Morality: A Call to Catholic Living

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Morality A Call to Catholic Living

• Created by Michael Cheney

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Course Objectives

• Students will be able to
• Demonstrate an understanding of the foundations
  of morality given by Jesus
• Identify and explain key concepts of Catholic
  morality
• Morality
• Conscience
• Natural law
• Demonstrate awareness of the three prong approach
  to making moral decision making
• Explain implications of values and principles of
  the Churchs teachings applicable today

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Opening Prayer

• Let us pray (p. 1)

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Formative Outcomes

• Open to Growth
• Intellectually Competent
• Religious
• Loving
• Committed to Doing Justice
• Curiosity (distrust what everybody else knows)
• Humility (be humble before the evidence)
• Reason (think critically and honestly)
• Care (be vulnerable enough to care for those
  around you)
• Courage (stand up and make a difference)

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Important Attitudes/Behaviors

• Feel comfortable sharing information about
  themselves and their ideas
• Actively listen to the ideas of others in an
  atmosphere of mutual respect.

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Setting the Context Before we begin

• Think/Pair/Share
• Describe 3 situations that call for moral
  decision making.
• Why is it important to consider the moral
  implications of our actions?

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Morality?

• Brainstorming Write the 3 first words that come
  to mind when you think about the concept of
  morality
• Morality the goodness or sinfulness of human
  acts
• Practical issues about how we live our lives
• Decision making
• Positive negative effects of our actions on
  others and ourselves

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Choosing Good and Evil

• What helps us decide whether an act is moral or
  immoral?
• (Three prong approach)

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Three Prong Approach

• Act Object chosen
• Intention end in view
• Circumstances of the action

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Nature of Acts

• Acts (objects chosen) can be
• Good
• Indifferent (pre-moral evil/less than ideal)
• Evil
• Some acts are always inherently evil
• Indifferent acts require sufficient reason

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Three Prong Approach

• Act Object chosen
• Intention end in view
• Circumstances of the action

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Cases

• Stout Finch Tom
• Mrs. Bergemier
• Inquiring murderer
• Antique collector garage sale
• Abduction
• Atomic bomb

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Principles of Double Effect

• The act must be good or indifferent, not morally
  evil.
• The intention must be the good effect of the act
• The evil effect cannot be the means to the good
  effect.
• There must be a proportionately serious reason
  for tolerating the evil effect.

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The Discerning Approach

• Case of Amputation If we watched a surgeon
  amputating a leg, how would we be able to
  determine whether the act was moral or not?
• Act Amputating a leg
• Intent the value of saving ones life.
• Circumstance gangrene and all medications have
  failed.
• A reason is sufficient when the act supports the
  value in question and does not contradict or
  undermine it.

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Lie Falsehood

• When is a falsehood considered a lie?
• When is killing considered murder?
• When is an action disproportionate and therefore
  immoral?

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Example 1 Falsehood vs. Telling a Lie

• A falsehood is considered a lie when there is no
  sufficient reason, when the falsehood undermines
  the meaning and purpose of human speech.
• If an enraged person breaks in my home demanding
  the whereabouts of my parent to kill him, then I
  have sufficient reason for not telling the truth.

• Value I actually protect the fundamental
  significance of communication by telling a
  falsehood.

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Example 2 Framing an Innocent Person

• The discerning methodology would point out
• Theres no inherent connection between framing
  the innocent person and changing the minds of the
  mob
• The mob is free to change their minds without
  framing the innocent person.
• The framing will not necessarily change any minds

• Therefore, framing only seems to protect life.
• Yet, the manner of protecting the good (by the
  framing of the innocent person) actually
  undermines a related good (freedom) by supposing
  that the mobs choice is necessarily dependent on
  the sheriffs action.
• Clearly, the possibility of preventing the riot
  does not justify the framing of an innocent
  person.

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Mrs. Bergmeier

• Does she seek out someone to impregnate her so
  that she can return to her family or would that
  action contradict and undermine her commitment to
  her family?
• She asks What ought I to do?

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Making a moral decision

• Looks at the realities involved
• Husband and their three children
• Ponders the meaning of sexual intercourse and
  marriage
• Thinks about the child-to-be
• Considers the guard as the childs father
• Reflects on her religious traditions and recalls
  passages from Scripture
• Talks to other women about their moral judgments.

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Morality and the Challenge of Decision Making

• What does your conscience tell you about the
  scenarios? (p. 3)
• What would you choose to do in these situations
  based upon Gods voice within you?

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Scenarios
Freeze!
What a Loser!
Where is it?
Spare change?
I love you
Separate or not?
Help!
Brother with beer
toys
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Group Talk

• Think of 5 acts that require a moral decision.
• What are the intentions that might affect these 5
  acts.
• How would you arrive at a good decision?
• Give an example of an act that you believe is
  inherently evil?
• Apply the Three Prong Approach to the scenarios
  on p. 3 how are your responses similar or
  different?

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Decision Making Day by Day

• How is decision making both a comfort and a
  challenge?
• Why does being moral require a sense of
  responsibility?
• Explain Morality is an everyday occurrence
• New freedoms as a sophomore
• Drivers license
• Increasing independence
• Gift of sexuality
• Academic and peer pressures

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Scenarios

• Morality is not simply the study of capital
  punishment, abortion, war, poverty, etc.
• Everyday choices also involve morality.
• Everyday choices also give us a chance to live as
  Jesus taught us

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Activity (p. 6)

• Are these 12 situation moral?
• Rank according to the following scale
• Compare and discuss your reasoning for your
  ranking
• 1 not particularly wrong 10 seriously wrong
• Reflection Question
• What does your ranking say about you?

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Homework

• Read pp. 7 19.