Moral Theology and Social Sciences in Dialogue Four International Conferences in 2022 | by René Mario Micallef, S.J.

Moral Theology and Social Sciences in Dialogue

Four International Conferences in 2022

by RENÉ MARIO MICALLEF, S.J. Faculty of Theology

On the 11 May 2022 I was in self-isolation due to Covid-19. As I sat gazing at the auditorium building directly in front of my window, I was constantly reminded of what I was missing. The International Conference on the occasion of the Amoris Laetitia Year was inaugurated there that morning. As soon as I was freed from self-isolation, I had a long conversation with Prof. Yáñez, a colleague in our Department who had put a lot of energy into organizing this conference. I soon realized that the focus of the conference was on fundamental moral issues. Even though it took its cue from the debates on family ethics that were raised in the wake of Pope Francis’ 2016 text, the Conference went on to investigate the foundations of Christian ethical thought: the use of sources of moral reasoning, inter- and trans-disciplinarity, the anthropology which underpins our ethics, the questions of freedom and obligation, law and conscience, nature and grace, relationship with norms and jurisprudence (including canon law) and with the theology of the sacraments, and so on.

An international conference on Moral Theology for the

On May 11-14, 2022, the John Paul II Pontifical Theological Institute for Marriage and Family Sciences co-organised together with the Pontifical Gregorian University the International Conference Pastoral Practices, Life Experience and Moral Theology: Amoris Laetitia between New Opportunities and New Paths. The event addressed the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life’s request in connection withthe “Amoris Laetitia Family Year”, proclaimed by the Holy Father to mark the fifth anniversary of the Apostolic Exhortation on love in the family. In his address to the participants in the conference, received in audience on the morning of May 13, Pope Francis highlighted the fact that “the Gregorian University in conjunction with the John Paul II Institute have organised this event, with the participation of theologians from four continents. Laity, clerics and religious, from different cultures and speaking different languages, will engage in a cross-generational dialogue open also to young researchers.”

Pastoral Practices and

Universal Human Experience

A core theme of Amoris laetitia is the relationship between pastoral practice and moral theology. Accordingly, pastoral praxis, within its ecclesial horizon, should be the starting point for rethinking theological-moral issues, in a constructive dialogue with universal human experience, which is at the same time specific to the different cultures and individual experiences.

Following this approach, the Conference aimed to explore the most challenging issues, the provocations, as well as the inspiring insights that resulted therefrom, in order to progress in the theological-moral reflection, in the knowledge that Pope Francis’ Apostolic Exhortation retains a programmatic relevance for the theology of marriage and the family, and, finally, for moral theology. In fact, “the thinking of pastors and theologians, if faithful to the Church, honest, realistic and creative, will help us to achieve greater clarity” (AL 2). In this spirit, speakers and discussants from different cultural and geographical backgrounds guaranteed a culturally and geographically qualified and plural presence, with an equal proportion of lay people, men and women religious and presbyters, as well as married couples.

An hour of work in parallel Sessions offered each afternoon, the fruit of a wide-ranging Call for Papers, presented researches by young theologians with the contribution of new ideas and perspectives, promoting interdisciplinary research with an emphasis on ongoing studies and proposals in response to the Exhortation.

MIGUEL H. YÁÑEZ, S.J. Coordinator of the Diploma in Practical Theology: specialization in Family Ministry

Previous page: The participants at the Conference “Pastoral Practices, Life Experience and Moral Theology” was received in audience by the Holy Father on 13 May 2022 Photo L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO Learning to question about the foundations of ethics

This approach is very typical of the tradition of our Department. Faithful to the Jesuit tradition and the indications of Vatican II as regards the renewal of Moral Theology, we like to engage the concrete reality of a particular sphere of life (this is called “applied” or “issue-based” ethics), not merely to provide quick, mechanical, and stereotyped answers, but rather as an opportunity to dig deeper and touch on issues of “foundational” ethics.

Some ethicists are tempted by a facile and pessimistic approach when facing a complex topical issue. They simply assume that the demands of duty are clear, but our brethren are selfish or ignorant and find excuses not to do their duty. According to this analysis, the problem is solely behavioural and requires a “pastoral” solution (how to “market” duties in our parishes, to convince people to do what is right). At the Gregoriana, we distrust any approach which avoids going deep and risks dealing only with the symptoms: we systematically ask ourselves

whether a persistent issue in “pastoral” practice might warrant an inquiry touching the foundations of ethics. The Spirit sometimes speaks to us in history when there are tensions between the traditional analysis of certain moral issues and the behaviour of honest persons today. To remain open to that voice of the Spirit, we need to delve deeper into the sources of that tension and reconnect concrete debates to core issues in ethics.

