Theology III - Rush Morality and CST Final Exam Review
Exam Structure and Overview
Total Exam Points: Individual scores are calculated out of a total of points.
Objective Section: Consists of objective questions, which include True/False, Matching, and Multiple Choice formats.
Short Answer Essay: Worth points. The student is required to write between sentences. This essay involves picking themes of Catholic Social Teaching (CST) and applying them to everyday situations.
Eligibility: Regardless of which teacher a student had during the first semester, all Juniors are expected to be able to answer every question on the exam.
First Semester Fundamentals
Free Will
Reason for Free Will: God bestowed free will upon humans so they could freely choose to love Him and choose the good.
Authenticity of Virtue: Without free will, love and virtue would not be genuine.
Moral Responsibility: Free will is the mechanism that allows for moral responsibility regarding human actions.
Cardinal and Theological Virtues
Cardinal Virtues:
Prudence: Defined as the ability to recognize what is right. It is the virtue that directs all other virtues and involves thinking before acting.
Justice: Concerns basic human rights and what others are owed.
Fortitude: Characterized as firmness in difficulty and a consistent pursuit of the good. It is sometimes described as "doing what is right, not what is easy." It provides the strength to resist temptation, conquer fear, and face persecutions.
Temperance: Helps individuals use pleasures in a good way and governs how we use the created goods of the world. It keeps human desires and instincts directed toward the good.
Theological Virtues:
Faith: Associated with the intellect. It involves believing and trusting in God.
Hope: Associated with the will. It is defined as a longing for heaven.
Charity: Associated with the will. It is the act of loving God and others for their own sake.
Powers of the Soul
Intellect: The power through which we know what is right or wrong; it identifies what is good and true with ease.
Will: Expressed through our actions; it tends toward choosing what is good.
Passion: Relates to how we feel and what we want to do regardless of morals; it focuses on the desire for what is good.
Transformation: Humans are made in the image of God, and our actions combined with grace transform us into the Image of Christ.
Moral Acts and Principles of Law
Components of a Moral Act
Object: What you are doing.
Intention: Why you are doing it.
Circumstances: The situation surrounding the act.
Types of Law
Natural Law: The moral law written into human nature by God. It can be known through reason and assists in distinguishing right from wrong.
Human Law: Laws established by society or government. Ideally, these should reflect natural law and protect the common good.
Divine Law: The law revealed by God through Scripture and Church teaching.
Intrinsic Evil
Acts are considered intrinsically evil and always wrong if they fall into one of three categories:
They are hostile to life itself.
They violate the integrity of the human person.
They are offensive to human dignity.
Catholic Social Teaching (CST) Foundations
Definition and Components of Culture
Definition: Culture is described as the "personality of a society."
The Four Totality Components:
Traditions: What the people believe.
Attitudes: What the people desire.
Customs: What the people do.
Institutions: How the people live.
Pope Leo’s World Day of Peace Message (1/15/26)
Peace should be nonviolent and not based on armaments/weapons.
Rejection of war and the "culture of violence."
Peace is a daily process and a way of life, beginning within each person.
Requires following Jesus’ example of love and humility.
Involves having hope and the responsibility to build peace through dialogue, justice, and reconciliation.
Biblical Roots of CST
CST is rooted in both the Old Testament and the New Testament.
Across Scripture, God calls people to justice, care for the poor, the dignity of life, and love of neighbor.
This indicates that CST is fundamentally biblical, rather than just a modern Church invention.
Justice and Charity
The Four Types of Justice
Social Justice: Addresses long-term needs by being directed at the root causes of injustice.
Commutative Justice: Governs exchanges between individuals and private groups.
Distributive Justice: Governs what the greater community owes individuals based on their contributions and needs. It guarantees the common good.
Legal Justice: Governs what individuals owe their country and society.
Comparison: Charity vs. Social Justice
Charity:
Responds to immediate needs.
Often involves private or individual acts.
Directed at the symptoms of injustice.
Example: Giving aid to someone currently in need.
Required for justice because it makes one capable of true justice.
Social Justice:
Addresses long-term needs.
Directed at root causes.
Involves correcting structures that cause the need.
Manifests as public group action.
