Church That Can and Cannot Change: The Development of Catholic Moral Teaching

by John T. Noonan Jr.

Using concrete examples, John T. Noonan, Jr., demonstrates that the moral teaching of the Catholic Church has changed and continues to change without abandoning its foundational commitment to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Specifically, Noonan looks at the profound changes that have occurred over the centuries in Catholic moral teaching on freedom of conscience, lending for a profit, and slavery. He also offers a close examination of the change now in progress concerning divorce. In these changes Noonan perceives the Catholic Church to be a vigorous, living organism answering new questions with new answers, and enlarging the capacity of believers to learn through experience and empathy what love demands. He contends that the impetus to change comes from a variety of sources, including prayer, meditation on Scripture, new theological insights and analyses, the evolution of human institutions, and the examples and instruction given by persons of good will. Noonan also states that the Church cannot change its commitment to preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Given this absolute, how can the moral teaching of the Church change? Noonan finds this question unanswerable when asked in the abstract. But in the context of the specific facts and events he discusses in this book, an answer becomes clear. As our capacity to grasp the Gospel grows, so too, our understanding and compassion, which give life to the Gospel commandments of love, grow.

Genres: Theology, Religion, Christianity

280 pages, Hardcover

First published January 15, 2005

About the author

John Thomas Noonan, Jr. (1926-2017) was a Senior Circuit Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, with chambers in San Francisco, California. He was appointed in 1985 by President Ronald Reagan.

Affiliations:
United States. Court of Appeals (9th Circuit)
University of California, Berkeley. School of Law
University of Notre Dame. Law School

Reviews

[Matthew Adelstein · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did not finish this book but I am adding it to my Goodreads list of read books in part so I can leave a review. Sue me!

This book is VERY BORING. It just ploddingly describes how the position of the Church has changed over time on a bunch of things. If that's your cup of tea, read it. If not...

[Tim Shaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

very thorough as far as Slavery and how entrenched the church & theologians / philosophers who rationalized and "sold out" Christianity's emphasis on liberation / liberty. I give this Un. of Notre Dame Press (S. Bend, IN) a 5 * out of 5.

[Joseph Rohan]

A very helpful book on understanding the Church’s Tradition and development of the Tradition.

[Shane Hunt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an indispensable book for anyone considering the role of authority and Tradition in Catholic moral teachings. Picking up where Bl. John Newman left off in his thought on development of Catholic teaching more generally, this respected appellate judge and intellectual historian examines the Church's development around five topics: slavery, contraception, usury, nonCatholics' salvation status, and divorce. While he has addressed the latter four in previous work, the emphasis is on his novel work around the Church and slavery. His insights around how long and drawn out the moral development on this issue and how much it had to from outside the Church, including from the British Foreign Office, inspires interesting thoughts around the Church's relationship with natural law. I found that in particular the divorce discussions--especially of untranslated Vatican opinions around the so-called "Petrine privilege" which, as he points out, end up being awfully difficult to distinguish from many civil divorce cases--are particularly timely. While he ultimately does not draw generalizations about how moral development in the Church occurs, the historical exploration is certainly worth a read for those interested in how the Catholic Church works.

[Alan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author lays out the history of Catholic moral teachings on slavery, usury (lending money with interest), and divorce. The details sometimes get tedious, but in the process the author is making a powerful argument. Catholic teaching has not merely developed on these moral questions. It sometimes done complete reversals. Because of this history, we should be very cautious of any attempt to turn a moral theology into a dogmatic principle.