The Gazette 1992

JUNE 1992

GAZETTE

Church State Morality and Law by Patrick Hannon (Gill and MacMillan 1992, 159 pp, £10.99 paperback). The Hart-Devlin debate will be known to most lawyers. The approach of these two can speak to readers of any moral tradition: neither, certainly, can be described as particularly "Catholic". Yet Catholics, as Catholics, will want to make sense of their experience in the debate on law and morality, and it is their right and responsibility to do so. Hitherto there has been no systematic analysis of law and morality from within the Catholic tradition, faithful to Roman Catholicism. Church State Morality and Law by Patrick Hannon is not only a text which intrinsically deserves to stand alongside Hart and Devlin on the shelves of lawyers, philosophers, lawmakers and others, but it is also a text which is timely. The book is lucidly written, and richly researched (the many years of work evidently behind it suggest its timeliness is coincidental rather than contrived) and it provides the reader with references to much material relevant to its complex theme. The debate on morality is not confined to sexual morality. At the present time Ireland is sagging with unemployment, with gender discrimination and other ills in employment; principles and behaviour in certain businesses are being investigated; there is a recurrent debate on divorce, on homosexuality, and now, it seems, on abortion. Vigorous groups intone their special interests, relentlessly trying to influence consensus. It can be difficult for the principled dissenter. The media all too often Now, fortunately, there is.

reflects these intonations with predictability.

(also an art) Professor Hannon introduces his reader to the centre of the book's enterprise. He contends that the Declaration on Religious Freedom of the Second Vatican Council provides the framework and the fundamental principles concerning the enforcement of morality by the law. The application of the Declaration to morality is convincingly argued for. In moral as in religious matters people should not be made to act against their conscience nor restrained from acting according to conscience - subject to the requirements of the common good. "The requirements of the common good" refer, in Catholic usage, to "the ensemble of conditions of social living which make for the fullest possible flourishing of each member of the community". And law and public policy can be instruments of shaping a public consensus, "they are not simply the product of consensus". The law is educative. In the chapter "How is a Catholic to Vote?" the author offers some valuable insights on personal conscience and public office showing how confused it can be to state (as has been done in recent times, indeed) that a loyal Catholic can not hold public office. The book draws to an end by supposing two types of reader, one a believer and the other a critic, who may be uneasy about the freedom for which the book argues. Professor Hannon tries to allay their fears by exploring some of the requirements of an effective presence of the Church in today's world. He refers, for example, to Bemardin's concept of a "consistent life ethic" which links the several items of the Catholic ethic concerning life, from conception to death, and in all circumstances.

The book's objective is to sketch an approach within Catholic theology which would offer the possibility of a coherent and consistent framework of response to the question, how is a Catholic expected to vote on certain types of issues involving morality and law? The spotlight is directed at the Catholic, not least because it is often perceived (erroneously as it happens) that the Church's magisterium (the teaching role and competence of hierarchy) makes a claim on the consciences of members. In order to arrive at a framework of response to this important question, Professor Hannon introduces, of necessity, several related themes. Morality and the Christian Faith; the Church in the Modern World; The Church Teaches; and Teaching in the Local Church are some of his chapter headings. Can an individual who is now aware of having made a moral decision in his or her own life, contribute in an informed way to the debate on law and morality? An individual who is so aware will know how often a moral decision is either related or transcends his or her own interests. That is a valuable experience. Professor Hannon explores a theme central to any understanding of his topic, namely, what does it mean to be moral? T\vo characteristics of the human being, awareness and a capacity for choice, are the foundation of morality. Morality, according to the author, may be described "as the art of right relationship with each other and with the world around us". The language here makes explicit that there is a right and a wrong way of relating.

In a style which appears effortless

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