The Seven Main Themes of CST
1. Life and Dignity of the Human Person
This is the foundational principle of all CST.
Every person deserves respect regardless of race, age, nationality, religion, or gender.
Dignity is inherent and comes from being made in the image and likeness of God; it is not earned.
Every stage of human life is sacred and must be protected; life must be supported from conception to natural death.
2. Call to Family, Community, and Participation
Humans are social beings; family is the central social institution and must be supported and strengthened.
People have a right and a duty to participate in society.
Societies must seek the well-being and common good of all.
3. Rights and Responsibilities
The most fundamental right is the right to life.
Necessities every person has a right to: Faith, Food, Shelter, Education, and Healthcare.
Rights entail responsibilities to others, families, and society to help everyone reach their full human potential.
4. Option for the Poor and Vulnerable
The measure of a society is how its most vulnerable members are faring.
The needs of the poor and vulnerable must be put first.
We owe a "preferential love" to the vulnerable, ensuring their rights and dignity are protected.
5. Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers
The economy must serve the people, not vice versa.
Safeguarded Rights: Productive work, decent/fair wages, union participation, private property, and economic initiative.
Theology of Work: "Work is the way the human person participates with God in the fulfillment of creation and the development of her own personality."
Self-Actualization: It is not selfish to find joy in perfecting skills or satisfaction in the fruits of one’s labor.
6. Solidarity
We are all members of one human family.
Love takes on a global dimension.
We are our "brothers’ and sisters’ keepers," committed to the common good and working for world peace and justice.
7. Stewardship/Care for God’s Creation
A requirement of faith to protect people and the planet.
Respecting God includes being good stewards of the earth; it is more than an "Earth Day slogan."
Life and Dignity: Bioethical Issues
Consistent Ethic of Life
Often referred to as "womb to tomb," where every stage of life is sacred.
Abortion: Violates this ethic by disregarding development and murdering children.
Euthanasia: Violates dignity as God alone should hold the power of life and death.
Gene Editing: Problematic when it attempts to eliminate weakness, as weaknesses can make us stronger.
Cloning: Reduces humans to objects and manipulates God's power over life.
Stem Cells and Biotechnology
Church Position on Stem Cells: The Church supports stem cell research when cells are obtained without the loss of life (e.g., from adult tissue, umbilical cords, or the placenta). These are grouped as "adult stem cells."
Abortion-derived Cells: The Church opposes using stem cells from aborted fetuses.
Cloning Embryos: The Church is against this because it reduces people to objects for manipulation. While a child of rape or a clone would still have inherent dignity, the process of cloning for superiority is rejected.
Euthanasia and Suffering
Definition: Any act or omission which, of itself or by intention, causes death to eliminate suffering.
Distinction of Means:
Ordinary Means: Basic care that must be provided (e.g., a ventilator for a young person capable of recovery).
Extraordinary Means: Aggressive medical treatments that can be refused (e.g., refusing chemotherapy in the final stages of terminal cancer).
Types: Voluntary (Physician-assisted suicide/Death with Dignity) and Involuntary (for those unable to choose, such as those with dementia).
Value of Suffering: Life and pregnancy are not always easy, but suffering can be a necessary part of life that carries value.
Capital Punishment and Justice
Standard Reasons for Punishment: Reform, Retribution, and Deterrence.
Church Stance: Generally against the death penalty, even for first-degree murder.
Restorative Justice: Focuses on criminals acknowledging crimes and successfully integrating back into society.
Rights, Responsibilities, and Government
Fundamental Human Rights
Right to Life: Includes basic necessities (food/water).
Moral and Cultural Rights: Freedom of expression.
Right to Worship God: Freedom to publicly pray.
Right to Choose State of Life: Vocational choice.
Economic Rights: Right to own private property.
Right of Meeting/Association: Rooted in our social nature.
Right to Emigrate/Immigrate: Freedom of movement.
Political Rights: Freedom to participate in public life.
Subsidiarity
Definition: Large organizations or governments should not take over responsibilities that can be handled by individuals or local organizations; they should support them with a focus on the common good.
Hierarchy of Responsibility: Achievement of justice is best at the most immediate level (e.g., a child doing their own homework rather than a parent doing it).
