Charles E. Curran, Catholic Social Teaching 1891-Present: a Historical, Theological, and Ethical Analysis

Ecumenical Review, The, July, 2004 by Thomas J. Massaro

Charles E. Curran, Catholic Social Teaching 1891-Present: A Historical, Theological, and Ethical Analysis, Washington DC, Georgetown UP, 2002, 261pp., US $49.95 (cloth), US $19.95 (paper).

Ten years ago the distinguished ecumenical social ethicist Ronald H. Preston published what I believe to be a courageous volume on social ethics, in which he "challenged the World Council of Churches to do better what its history and resources indicate that it should do and can do". Preston titled this 1994 retrospective monograph Confusions in Christian Social Ethics: Problems for Geneva and Rome. His noble, and most constructive, intention was to describe the sources of his "dissatisfaction with the quality of the social theology and ethics coming in recent years from the WCC" and to add helpful parallel remarks about the shortcomings of Roman Catholic social teaching as well. By juxtaposing the recent trajectories of both traditions, Preston performed a great service for Protestants and Catholics alike, calling both to perform up to their full potential in crafting statements and providing prophetic leadership on issues of social justice in the new millennium.

For those more familiar with the state of social ethics in the Protestant arena, Charles Curran's new volume is a splendid companion to Preston's analysis of the work of the WCC on social issues. As the acknowledged dean of Catholic moral theology in the United States, Curran is uniquely qualified to offer a comprehensive analysis of the tradition of Catholic social teaching. Applying a critical yet appreciative eye to the tradition he knows so thoroughly, Curran offers readers numerous insights into the contributions--as well as the shortcomings--of Catholic social ethics today. As his subtitle suggests, Curran seeks to subject the major documents of magisterial social teaching to the scrutiny of three branches of knowledge. Curran offers a reading of these documents through the lenses of the disciplines of history, theology and ethics. Indeed, this is only the latest of a half dozen volumes published by Curran in the past decade which attempt to offer a synthesis of the Catholic moral tradition to a readership of non-specialists. Like the earlier works which treated moral theology more broadly, the present volume on the Catholic church's social teachings exhibits both Curran's keen grasp of methodological issues, and his consistent concern to situate Catholic contributions within pluralistic contexts, so as to advance ecumenical dialogue about moral issues.

Curran strikes a felicitous balance between expressing appreciation for the strengths of the tradition and offering constructive Suggestions for improvement. In the former category belong the "both/and" aspects of Catholic social thought explained in Curran's opening chapters on theological, ethical and ecclesial methodology. Popes and councils have succeeded in relating the categories of grace and nature, reason and revelation, local and universal, inductive and deductive reasoning. Unresolved tensions in the tradition demand serious attention in coming decades: a more thoroughgoing application of Vatican II'S shift from classicism to historical consciousness; an updated version of natural law reasoning; and a more consultative process for the drafting of encyclicals. Curran is particularly insightful when he identifies lacunae in the tradition--its failure to come to terms with the eschatological tension which permeates the New Testament; the down-playing of human sinfulness; the hollow claims of continuity with previous teachings, despite blatant discontinuities--which many commentators merely gloss over.

Some of these criticisms contain a spice of controversy, as when Curran describes various ways in which the three social encyclicals of Pope John Paul II retreat from more progressive positions of John XXIII, Paul VI and Vatican II documents. The writings of John Paul II seem oddly averse to recognizing conflicts and power dynamics in social relations, and are not as successful as previous papal writings in accommodating the perennial dual audience ("the Catholic faithful" on one hand, and all other "people of good will" on the other) of Catholic social teachings. Yet Curran never asks the reader simply to take his word for it; this volume is amply documented with citations from magisterial writings as well as the best of the secondary scholarly literature. The fair presentation of explicitly acknowledged differing interpretations of the Catholic tradition, from radical to liberal to neo-conservative, is yet another admirable feature of this work.

Of particular interest to observers of politics are a pair of chapters on Catholic social teaching regarding the political order, including the topics of human rights, religious freedom, "and the relation of law and morality. Naturally, the contributions of the great American Jesuit theologian John Courtney Murray are highlighted in this section of the book. A case study regarding the legal status of abortion is explored to illustrate the complexities of conflicting concerns which arise whenever the relationship between morality and civil law is at issue. In attempting to offer a nuanced position which should inform future Catholic social teaching on public and private morality, Curran takes particular pains to lay out four principles of a position which he calls the "religious freedom approach". These principles include "the presumption in favour of as much freedom as possible and as little restraint as necessary, the demands of public order, questions of enforce ability and equitableness, and the feasible and prudential aspects of law-making" (p.238).