The%20Church%20and%20Moral%20Teaching

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The Church and Moral Teaching

• pp. 118 - 123

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• The Church is the continuation in history of the
  mission of Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
• Richard Gula outlines 3 tasks of the Church in
  guiding moral life
• The Church shapes moral character.
• The Church guards and maintains moral tradition.
• The Church is a community of moral deliberation
  whenever and wherever moral issues emerge.

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1) The Church shapes moral character

• The Church has an impact on our moral vision.
• Its position on moral and ethical issues is
  reported in its own publications, press, T.V.,
  internet, churches, Catholic schools, and
  Catholic homes.
• The Church is most effective through its rituals
  and symbols, its art and architecture, symbol and
  stories, the Bible and liturgy, social outreach
  programs and interactions with other Christians.

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• These actions touch our imagination and shape our
  vision of the world.
• They allow us to see this world immersed in Gods
  love.
• Liturgy is the common tool through which the
  Church teaches (more than formal teaching).

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2) The Church Guards and maintains moral tradition

• The Church has a large body of moral teachings to
  assist in forming our consciences.
• Moral teachings are found in Church documents but
  the teachings are carried out by people
• - the faithful, theologians, priests and pastoral
  ministers, the teaching authority of the Church
  (magisterium)

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The Faithful

• The baptized, parents, family, friends, culture,
  catechism, schools, tradition (introduce us to
  moral tradition)
• Food banks, soup kitchens, Society of St. Vincent
  de Paul, volunteering, international missionary
  and service work
• We guard and maintain the moral tradition by
  giving witness to the justice and mercy of God.

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Theologians

• Theologians interpret moral tradition
• They bridge the gap between moral tradition and
  present time by researching and interpreting
  moral issues.
• They are not official teachers in the Church
  they instead present ancient messages using ideas
  and imagesa that are useful today.

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Priests and Pastoral Workers

• Priests, deacons, pastoral assistants,
  administrators and catechists.
• They strive to make teachings accessible to
  ordinary believers.
• Ordained ministers (priests and deacons) carry
  out sacraments for the community.
• The sacraments give us the grace to respond in
  faithful and committed action with our lives.

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The Teaching Authority of the Church

• Magisterium is the teaching office of the Church
• Bishops of the world (includes Cardinals and the
  Pope)
• They delegate to priests and catechists they
  give a teaching mission to theologians
  (imprimatur and nihil obstat) publish
  definitions of faith, promulgate degrees of
  ecumenical councils, encyclicals, apostolic
  letters etc.

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2 levels of the Magisterium

• Ordinary normal daily teachings of the bishops
  and the pope through encyclicals and apostolic
  letters.
• Extraordinary 1) ecumenical councils (pope and
  the college of Bishops gather and deliberate
  pronouncing a solemn degree e.g. Vatican II. 2)
  Pope speaks ex cathedra as head of the Church.
  Only happened twice in history. These are
  considered infallible statements.

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3) The Church is a community of moral
deliberation.

• Ethical positions emerge in response to events in
  a community and in the world.
• Bishops consult experts in the field and try to
  stay tuned to the moral climate of the time.
• The Church strives to use media outlets to
  dialogue, debate and collaborate.

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Check out these websites

• http//www.vatican.va
• http//www.cccb.ca
• http//acbo.on.ca
• These sites contain official teachings and
  publication by the bishops.

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Discussion Question

• What impact do Gospel values have on society,
  politics and ethics?