Reason Informed by Faith: Foundations of Catholic Morality

Someone who studies theology, quite a bit, I was impressed by this read. It is by far one of the best books I have read. In order to understand what this book is about, I have to deal with previous responses. These individuals caution others to not read it, and go straight to official documents like `Veritatis Splendor'. The best guide for Catholics is the catechism. But, sometimes, that needs to be explored in depth. This book deals a lot about conscience. Informed Catholics are `required' to explore what the church and science says; not just these official documents. Certainly the bible contains Gods truth, but in the present time, we are obliged to educate ourselves on a broader spectrum (with the bible). I don't see how many conservative theologians could find a problem with this. Either its going to go two ways. People are going to be so conservative, they stick to these `official documents' for their morality, or there will be most people who want explanations of reason and find this book informative. I did. Perhaps, they automatically link writers like Gula with other writers (Curran, McBrien, etc perhaps?)who have been silenced on speaking out; which really doesn't bother me, because the church has a tendency to silence or quiet individuals who have beliefs that deviate (if even on the smallest level) from the norm. The fact remains that `officially' the church holds onto their Vatican 2 mindset- incorporating psychological- social- emotional- etc integration into conscience, but still doesn't like it when people dissent, based on beliefs that contradict official church teachings. The book synthesizes current theology- reason. I liked it because I got the sense, that it explained (in depth) those issues I only had a rudimentary understanding of. I was looking for how to form my conscience on moral matters. In other words, explaining conscience (from the catechism). How do I form it? How exactly do I discern Gods will? Etc. The chapters do not indicate a general morality, where everyone should endorse or oppose abortion, suicide, birth control etc. That's not up to the writer or to us, as readers. It's not the point of the book. They contain information on a wide range of issues like proportionate reason, ontic-evils/goods, forming our conscience/discernment and ending with final pastoral judgment. To me it just seemed like complex theology explained clearly, with the addition of certain ethics or recent morality- basing itself from the second Vatican council; I have a whole bookshelf full of books. I pull this one out often. It's a good read

This book is an excellent and clear reflection of the best of Roman Catholic thinking about moral theology that has developed since the Second Vatican Council. The author is a respected theologian and has not been "silenced". The methodology which he presents is sound and has not been condemned by the Roman Catholic Church. His explanation of proportionalism (actually, "proportionate reason") is balanced and much more helpful than that found in Veritatis Splendor, which does not accurately represent this methodology.

I was fortunate to have had this text while a seminarian at St. Patrick's Seminary, where Fr. Gula was a professor and dean. Fr. Gula's book takes a critical look at the various strains of thought in Catholic morality/ethics. By critical, I mean that he examines the major ideas, points out their strong points and weak points, and puts them within the context of Catholic teaching and Tradition. Since having left the seminary, I have had occasion to refer to this book as a reference for religious education and discussions with friends.