Over the last few months there has been a great deal of pre-Synod dialogue in the Archdiocese about mission and pastoral priorities.

The discussions became quite formal during the retreat/workshop that was held for priests/parish administrators in Mayaro in May. The pre-Synod plan is to present these issues to the religious communities and the department heads of the Archdiocese and then to the Synod delegates.

During the retreat/workshop, speakers alerted the participants to the social context in which pastoral planning must take place and suggested issues which pastoral planning should address.

The presentations were followed by lengthy group discussions during which priests along with religious and laypersons who serve as parish administrators brought their many years of pastoral experience to the social context which had been articulated by the lecturers.  In dialogue, they began to develop a response.

Understanding the social context in which we live is of critical importance pastorally because the Church is sometimes criticised for allegedly being out of touch with the needs of the people, not fully appreciating the challenges the people must face on a daily basis and for not truly responding to the realities of their lives.

Proposed themes for the Synod

Three themes were discussed as part of the pre-Synod process. The themes were concerned with the Mission of the Church for Trinidad and Tobago and the development of pastoral priorities for the Archdiocese especially at the parish level.

One of the themes which surfaced during the small group discussions was: ‘Regenerating the Moral Life’ for the Archdiocese and through the Archdiocese for the society in which it lives. In fact, the theme was actually proposed to be one of three pastoral priorities to be considered at the Synod.

In this column, I want to reflect on what the proposed priority of ‘Regenerating the Moral Life’ would mean from the viewpoint of the Catholic Tradition.

Morality as a concept

For most people, morality is understood in a somewhat isolated fashion. It is looked on as simply following the commandments and the teaching of the Church. 

In most cases there is little examination of the meaning of the commandments and/or teachings of the Church with a view to conscience formation. There is also minimal awareness that moral theology is related to the Scriptures and to all other theological disciplines in the Church.

In essence, moral theology is the communication of the ethical dimensions of the teaching of the Catholic Tradition.

Prior to the II Vatican Council, the study of moral theology in Universities and Seminaries was influenced by this isolationist method. Consequently, the Council asked that moral theology be renewed.

The way it was renewed was to reintegrate it back into all the theological disciplines. As a result, moral theology – both fundamental and special moral theology e.g. medical ethics and social ethics – began to be taught in an interdisciplinary manner or at least with an interdisciplinary emphasis.

The pastoral challenge

For people who do not follow any religious tradition, the only source of ethical principles for them is reason. For religious people who do not seriously practice their faith, there is little opportunity for them to situate the commandments and the moral teaching of the Church into their faith. The rules are, in a real sense, external to their lives. If they worship at all, there is a substantive gap between worship of God and the lives they live outside of worship.   

When the Church teaches moral values and applies the teaching to specific life situations, many people find the teachings difficult to accept and live. Some people have been so thoroughly secularised that they are not even aware that they no longer think as Catholic Christians.

Sometimes in personal discouragement and, at other times, in heated dialogue with representatives of the Church e.g. over life issues, people ask the Church, ‘What planet does the Church live on? Or, Why does the Church not change its teaching?’

The Church must respond to the attitudes of people that are frequently verified in polls about how people view religion in general and the Catholic Church in particular. How can the Church close the gap that exists in the lives of people between authentic spirituality and practical living?   
 
Renewing moral life

There are two levels to be addressed in any Renewal Programme:
The first level is Moral Theology Itself. The issue here is to have access to and an honest explanation of the authentic teaching of the Church.

For example, the call of the II Vatican Council to renew Moral Theology in the Church encouraged many theologians throughout the Catholic world to present new ways to address moral issues.

However, there came a point when it was judged that some of them went too far. In 1993, Pope John Paul II issued an Encyclical Letter on moral theology, Veritatis Splendor. The Encyclical Letter put some theologians in the position whereby they had to issue disclaimers for parts of the books they had written to continue teaching as Catholic theologians.  

The second level is about spirituality. As mentioned earlier, the moral life cannot exist in isolation. The moral demands of discipleship must be related to prayer, liturgical worship, familiarity with the Scriptures and teaching of the Church.

That is why the Church recommends that each Catholic home should have a Catholic Bible, a copy of the Catechism of the Catholic Church and a copy of the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church. Scripture should be read and reflected on each day. The other two sources provide access to the authentic teaching of the Church on various matters.

People who are serious about discipleship understand that a sustained spirituality is absolutely indispensable to live the Christian life. Without an active faith and a spirituality that is alive, the moral life is impossible.

Conclusion

Since the pre Synod process to date has concentrated on developing consensus on the Mission of the Church in Trinidad and Tobago and Pastoral Priorities for the Archdiocese, it will be the responsibility of the Synod delegates to address the issue of ‘Renewing the Moral Life’ in a substantive and, if possible, a pastorally creative manner. 

In my columns for the next two weeks, I shall address briefly the other two themes that emerged from the retreat/workshop in Mayaro and have been proposed for consideration at the Archdiocesan Synod.