Moral Theology and Social Sciences in Dialogue

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.
 

 

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 was not personally involved in the organization of the Amoris Laetitia conference, but 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, with the same kind of logic I described above. In all three cases, I collaborated very closely with colleagues at the Faculty of Social Sciences, as I often do when that Faculty engages issues around migration and ecology, but at the end of the day, I am a fundamental moral theologian. 

 

The first conference dealt with contemporary forms of slavery (like labour and sexual exploitation). It would appear that the duty of those involved is clear: slavery is evil and hence exploiters should cease their oppressive activity, and the exploited should fight for their liberation. 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 conference was organized with Walk Free (Minderoo Foundation) and held in the Aula Magna on the 25-26 February. Speakers included Card. Francesco Montenegro (former archbishop of Agrigento), Tomoya Obokata, (UN Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Slavery), David Hollenbach SJ (Georgetown University), Sr. Monica Chikwe (Slaves No More), Marco Omizzolo, (EURISPES / Sapienza University of Rome), Sheikh Armiyawo Shaibu (Ghana’s National Chief Imam’s spokesperson), Cristina Molfetta (Migrantes Foundation – Italian Bishops’ Conference) and Jean-René Bilongo, FLAI- CGIL Trade Union representative. 

 

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’, again not simply 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 attitudes 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 Eichstätt-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. Hartmut Graβl (World Meteorological Organization (WMO), Ottmar Edenhofer (Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research) and Michael Schuck (Loyola University Chicago delivered the keynote addresses.

 

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 is an 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.

The title, “Initiatives in Refugee and Migrant Education”, indicates the desire to bring together the members of the RMEN – both institutions of higher learning and NGOs involved in the education of vulnerable migrants – to showcase best practices and collaborate on new and existing projects. Thus, much of the conference was organized around a great variety of workshops and working groups. The programme was designed by a team of colleagues from various US universities, including Marco Tavanti of the University of San Francisco and Tina Facca-meiss of John Carroll University (both are Jesuit institutions), and practitioners from JRS and Pangea Educational Development, under the leadership of Anthony Cernera (former president of the International Federation of Catholic Universities). 

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 tutti). In this way, the conferences we organise at the Gregoriana provide valuable stimuli for our teaching and our research.