Transcript Perpspectives on*Catholic* Cross

Cross-Cultural Ethics
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How Is Truth?
“The splendor of truth shines forth in all
the works of the Creator and, in a
special way, in humans, created in the
image and likeness of God (cf. Gen
1:26). Truth enlightens humans’
intelligence and shapes their freedom,
leading them to know and love the
Lord.” Veritatis splendor
Find the Truth in Moral Methodology :
Let Every Voice Be Heard!
Sacred Texts
Normatively
Human
Human
ExperiencesTradtions of
the community
Source Content Questions
What is used, and why?
What is ignored, and why?
What is rejected, and why?
What is reinterpreted, and why?
Which source(s) is (are) decisive when
there is a conflict, and why?
Two Contrasting Scriptures
The Natural Law is
the same for all
Romans 2:13-16
“…what the law
requires is written
on their hearts, to
which their
conscience bears
witness…”
The Spirit speaks in
our mother tongue
Acts 2:5-11 “…how
is that we hear,
each of us, in our
native languages
them speaking
about God’s deeds
of power?”
Competing Moral Paradigms
Only God Can Know the Whole of Reality
Thus for the rest of us this knowledge is
necessarily incomplete and partial, and we
tend to understand complex realities
according to models and paradigms
Can we speak of authentic cultural
paradigms for morality and ethics?
Necessary Openness to Revision of All
Paradigms—especially in light of new
insights
Morality Is Necessarily Complex
Recall Thomas
Aquinas’ distinction
between speculative
and practical reason
In the abstract,
speculative realm
truth could be
universal and
unchangeable,
But in the concrete,
practical reason
rules:
“in matters of action,
truth or practical
rectitude is not the
same for all, as to
matters of detail, but
only as to the general
principles
and where there is the
same rectitude in
matters of detail, it is
not equally known to
all.”
ST I-II, Q. 94, art. 4
What & Whose Truth?
“Truth,” moral or otherwise exists always in a
context
In that context what we see, and how we see
it, will help “shape” the truth for us
Therefore, seeing broadly and diversely is
part of seeing “correctly”
Even the same site will truly look different
depending on time & circumstance
The Inculturation of Truth
If the Gospel is ultimately about the deepest
truth of our world and ourselves
And if we are called to inculturate the Gospel
in every culture
Then we must look at this “truth” in a variety
of modes
And the truth will be both the same and
different at the same time
The Truth about Evangelization
“Evangelization is to be achieved, not
from without, as though by adding
some decoration or applying a coat of
color, but in depth, going to the very
center and roots of life. The gospel
must impregnate the culture and the
whole way of life of men & women.”
Evangelii nuntiandi, 20
Stages of Inculturation
Translation Stage:
Assimilation Stage:
Adaptation Stage:
Inculturation Stage:
Cross-Fertilization
Stage:
Deus is Hanunim
Hanunim is Our God
Eucharist Is Chae-sa
New liturgy?
We are all called to
filial piety
Cross-Fertilization of Truth
If inculturation leads to new
understanding of moral truth then
cross-cultural ethics may help produce a
broader and deeper understanding akin
to the model of cross-fertilization
As inculturation bears fruit in
evangelization then this new fruit
should be enjoyed by all
Pathways to Truth [?]
“Experience shows that
young priests who have
been trained in Rome,
near to the heart of the
Vicar of Christ, adapt
themselves even better
than others, to the
culture of their own
countries”
Msgr. Luigi Bogliolo,
Rector of the
Urbanianum
“Two of the deepest
and most fruitful
prayers of Christendom
[are] the Stations of the
Cross and the Rosary.
If nowadays we are so
dangerously exposed to
the attractions of Asiatic
religious practices; it is
surely in part because
we have forgotten
these prayers.”
Joseph Cardinal
Ratzinger, Prefect CDF
An Alternative Path:
Pilgrimage of Dialogue
C.S. Song’s Stages of Conversion:
The World is Different
Blessed Ignorance
Bi-Lateral Cease-Fire
Conversion to Dialogue
The Challenge of Changing
Our Perceptions
Can We Allow for the Possibility that
There Is Another Way to Look on
Our Human Moral Nature?
