own views on the various things which are classified as occult practices (examples: horoscopes, ouija boards, palm reading, psychic friends, the use of crystal balls and crystals, channeling, séances) and 2) state what you understand the Christian religion, the bible and your own faith (whether or not Christian) to teach about such practices, and why. Submissions must conform to the “rules for papers” distributed at the beginning of the semester.
Read CCC para. #s: 2052-2082; Compendium pages 126-129 AND #’s 434-441.
Topics: 1) The Decalogue and 2) partial consideration of the first commandment: “I am the Lord, your God,” that is, a) theological virtues and the sins against them; b) the kinds of prayer.
Distributed in Class: Handout 13, using sources; Handout #14 on the Decalogue, the theological virtues and sins against them, and the types of prayer.
12. Wed 5 Mar:
Paper #5 due: Complete the assignment set forth in Handout #13.
Quiz #4: Material on Human Community and Law.
Read: CCC para. #s: 1987-2051, Compendium 422-433, LGL pp. 97-122, Handout #12 on Church as moral teacher.
Topics: 1) Grace and Justification (review); 2) Merit; 3) The Church as Moral Teacher; 4) Precepts of the Church.
13. Mon 10 Mar:
Quiz #5: The Precepts of the Church and the Ten Commandments. Students will be required to write both out, word for word, from memory. Also on: grace, justification and sanctification; merit; the Church as moral teacher,
Read CCC para. #s: 2052-2141; Compendium pages 126-129 AND #’s 434-446.
Topics: 1) The Decalogue and 2) the first commandment: a) theological virtue and the sins against them; b) the kinds of prayer; c) “You shall have no strange gods before me.”
Distributed in Class: Handout #14 on the Decalogue, the theological virtues and sins against them, and the types of prayer; Handout 15: “The Faithful and The Sacrifice of the Mass.”
14. Wed 12 Mar:
Paper #6 due. Write a one page paper in which, on the basis of Handout #15,“The Faithful and the Sacrifice of the Mass,” you explain why weekly attendance at Sunday Mass is a serious moral obligation required of all Catholics – that is, explain what happens at Sunday Mass that makes it so vital to Catholic Christian life. Your use of the essay is to reflect mastery of the skills set forth in Handout #13 and paper #5. Submissions must conform to the “rules for papers” distributed at the beginning of the semester.
Read: CCC para. #s: 2142-2257; Compendium 447-465; Handout #15: “The Faithful and the Sacrifice of the Mass.”
Topics: Second, third and fourth commandments.
Distributed in Class: Handouts #16 and 17 on the 5th commandment: a) general principles and requirements for a just war, and b) the principle of double effect and health care issues, with special attention to care for the terminally ill.
16. Mon 17 Mar:
Quiz #6: Material covered in class last week and reading assignment for today.
Topics: Fifth commandment, class #1: General Principles and select topics.
17. Wed 19 Mar:
Paper #7 due: Using nothing but your own reasoning powers (that is, do not draw on your knowledge of Scripture, the teachings of your faith, or what your parents have taught you – your answer is to be drawn from reason alone) answer the following question in a one page (approximately) paper: If eyes are for seeing, ears are for hearing, free will is for doing the good and minds are for knowing and understanding truth, what are our sexual faculties for? In a final paragraph answer the following hypothetical question: Does every child have the right (that is, a human right) to be conceived in the context of a loving and stable marriage? Why or why not? The question is hypothetical because the child under consideration does not yet exist and, of course, we know many children are conceived under other circumstances entirely. Submissions must conform to the “rules for papers” distributed at the beginning of the semester.
Topics: Fifth commandment, class #1: Select topics continued.
18. Mon 31 Mar:
Quiz #7: fifth commandment. .
Topic and Reading: TBA
19. Wed Apr 1: Topic and Reading TBA.
20. Mon 7 April
Quiz #8: material on fifth commandment presented in last week’s class.
Paper #8 due. On the basis of Father Kukura’s presentation, write a one-page paper in which you explain the position of the Catholic Church on stem cell research – that is, what the Church teaches and why. Be sure to distinguish between the use of embryonic and adult stem cells in such research. In a final paragraph comment on the appropriateness of his presentation for the course. You may, if you wish, also state what you thought of the presentation and its value. Submissions must conform to the “rules for papers” distributed at the beginning of the semester.
Reading and Topic: To be announts. Handout on 5th commandment
21. Wed 9 April
Paper #9 due. Write a one page paper in which you summarize the content of the video entitled “Door to Hope,” comment on the appropriateness of the DVD for this course, and – if you wish – state what you thought of the DVD and its value. Submissions must conform to the “rules for papers” distributed at the beginning of the semester.
Read: CCC para. #s: 2331-2400; Compendium 487-502; LGL pp. 75-96.
Topics: Sixth Commandment: Chastity, Matrimony, Annulment, Homosexuality, Artificial Contraception and Natural Family Planning. Handout on 6th commandment
22. Mon 14 April
Quiz #9: Material since last quiz.
Paper #10 due. Spend some time, at least thirty minutes, browsing the website Family of the Americas. Note the menu of topics across the blue band near the top of the rectangle or named in the pictures at the bottom. Write a one page paper in which you summarize the content of the portion of the website that you investigated most thoroughly, comment on its connection or relevance to the material covered in this course, and – if you wish – state what you think of what you found presented there and its value.
Topic: Loose ends: fifth and sixth commandments.
23. Wed 16 April
Topics: The Seventh Commandment: a) universal destination of goods; b) the right to private property; c) definition of theft; d) restitution; e) things forbidden by and obligations which attach to the 7th commandment; f) the corporal and spiritual works of mercy.
Read CCC para. #s: 2401-2463; Compendium 503-520
Distributed in Class: Handout #18 on 7th Commandment.
24. Mon 21 April Quiz #10: since last quizz
Topics: The Eighth Commandment: a) truth and its reuirements; b)sins against reputation; c) restitution; d) art and media; e) martyrdom.
Read CCC para. #s: 2464-2513; Compendium 521-526.
Distributed in Class: Handout on 8th Commandment.
25. Wed 23 April: Topics: The Ninth and Tenth Commandments and Review.
Read CCC pages 601-611; Compendium 527-533.
26. Mon 28 April Wiggle room
27. Wed 30 April: Handout #20: Final Exam Study Guide. .
28. Mon 5 May: Final exam review