Modern forms of slavery: an example of structured social sin

I will remember 2022 as the year in which I was very actively involved in the organization of three other international conferences touching on complex, concrete and urgent ethical (and human) issues. The first conference dealt with contemporary forms of slavery (like labour and sexual exploitation); it was organized with Walk Free (Minderoo Foundation) and held in the Aula Magna on the 25-26 February and included theologians, legal scholars and practitioners from lay and religious organizations and trade unions who study the reality, work with the victims, or combat the exploiters.

On the surface, our moral duties as regards slavery are quite clear. Yet when we delve deeper, we discover that the practice continues since many good people cooperate, knowingly or not, with this structured evil, not having real alternatives, not finding enough support from churches or civil society movements to resist and build momentum for change. Some good initiatives, including ones launched by faith-based organisations, are already in place, hence the title of the event: “The Role of Religion in Eradicating Modern Slavery”. Yet, besides the more practical aspects of raising awareness and organizing transformative social movements, the moral theologian sees in this issue a clear example of structured social sin and raises several questions: to what extent is feigned ignorance and lack of resistance in the face of evil morally culpable? Can virtue ethics offer solutions, or does it lead to divisive communitarianism?

The ecological crisis as an opportunity for dialogue and trust between disciplines

The second event focused on integral ecology, inspired by Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato si’. It sought not so much to critique individual behaviours that harm the environment, but rather to ask a deeper question: how can different disciplines (natural sciences, social sciences, human sciences) use the ecological crisis as an opportunity to respectfully and intelligently move out of their silos and engage one another seriously and effectively? If climate scientists try to influence politicians without listening to economists and sociologists, ignoring philosophers and theologians and artists, if the experts seeking to protect

ecosystems distrust those seeking to protect the rights of the poor who inhabit the land, it is not surprising to see many people doubt such experts and adopt sceptical a itudes to avoid hard choices.

The central notion here is that of moving beyond superficial “interdisciplinary” approaches and towards something deeper, hence the title: “Transitioning to Integral Ecology? Transdisciplinary Approaches for the Grounding and Implementation of a Holistic Worldview”. The event,

organized together with the Catholic University of Eichstä -Ingolstadt, the University of Passau, and the Federation of German Scientists, was held in the Aula Magna on the 6-8 June, and included over 40 speakers from the five continents, and the active collaboration of four other universities and three research institutes.

The education of migrants and refugees, with a special focus on Ukraine

The final event organized by the Refugee and Migrant Education Network (RMEN), of which the Gregoriana isan active member was held on the 26-28 September 2022, and focused on the education of people on the move. The issue gained traction in the media this year with the Ukrainian Crisis, but it has been a concern from UNHCR since its foundation, and a key component of the work of the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) among forced migrants. This is why we invited Filippo Grandi (UN High Commissioner for Refugees) and Tom Smolich (director of JRS) to deliver the keynote speeches, and Inna Sovsun (Ukranian MP and former First Deputy Minister of Education and Science) and other education experts from the Ukraine and Poland to join one of the panel presentations. Much of the conference was organized around a great variety of workshops to showcase and collaborate on several “Initiatives in Refugee and Migrant Education”, as indicated in the title.

To be sure, issues around the care of vulnerable migrants and of the environment interest me as a social ethicist but also as a fundamental moral theologian. This year I wrote a book on the use of Scripture in Christian Ethics, based on a course I teach, and used the question of the stranger in the Bible to illustrate the theory. I also taught a course on the Ethics of Immigration Policymaking, which showcases the use of social science data in moral theology and delves into a debate on the use of an ethics of duty and/or a virtue ethics approach to promote hospitality and brotherhood (as Pope Francis asks of us in Fratelli tu i). In this way, the conferences we organise at the Gregoriana provide valuable stimuli for our teaching and our research.

Synod and Synodality, an initiative open to all

The course offered by the Faculty of Theology, aimed to respond to the need to create a path of research and study on the challenges posed to the Church by the General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops. The online and in-person course, thereby ensuring attendance from world countries, albeit intended primarily for students from the Faculty of Theology was open to all those interested in gaining a deeper understanding of the subject

by ALBERTA MARIA PUTTI – CLAUDIA CICERO Faculty of Theology

In the academic year 2021-2022, the Faculty of Theology introduced a new course with the purpose of tackling the subject: ‘Synod’ and ‘Synodality’ and recent theological approaches. On the initiative of the Dean, Fr. Philipp G. Renczes S.J., and the Head of the Department of Dogmatic Theology, Prof. Dario Vitali, the course aimed to identify the questions theology is faced with in tackling the challenges posed to the Church by the General Secretariat of the Synod

of Bishops (SGSV), and thus build on a shared theological foundation.