Seeking Out the Truth
Meeting the Challenges of
Developing Cross-Cultural Ethics
Culture As Framework
Culture as our principal mode of being
human, thus the way we are truly
human beings
There is no such thing as a non-cultural
or “a-cultural” human being
Thus, to speak of “human nature” one
must do so always in a cultural context
Theology of Culture
Gaudium et spes states that humans
"can achieve true and full humanity
only by means of culture”[#53]
Culture as our way of being is Godgiven, and thus essentially good
For us culture can be a means by which
we act as co-creators with God
Through Thick and Thin
Culture is not easily “thinly” defined but
rather requires a “thick” description
Geertz’s example of a “wink”
Cultural, and especially cross-cultural
understanding first requires “decoding”
This decoding may be partial & fallible,
but this shouldn’t paralyze us
Fundamental Values and Root
Paradigms
Fundamental Values express
assumptions about the world as a
whole, and in particular about human
nature and concomitant appropriate
behavior.
These values are incarnated in Root
Paradigms, e.g., The Way of the Cross
for Christianity
Ethnocentrism
Culture tends to produce ethnocentrism
as a way of viewing the world and
especially other cultures in terms of
one’s own culture.
Ethnocentrism is a natural result of
culture’s functioning, but poses great
challenges to intercultural
communication
Western Cultural Views
“Man [sic] is the measure of all
things”
East Asian Cultural Views
T’ien-Jen-Ho-I
[Heaven and the Human Become
One]
Inter-Cultural Communication
Ethnocentrism as a whole raises many
difficulties
Fundamental Values and Root
Paradigms are usually the last things to
change in a given culture
Tension between conflicting root
paradigms is particularly challenging
The Challenge of Changing
Our Perceptions
Can We Allow for the Possibility that
There Is Another Way to Look on
Our Human Moral Nature?
Life is Coded
The Challenge of Finding the Golden
Key
(C.S. Song)
Acculturation: The Challenge
of the Meeting of Cultures
Acculturation refers to the encounter
between member(s) of different cultures
Acculturation usually results in some sort
of change, which can be both benign or
conflictual
What’s Going On Here?
And What’s Going On Here?
Korean Martyrs Beatification
Rome, 1925
1984 Canonization, Seoul
Moving to the Next Stage
Developing an Ear for Cross-Cultural
Dialogue
Nuns at the Temple Well
Buddhist Monk & Jesuit
Playground Shrine to the Blessed Mother in Barangka
The Last Challenge
Discerning, Trusting, and
Collaborating with the Spirit
Human Face(s) of Decision on Vasectomies
32 year old Street Vendor: $5.35 a
day with 7 pre-teen children
Doctor with 2 teenagers
200 Pesos on a Good Day {56 Pesos to a Dollar}
Chapel Decorations Complete
Carmen shares her digital photos at Payatas
Norlan Julia, S.J. and the Block Rosary Group of Payatas
Montalban Squatters’ Relocation Barrio
Outdoor Shower at Montalban Barrio
Road to the Montalban Church
The Riches of Payatas
Mau Ulep, CMF, with friends at Liwanag Barrio
Prayer of St. Theresa Avila
Christ has no body on earth but yours
No hands on earth but your hands.
Yours are the eyes through which He
looks out with compassion on the world.
Yours are the feet with which He
chooses to go about doing good.
For as He is the Head, so you are the
members
and we are all one in Christ Jesus.
Suggested Readings
Robert Schreiter, The New Catholicity:
Theology between the Global and the Local
(1997)
James Bretzke, “Cultural Particularity & the
Globalization in the Light of Inculturation,”
Pacifica 9 (1996): 69-86
“Moral Theology out of East Asia” Theological
Studies 61 (2000); 106-121
“A New Pentecost for Moral Theology: The
Challenge of Inculturation of Ethics”
Josephinum (Summer/Fall2003): 250-260