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GAZETTE
JUNE 1992
Church State Morality and Law
by Patrick Hannon (Gill and
MacMillan 1992, 159 pp, £10.99
paperback).
The Hart-Devlin debate will be
known to most lawyers. The
approach of these two can speak to
readers of any moral tradition:
neither, certainly, can be described as
particularly "Catholic". Yet
Catholics, as Catholics, will want to
make sense of their experience in the
debate on law and morality, and it is
their right and responsibility to do
so. Hitherto there has been no
systematic analysis of law and
morality from within the Catholic
tradition, faithful to Roman
Catholicism.
Now, fortunately, there is.
Church State Morality and Law
by
Patrick Hannon is not only a text
which intrinsically deserves to stand
alongside Hart and Devlin on the
shelves of lawyers, philosophers,
lawmakers and others, but it is also
a text which is timely. The book is
lucidly written, and richly researched
(the many years of work evidently
behind it suggest its timeliness is
coincidental rather than contrived)
and it provides the reader with
references to much material relevant
to its complex theme.
The debate on morality is not
confined to sexual morality. At the
present time Ireland is sagging with
unemployment, with gender
discrimination and other ills in
employment; principles and
behaviour in certain businesses are
being investigated; there is a
recurrent debate on divorce, on
homosexuality, and now, it seems, on
abortion. Vigorous groups intone
their special interests, relentlessly
trying to influence consensus. It can
be difficult for the principled
dissenter. The media all too often
reflects these intonations with
predictability.
The book's objective is to sketch an
approach within Catholic theology
which would offer the possibility of
a coherent and consistent framework
of response to the question, how is a
Catholic expected to vote on certain
types of issues involving morality
and law? The spotlight is directed at
the Catholic, not least because it is
often perceived (erroneously as it
happens) that the Church's
magisterium
(the teaching role and
competence of hierarchy) makes a
claim on the consciences of
members.
In order to arrive at a framework of
response to this important question,
Professor Hannon introduces, of
necessity, several related themes.
Morality and the Christian Faith; the
Church in the Modern World; The
Church Teaches; and Teaching in the
Local Church are some of his
chapter headings.
Can an individual who is now aware
of having made a moral decision in
his or her own life, contribute in an
informed way to the debate on law
and morality? An individual who is
so aware will know how often a
moral decision is either related or
transcends his or her own interests.
That is a valuable experience.
Professor Hannon explores a theme
central to any understanding of his
topic, namely, what does it mean to
be moral? T\vo characteristics of the
human being, awareness and a
capacity for choice, are the
foundation of morality. Morality,
according to the author, may be
described "as the art of right
relationship with each other and
with the world around us". The
language here makes explicit that
there is a right and a wrong way of
relating.
In a style which appears effortless
(also an art) Professor Hannon
introduces his reader to the centre of
the book's enterprise. He contends
that the
Declaration on Religious
Freedom
of the Second Vatican
Council provides the framework and
the fundamental principles
concerning the enforcement of
morality by the law. The application
of the
Declaration
to morality is
convincingly argued for. In moral as
in religious matters people should
not be made to act against their
conscience nor restrained from acting
according to conscience - subject to
the requirements of the common
good. "The requirements of the
common good" refer, in Catholic
usage, to "the ensemble of
conditions of social living which
make for the fullest possible
flourishing of each member of the
community". And law and public
policy can be instruments of shaping
a public consensus, "they are not
simply the product of consensus".
The law is educative.
In the chapter "How is a Catholic
to Vote?" the author offers some
valuable insights on personal
conscience and public office showing
how confused it can be to state (as
has been done in recent times,
indeed) that a loyal Catholic can not
hold public office.
The book draws to an end by
supposing two types of reader, one a
believer and the other a critic, who
may be uneasy about the freedom
for which the book argues. Professor
Hannon tries to allay their fears by
exploring some of the requirements
of an effective presence of the
Church in today's world. He refers,
for example, to Bemardin's concept
of a "consistent life ethic" which
links the several items of the
Catholic ethic concerning life, from
conception to death, and in all
circumstances.
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