In response to the call expressed by His Holiness Pope Francis, there emerged an urgent need to pursue a path of research and study aimed at giving it concrete form within a specific academic programme. In fact, synodality is a path of listening for the purpose of communion, participation, and mission in the life of the Church. The act of listening is critical to a renewal that reflects the synodal sensitivity of the Ecclesial Community, whereby discernment leads the faithful to be active participants by virtue of their baptism, and provides guidance for mission.

A course open to all, in-person and online: an experimental initiative

By launching an initiative that could be described as “experimental” - albeit not the first among the online courses offered by

the Department of Dogmatic Theology - the idea was to open the doors of the university to all those who, out of interest or in the fulfilment of their various tasks and ministries, wished to reflect together on the theme of synodality in the context of successive lectures. The course’s resonance was remarkable: in addition to the hundred or so students enrolled at the Pontifical Gregorian University, it a racted almost 400 external participants.

The opening of the course, for and with such a broad audience, gave us the opportunity to reflect on the theme thanks to the contributions of various experts and professors from the Faculty of Theology. Hence, in response to the Holy Father’s call for everyone to be involved in the synodal process, it was decided that the course should be structured in a dialogical manner, where participants asked questions and offered their insights, with the help of several students who offered their support regarding technical and organisational aspects inherent to this format.

The purpose of the course was to offer a contribution to the Italian Church. In fact, the course was addressed primarily to students from the Faculty of Theology, whose priority was to dedicate time and thought to the theme ofsynodality. Nevertheless, as it was open to all and aimed at answering the fundamental questions surrounding this theme, the discussion between professors, students and the other participants enjoyed greater impetus, as part of an interdisciplinary itinerary that marked new momentum towards achieving the ‘third mission’, as hoped for by AVEPRO, for an improvement of academic standards through the integration of differing horizons and topical issues.

The interdisciplinary nature characterising the course’s content provided an interesting perspective for reflection. In their

The course’s resonance was remarkable: in addition to the “ hundred or so students enrolled at the Pontifical Gregorian University, it attracted almost 400 external participants ” Discover more events at the Gregorian Univertity for the Synod

capacity as members of the Faculty of Theology, the professors who intervened offered insight into the fundamental questions. A number of them already work

and collaborate with the SGSV in various capacities. More specifically: Prof. Dario Vitali is Consultant and member of the SGSV Steering Group, Prof. Giuseppe Bonfrate is Consultant and member of the SGSV Theological Commission, which also includes Prof. Riccardo Ba occhio

We addressed bishops and priests, deacons and pastoral “ operators, students from the Faculty of Theology, teachers of Religion, formators, but also those who, without having specialisation in the theological field, wished to deepen the theme of synodality

How much progress have been made synodality?

The course consisted of 12 classes, from November 26, 2021 to April 1, 2022. The themes of the first part of the course were addressed and discussed in the discussion sessions offered in the second half of the course involving a dialogue with lecturers and experts from the other departments of the Faculty, as well as with experts from other universities. This made it possible to deepen the aspects that emerged in the first classes through constructive dialogue and exchange. The focus of research, having as its starting point the question “Where do we stand with synodality?”, gradually explored the central themes: Magisterial documents and contemporary theological positions on the subject were introduced, followed by an analysis of synodality as a dimension of the Church.

This was followed by the biblical and patristic foundations in the early Church. And based on Second Vatican Council sources, whereby Lumen Gentium proclaims that “the entire body of the faithful cannot err in matters of belief”, (LG 12), the subject of the People of God was defined as the protagonist of the synodal process listening to the Holy Spirit for ecclesial discernment. The subjects were expounded covering the major areas of dogmatic theology: ecclesiology, Trinitarianism, anthropology and pneumatology to anchor synodality, as a pneumatic dimension of the Church, to the identity of the believer starting from Christian initiation.

In addition to the subjects of the first part of the course, enriching contributions were shared, some of them especially en-

lightening: biblical theology listening to contemporary theology; ecclesiology listening to canon law, considering the question of integrating the voice of the people of God into the life of the Church. A number of points were discussed with regard to the spiritual traditions of Christianity, touching on the delicate topic of ecumenism. Finally, synodality as a response to secularisation, whereby theology is in a continuous state of listening to the “signs of the times.”

The subject of the People of God was defined as “ the protagonist of the synodal process listening to the Holy Spirit for ecclesial discernment”