Catholic scholar speaks on faith and morality

By Joseph Gauger
Collegian Editor
February 20, 2008

La Salle hosted a leading Catholic scholar for a talk about the nature of faith and morality Feb. 13. Dr. G. Dennis O’Brien read a paper based on his forthcoming book, Finding the Voice of the Church at 1 p.m. in the Music Room of the La Salle Union.

Dr. Marc Moreau, chairman of La Salle’s philosophy department, introduced O’Brien and recited his impressive curriculum vitae. O’Brien received a B.A. in philosophy from Yale University and a Ph.D. in that field from the University of Chicago. He has served as president of Bucknell University and the University of Rochester and sits on the La Salle University Board of Trustees.

In his speech, entitled “Christianity Beyond Good and Evil,” O’Brien drew a mutual distinction between morality, ethics and faith. He questioned whether faith in the Catholic Church mandates the belief that the Church’s moral teachings are infallible or whether that doctrine is ancillary to church membership.

O’Brien went on to give in a robust and comprehensive explanation of modern ethical thought, considering what he described as “the two dominant, secular moral theories,” Kantian deontology and utilitarianism. O’Brien compared those two schools to natural law, the ethical system espoused in Catholic thought.

“The Bible is not a source of morality,” he said, “but a narrative about the history of divinity.”

O’Brien concluded his talk by considering the role of sainthood in relation to the three ethical frameworks. Using the late Nobel Peace Prize winner Mother Teresa as an example, O’Brien said that sainthood transcends morality.

“Just being here is good is the sensibility of a saint,” he said.

The lecture was attended heavily by members of La Salle’s philosophy and religion departments, and by a small group of students. While the faculty found the lecture edifying, many of the students were overwhelmed by its rigor.

“I think I understood one word of that,” one student complained.

gaugerj1@lasalle.edu