Summaries / Resúmenes - Studia Moralia

238 MARTIN MCKEEVERsented by Häring himself, Schockenhoff moves on to a discussionof the key ideas and aspirations of DGC. While there canbe no doubt about Häring’s determination to shape the wholework around the figure of Christ, Schockenhoff reminds us (47)that what we actually find in the work is a ‘mixture’(Mischform) in which quite a number of elements (laws, principles,virtues etc.) of classical moral theory are retained. Hegoes on to outline four key characteristics of a christocentricethic according to Häring: a dialogical structure in which thehuman being responds to the call of Christ, the uniquely personalnature of this calling, the call to move beyond minimalismtoward fullness of life and the essentially ecclesial nature ofthe christian vocation (50). When Häring searches for a singleconcept which embraces as fully as possible these variousaspects, he chooses that of ‘responsibility’ because it combinesthe ideas of dialogue, communication and response.Before examing some specific themes, Schockenhoff offersa sketch of what he calls, surely rather anachronistically, theouter framework of Häring’s ‘fundamental ethic’. This frameworkis formed around the sequence Christ’s call-human response.The anthropological vision of the human being called by Christis shaped by the christocentric premises of the whole work andthe personalistic and ‘axiological’ philosophy of the period. Thenet effect is an emphasis on the whole person in concrete historicalcircumstances as the addressee of Christ’s call. Theresponse breaks down into a treatment of sin, conversion andvirtue, each of which is reworked by Häring on the basis of histheological and philosophical premises. With refreshing franknessSchockenhoff contrasts the ludicity of the treatment of theresponse with the rather turgid quality of the presentation ofthe call (54).The three specific themes chosen to illustrate more extensivelythe content of Häring’s ‘fundamental ethic’ are moralfreedom, the relationship between norm and value, and the roleof conscience in concrete situations. Each of these is illustratedwith reference to the text and with interesting commentary bythe author. The overall effect is to illustrate what Schockenhoffhad stated at the beginning concerning Häring’s tendency tocombine new christocentric insight with traditional moral terminology.In a brief evaluation Schockenhoff suggests that Häring’s