Avant-propos - Studia Moralia

172 TODD A. SALZMAN
A fundamental difference between revisionism and the BGT is
on the role, function, and authority of Tradition and tradition in
either ethical theory. For Tradition, the question of authority
within the Church and the ecclesiologies that the view of authority
reflects is central. For tradition, “the hermeneutic problem
is to discern the difference between continuing a content
that expresses divine revelation and a teaching that merely reflects
the sociological and cultural circumstances of a particular
time and place.” 3 Since the impact of Tradition and tradition on
moral theology are extensive and warrant far greater treatment
than I can do them justice in this paper, I must narrow my investigation
of them as methodological sources to three central
issues. First, I will investigate the nature of the relationship between
theologians and the magisterium; second, the criteria for
determining whether or not moral teachings belonging to the
“secondary object of infallibility” have been taught infallibly;
and third, intrinsically linked to this second issue, is which, if
any, norms belong to the “secondary object of infallibility.” The
first issue pertains to Tradition whereas the latter two issues pertain
to tradition. The differences in ecclesiological models between
the BGT and revisionism are key for understanding and
responding to these issues. Consequently, before addressing
them I will explore the ecclesiologies of both theories.
Ecclesiology and Tradition
The late RICHARD MCCORMICK, S.J., frequently pointed out
that one’s understanding of the teaching authority on morality
within the church is intimately linked with one’s ecclesiology, or
understanding of the church. 4 The BGT recognizes the funda-
the text, it provides no explanation of the terms (see “De interpretatione dogmatum,”
Gregorianum 72 [1991] 5-37).
3 CURRAN, The Catholic Moral Tradition Today, 53.
4 See, for example, The Critical Calling: Reflections on Moral Dilemmas
Since Vatican II (Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press, 1989) 19-
21, 34-45, 54-55, 163-69; and, “Some Early Reactions to Veritatis Splendor,”
in CURRAN and MCCORMICK, eds., Readings in Moral Theology No. 10: John
Paul II and Moral Theology (New York: Paulist Press, 1998) 5-34, at 28-30.