Moral Theology in a Sapiential Mode: Veritatis Splendor and the Renewal of Moral Theology

Abstract

The Thomist 65 (2001): 465-73 MORAL THEOLOGY IN A SAPIENTIAL MODE: VER/TATIS SPLENDOR AND THE RENEWAL OF MORAL THEOLOGY CHRISTOPHER J. THOMPSON University ofSt. Thomas St. Paul, Minnesota The issuance of Veritatis splendor on the Feast of the Transfiguration in 1993 marked one ofthe most important catalysts in the renewal of moral theology. Veritatis splendorandthe Renewal ofMoral Theology, a collection of essays published to mark the five-year anniversary of the encyclical, continues that renewal at least through the next generation of Catholic scholarship.1 Bringing together some "outstanding" Catholic scholars, the collection provides readers with an excellent analysis of some of the leading themes and insights inaugurated by the Holy Father. It is likely to become a standard resource among seminary students as well as interested laity. Part 1, focusing on "Perspectives," features the reflections of three leading scholars, J. Augustine DiNoia, O.P., Servais Pinckaers, O.P., and Alasdair Macintyre. Part 2 focuses more specifically on certain "issues" in moral theology, featuring reflections by Russell Hittinger (on natural law), Avery Dulles, S.J. (on freedom), Livio Melina (on the desire for happiness), Martin Rhonheimer (on intrinsically evil acts), and Romanus Cessario, O.P. (on moral absolutes). The issues and scholarship displayed here are familiar enough to anyone acquainted with the contemporary shape ofthe discipline, reinforcing the notion that this 1J. A. DiNoia, O.P., and Romanus Cessario, O.P., eds.,Veritatis SplendorandtheRenewal ofMoral Theology: Studies by Ten Outstanding Scholars (Chicago: Midwest Theological Forum, 1999). Pp. x + 287. ISBN 0-87973-739-5. 465 466 CHRISTOPHER]. THOMPSON collection is likely to become a standard supplement to any serious course in moral theology. Part 3 focuses upon the encyclical's "reception" and features efforts by William May and Rhonheimer. In this last section the question of the accuracy of the encyclical's portrayal of dissenting traditions, specifically "proportionalism," is raised-no doubt in an attempt to address the less enthusiastic reception of the encyclical among those who have challenged its accuracy. The essays conclude with an epilogue by Pio Cardinal Laghi, at the time of publication Prefect for the Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education, concerning the reception and impact of Veritatis splendor on Catholic higher education. For anyone familiar with these contributors, it should come as no surprise that the overall tone of the collection is one of enthusiastic support for the encyclical, specifically its overall injection of a spirit of renewal for a more Thomistically oriented ethics. In this sense, the collection follows nicely upon the themes addressed in the encyclical as well as the more recent reflections of the Holy Father in Fides et ratio on the importance of philosophical reflection at the heart of a sound theological method. However, it would be wrong to assume that the essays are simply the reflections of now rather familiar positions, simply one more round in the neverending chorus of recriminations that has marked moral theology for the past few decades. Instead, the collection gives rise to a hope in the new evangelization inaugurated in this pontificate, a hope that the call for renewal in moral theology announced by the Second Vatican Council is beginning to take shape. To get at this issue of a renewal in moral theology, the question may be reasonably asked: what is the advantage ofcompiling a collection ofessays, many of which have previously appeared in well-known Catholic venues? What does the collection do as a whole, in other words, that is not already accomplished in its parts? The first line of response might be simply practical. Compiling leading essays on the questions raised in Veritatis splendor supplies the teacher of moral theology a handy reference toward MORAL THEOLOGY IN A SAPIENTIAL MODE 467 which he might direct students interested in the orthodox reception. For whatever else mainstream Catholic academics might be remembered, if at all, in this period of the intellectual history ofthe Catholicacademy, enthusiastic study of the thought of the Holy Father will not be one of them. Students interested in the intellectual history of theology may satisfy some curiosity in this collection on those terms alone. But to frame the collection of essays from the vantage of its place within a...