Review Questions for Moral
Theology Term 1
1. Chapter 2 of the book of Genesis recounts the second
version of creation. It is a retelling of creation from the subjective point of
view, i.e., how man experienced the truth of creation. It narrates the
awareness of the first man and woman as they come to see and know each other.
Adam exclaimed with joy upon seeing Eve: “This
at last is flesh of my flesh, and bone of my bone!” The account adds that
they were both naked but they were not ashamed. Based on the above, explain the
following:
a) the nuptial meaning of the body
b) the sacramental meaning of the body
c) contraception is a lie in the language of love.
2. Claiming that she had been verbally, physically and
psychologically abused at home, Joan Castro tweeted a suicide note that went
viral and alerted her friends online. She wanted to explain what was happening
to her, say her bye and thank you before killing herself. The online community
went to her rescue by sending her consoling messages that eventually convinced
her not to kill herself.
a. Analyze the morality of her action by using the 3 sources
of morality and by citing, if any, some factors that may modify and increase or
lessen her personal responsibility for what she has done. Was she right in what she did?
b. Using the 10 tests in How to make a good decision,
evaluate the ethical aspect of her decision to tweet a suicide note.
3.
After delivering her second child, Lita Pedrosa’s doctor told her to avoid
pregnancy for the next 5 years because the lining of her uterus has gotten
thin. It would be dangerous for her to get pregnant again. Her doctor advised
her to take the contraceptive pill. Being a good Catholic, Lita knew that
contraception is morally unacceptable. She consulted the Catechism of the
Catholic Church where she read in point 2370 the following: Periodic continence, that is, the methods of birth
regulation based on self-observation and the use of infertile periods, is in
conformity with the objective criteria of morality. These methods respect the
bodies of the spouses, encourage tenderness between them, and favor the
education of an authentic freedom. In contrast, "every action which,
whether in anticipation of the conjugal act, or in its accomplishment, or in
the development of its natural consequences, proposes, whether as an end or as
a means, to render procreation impossible" is intrinsically evil:
“Thus
the innate language that expresses the total reciprocal self-giving of husband
and wife is overlaid, through contraception,
by an objectively contradictory language, namely, that of not giving oneself
totally to the other. This leads not only to a positive refusal to be open to
life but also to a falsification of the inner truth of conjugal love, which is
called upon to give itself in personal totality.... the difference, both
anthropological and moral, between contraception and recourse to the rhythm of
the cycle . . . involves in the final analysis two irreconcilable concepts of
the human person and of human sexuality. “
Using the 10 tests in
How to Make a Good Decision, help Lita evaluate the morality of contraception
and make a plan of action for her conjugal relations with her husband.
4. As ISIS, a
radical Islamic fundamentalist group, continues to kill Christians and
religious minorities throughout Iraq and Syria in order to establish their Islamic
Caliphate, more than a million have fled their homes in Iraq alone, after being
given the ultimatum by the group to convert to their radical form of Islam or
be put to death. One report stated that hundreds of Yazidis had converted to
Islam against their will in order to avoid death. Yasser, an 18 year old Iraqi
Catholic, was asked to step on the crucifix, spit on it or else be tortured.
Yasser did as he was told for fear of the torture.
a. Was
Yasser justified for what he had done? Evaluate the morality of Yasser’s
action.
5. Seven
weeks after her last menstrual cycle, Rosalinda experienced severe abdominal
pain, nausea and vaginal spotting. She went to see her doctor who told her,
after several tests, that her baby is not attached to the inner lining of her
uterus. Instead, it has settled in the fallopian tube. This is a classic case
of ectopic pregnancy whose major health risk is rupture, leading to internal
bleeding and eventually death of the mother. Rosalinda also learned from her
doctor that no babies survive ectopic pregnancy.
Applying
the principle of double effect, what could be the best medical procedure for
Rosalinda and her baby?
6. Anna has been hearing a lot about open parties.
She learned that they are fun, that one can meet many friends, that the drinks
are alcoholic, the sounds are cool, the guys are good looking, etc. But these
open parties could get a little wild. Fear and curiosity combined to make Anna
excited to experience an open party. A few days after, her classmate Liza
invited her to an open party, after the exams. Afraid that her parents would
not permit her, she said that it would be in Liza’s house and with just among
classmates and friends. It would be overnight. Her parents allowed her so that
she could rest after the exams.
The open party was held in a big
house with a swimming pool in the middle of the garden. There were several
rooms inside the house as well. There were people everywhere. Anna noticed that
almost all of those present were high school students like her. They were
eating and drinking, dancing and chatting. The lights were dim.
As Anna was talking with some of her
new friends, she noticed that Greg, her crush from the boys’ school, was
looking at her, smiling. Moments later, Greg approached her and offered her one
of the two glasses of drinks he was holding. Wanting to converse with Greg,
Anna accepted the drink and they began to talk. They danced. Feeling happy and
relaxed, she let Greg kiss her.
When she woke up the next day, she
was surprised to find herself on a bed with Greg sleeping beside her. They were
both without clothes. Frantically, she got up, put on her clothes and went
home. She did not tell anything to her parents.
Two months passed when suddenly she
realized that she have not had her monthly period. Was she pregnant? she
wondered. Afraid, she bought a pregnancy
test from a drug store and tested herself. The test confirmed her greatest
fear. Many thoughts came to her mind: will she march on graduation day with a
swollen belly? How will her parents
receive the news? She had not seen Greg
since that open party; what about college? What means are there to get rid of
unwanted pregnancy?, etc.
You were one of her closest friends.
She now opens her heart to you and tells you everything. What advise will you
give her? Explain your answer.
8. Trapped in a locked room by an
insane man who attacks her with a carving knife, Judy jumped through an open
window to the lawn below in order to avoid a terrible death by stabbing. In
jumping, she clearly realized that her fall might be fatal. It was. She died
instantly of a broken neck.
a) What moral principle would you use
to evaluate the morality of her action? Explain this moral principle.
b) Was her action immoral?
9. While many
have fled West Africa to avoid the outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus, four
Filipino missionary priests have reportedly stayed in Sierra Leone to fulfill
their evangelical mission. Brother Tagoy Jakosalem, of the Order of Augustinian
Recollects (OAR), posted a report on CBCPNews, the official news service
provider of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), that
four Recoletos priests have decided to continue their services in Sierra Leone,
one of the hotbeds of the Ebola outbreak aside from Guinea and Liberia.
The four Filipino
missionaries were identified as Fathers Roy Baluarte, Russell Lapidez and
Dennis Castillo and Bro. Jonathan Jamero.
Is it permissible
for them to continue with their missionary work in spite of the great risk of
contracting the fatal Ebola virus?
10. It was Joe’s
turn to appear in court to testify for Martin, his friend accused of
overpricing the construction of a building and pocketing P150 M pesos. Joe lied
to save Martin from a possible jail sentence and political suicide, but because
of this action, Lawrence was convicted to life imprisonment.
a) What moral
principle would you use to evaluate the morality of Joe’s action? Explain.
b) Was Joe
justified for what he did?
11. The 8
Beatitudes represent the high moral ground of Christian living and Christ-like
attitudes and behaviours. Explain in your own words the 3 Beatitudes listed
below and what they mean in your life as a Christian. Cite a specific example
for each of them:
-Blessed are the poor in spirit
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
-Blessed are they who hunger and
thirst for justice’s sake for they shall be satisfied.
-Blessed
are the clean for heart for they shall see God.
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