Religious Liberty and the First Amendment
First Amendment Freedoms: Religion, Speech, Press, Assembly, Petition.
Freedom of Worship vs. Religion: Worship is restricted to set times/places (inside church walls); Religion is the freedom to practice faith at all times, in and outside the community.
Conscientious Objection: Refusal to participate in things like war or abortion based on religious/ethical beliefs.
Civil Disobedience: Refusal to follow laws that are unjust or contrary to moral law.
Family and Society
The Common Good
CST Definition: The sum total of social conditions allowing people to reach fulfillment more fully and easily.
Relationship: Humans are social beings made for relationships; we flourish in community, not isolation.
The Family as the "Domestic Church": The first place children learn faith, morality, love, trust, and responsibility. Parents are the first teachers.
Support for the Family
Modern US Support: Public education, child tax credits, adoption/foster systems, healthcare programs.
Modern US Challenges: Poverty, lack of paid maternity leave, expensive childcare, divorce culture, social media pressures.
Poverty and Economic Justice
Causes and Dynamics
Subsidiarity and Poverty: Help people help themselves at the local level.
Solidarity and Poverty: Recognize global responsibility for all.
Racism: In the USA, there is a historical correlation between racism and higher poverty rates due to discrimination/unequal opportunity.
Education: Inadequate education limits job advancement; quality education is a key tool for breaking the cycle of poverty.
Poverty Cure DVD Series Concepts
Harmful Charity: Charity becomes harmful when it creates dependency rather than self-sufficiency (e.g., free donated goods destroying local businesses).
Good Aid: Encourages entrepreneurship, supports local workers, and helps people become self-sufficient.
Bad Aid: Focuses only on short-term relief, treats the poor as helpless, and creates long-term dependence.
Heart vs. Mind: Having a "heart" means compassion/wanting to help; having a "mind" means understanding economics and ensuring aid actually works without accidental harm.
Overconsumption: Excessive first-world consumption can drain resources and exploit poorer nations through unfair systems.
Solidarity and Social Sin
Prejudice and Discrimination
Prejudice/Bias: Unfair judgments/assumptions based on stereotypes or fear.
Discrimination: Acting on prejudices unfairly.
Role of Microaggressions: They normalize disrespect and can escalate into discrimination or violence.
Stereotype: An oversimplified, generalized belief about a group.
Social Sin: Sin existing within structures/systems (e.g., racism, classism, ageism).
Xenophobia: Irrational fear or hatred of strangers or foreigners.
The Five Stages of Prejudice
Biased Attitudes: Stereotyping, microaggressions, insensitive remarks.
Acts of Bias: Bullying, ridicule, dehumanization, slurs.
Discrimination: Economic, political, or housing disparities.
Bias Motivated Violence: Murder, assault, terrorism, desecration.
Genocide: Systematic intent to annihilate an entire people.
The Rwandan Genocide Case Study (Left to Tell)
Timeline: The genocide occurred in .
Colonization: Belgium colonized Rwanda, leading to divisions and ethnic tensions due to colonial favoritism.
Casualties: Approximately Tutsis were killed.
Victims: Primarily Tutsis and moderate Hutus.
Immaculée Ilibagiza: A Tutsi woman who survived the genocide by hiding in a bathroom for days.
Hiding Place: Immaculée and others were hidden by a Hutu Pastor.
Key Groups:
RPF (Rwandan Patriotic Front): The group that eventually ended the genocide.
Interahamwe: The Hutu extremist militia responsible for the killings.
Outcome: After the genocide, many Hutus fled; some were imprisoned or prosecuted.
Main Themes: Struggles of violence vs. the power of forgiveness and reconciliation.
Questions & Discussion
Question: What is the measure of every institution?
Response: The common good and how the vulnerable are faring.
Question: What is the relationship between Church and State?
Response: The Church does not endorse specific political campaigns but supports candidates who respect life and human dignity.
Question: What is the point of the OT/NT Scripture Search?
Response: To demonstrate that Catholic Social Teaching is biblical and rooted in both testaments, not just a modern construct.
Question: Is education the key to break the cycle of poverty?
Response: Yes, it increases opportunities, whereas inadequate education limits advancement.**