MORAL FORMATION IN THE PARISH
With Your Whole Heart Turn to God

The Catholic parish is entering a critical time in the moral formation of its members. The massive disagreement between what is taught by the Church and what is held as morally valid by much of the laity and many clerics on sexual issues, for example, has been well documented. Noted as well is the growing opposition in the Church to papal and episcopal teaching on issues such as capital punishment, assisted suicide, artificial reproduction, and prudential strategies for assisting the poor. A continuation of the individualism which fueled the exaltation of the autonomous conscience will do little to promote a Catholic ethos within parishes. In response to this individualism, and as a means to stop the fracturing of parishioners from the truths of Church teaching, some pastoral leaders have teetered toward authoritarianism and legalism. This book presents an image of the moral life that instead first emphasizes the need to convert one’s heart to Christ in order to then appropriate a Catholic vision of what is right and good and true. It affirms the need to promote due respect for Church tradition in one’s moral formation, not as blind obedience, which is beneath human dignity, but as a trust in the abiding presence of the Spirit in the moral teachings of the Church. What is called for at this time are pastoral leaders who can teach the skills of moral discernment in the light of that teaching. Parishioners need to be able to distinguish the voices of moral truth from those of propaganda, political ideology or personal bias. This book is intended to assist in the re-appropriation of a truly Catholic moral identity in the community of the parish.

About the Authors:
Anthony J. Ciorra is associate professor of theology at the College of Saint Elizabeth, Morristown, New Jersey. Nationally known as a speaker and retreat director, he also serves as director of the Center for Theological and Spiritual Development and as a college chaplain.

James Keating is associate professor of moral theology in the School of Theology at the Pontifical College Josephinum, Columbus, Ohio. His essays have appeared in Irish Theological Quarterly, Milltown Studies, New Theology Review, Church, and Emmanuel, among others.