A manual of moral theology for English-speaking countries/Preface
PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION
THE object of the book which is herewith offered to the public is to present the common teaching of the Catholic moral theologians in an English dress. That common teaching is to be had in innumerable works written for the most part in Latin, but as far as I am aware there is no complete manual of moral theology in English. Yet that such a book will be found useful seems certain from the fact that works of the kind exist in abundance in other modern languages. In German we have Pruner, Probst, Linsenmann, and many others; in French, the well-known works of Gousset and Gaume; in Italian, Frassinetti; in Spanish, Villafuertes, Moran, and others. It may then confidently be expected that especially the ecclesiastical students and Catholic clergy of English-speaking countries will welcome a book intended chiefly for their benefit. The writer is not without hopes of its doing good even among non- Catholics. Among these the moral theology of the Catholic Church is little understood and constantly misrepresented and maligned. Of course, it does not merit the bad reputation which has been fastened on it by Protestant and Jansenist slander. It is the product of centuries of labour bestowed by able and holy men on the practical problems of Christian ethics. Here, however, we must ask the reader to bear in mind that manuals of moral theology are technical works intended to help the confessor and the parish priest in the discharge of their duties. They are as technical as the textbooks of the lawyer and the doctor. They are not intended for edification, nor do they hold up a high ideal of Christian perfection for the imitation of the faithful. They deal with what is of obligation under pain of sin; they are books of moral pathology. They are necessary for the Catholic priest to enable him to administer the sacrament of Penance and to fulfil his other duties; they are intended to serve this purpose, and they should not be censured for not being what they were never intended to be. Ascetical and mystical literature which treats of the higher spiritual life is very abundant in the Catholic Church, and it should be consulted by those who desire to know the lofty ideals of life which the Catholic Church places before her children and encourages them to practise. Moral theology proposes to itself the humbler but still necessary task of defining what is right and what wrong in all the practical relations of the Christian life. This all, but more especially priests, should know. The first step on the right road of conduct is to avoid evil; in the doing of good each will act according to his vocation and opportunities, moved and stirred by the grace of God, who works in all as he wills.
PREFACE TO THE FIFTH EDITION
THE aim of this work was to state the Moral Theology of the Catholic Church as clearly and briefly as possible. A large portion of the Moral Theology of the Catholic Church depends on positive law. Many changes of far-reaching consequence were made in the positive law of the Church by the new Code of Canon Law. The new Code canonizes the law of the country on such important questions as Prescription and Contract. It changes the nature of more than one diriment impediment of Marriage. It alters numberless details on many other points of Church law. In this edition I have tried to bring my book into harmony with the existing law and teaching of the Catholic Church.
October 15, 1924.