Dr Brian Lewis was one of Australia’s most eminent moral theologians. He was a graduate of the Angelicum and the Alphonsian Academy in Rome and formerly lectured in moral theology in Ballarat and Melbourne. Prior to retirement he taught scripture, theology and ethics on campuses of the present Australian Catholic University. He has contributed articles to many journals and reviews. Brian went home to Heaven on March 4, 2015 |
Moral Perspectives - The articles at this link are part of an ongoing series written by Dr Brian Lewis which explores understandings of conscience and morality in the Christian tradition. Deeper insights into the Scriptures and church traditions open up new possibilities in ecumenical and philosophical thinking in the search for a more comprehensive moral worldview. |
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At the tender age of 88,
Brian Lewis our
Monday blogger from Australia, retired from blogging.
Thank you Brian for |
2012 articles by Brian Lewis, Ballarat, Australia
Oct
10: Vatican
II & the renewal of morals
One
of the many reforms explicitly called for by the Council was the renewal
of moral theology so that it should be centred on the Gospel of
Christ, in contrast to what had been
a theology tending to focus on authority, law, sin and how far one
could go without committing sin
Aug 6:
Indissolubility
of Marriage
The
early Church continued to uphold the teaching of Jesus about the absolute
indissolubility of marriage,
but at the same time strove to apply this
teaching to particular situations
with the compassion that Jesus himself
had shown to those in difficulty
July
30: Care
of the divorced and remarried
Note these words from JPII:
'Pastors
are obliged to exercise careful discernment of situations. There is a
difference between those who have sincerely tried to save their first
marriage and have been unjustly abandoned, and those who through their
own fault have destroyed a canonically valid marriage. There are
those who have entered into a second union for the sake of the children's
upbringing, and who are sometimes subjectively certain in conscience that
their previous and irreparably destroyed marriage had never been valid'
July
23: Difficulties
with Utilitarianism
Brian Lewis
In this way of thinking the individual is
merged into the calculation of the common good
and some people are made of
greater worth than others.
Most of us would feel uncomfortable with this.
We want as a general rule to be fair to everybody and particularly to the
underdog
– the poor, the handicapped, the underprivileged.
Indeed, for
the Christian, the Gospel insists that preference be given to these
July
16: What
is Utilitarianism?
Brian Lewis
Is it ok for a husband/father to spend
Sat/Sun morning on golf course?
July 2: Are judgments of morality merely subjective?
June
25: Civil
& Ecclesiastical Disobedience
Listening carefully
does not rule out dissent,
which may be morally justified depending on the strength of the reasons
supporting it
June 18: The role of the politician regarding permissive legislation
June 11:
Morality and Law
There is a realm of private morality that is
not the business of the law
June 4: Why we need human laws
May 28: The human person at the centre of morality
May 21: The question of a concrete ethical agenda
May 7: How do we work out what is morally right?
April 30: The primacy of conscience
April 23: Conscience as Wisdom of the Heart
April 15: Responding in conscience to the Magisterium
April 16: Conscience as Judgment
April 9: Being responsible people
April 2: Reflections on the meaning of conscience
March 26: The dignity of personal conscience in Vatican II
March 12: Vatican II and the Renewal of Moral Theology
March 5: The Magisterium of the Church
2008: Benedict XVI and Proportionalism (On Line Opinion)
2007: Freedom of Conscience (Compass)
No date: The Principle of Double Effect (Yarra Institute)
No date: Conscience and the Teaching of the Magisterium on Morality (Australian eJournal of Theology)