Summaries / Resúmenes - Studia Moralia

THE 50 TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE LAW OF CHRIST 245and pastoral ministry (155). Still at this general level, a keycharacteristic of Häring’s understanding of Alphonsus concernsthe link between morality and Redemption. It is only in thelight of Alphonsus’ convictions concerning the saving power ofGod active in human life, particularly in the individual conscience,that it is possible to understand his more detailedmoral teachings (156). Moving on to a more specific level, Vidalpresents Häring’s interpretation of Alphonsus under the rubricof conscience. This centrality is then further illustrated in thespecific case of matrimony.Having thus located Häring firmly within the Alphonsianmoral tradition, Vidal poses the question as to how such an orientationis to be continued. The key themes identified here arethe middle way and the importance of conscience. Vidal sees,following Bruno Forte (165), an analogy between the laxismand rigorism of the past and the ‘objectivism’ and ‘subjectivism’of today. What is needed is an understanding of conscience,based on Alphonsus’ move away from legalism, which does notfall into the errors pointed out in Veritatis splendor (165). Inmore general terms, Vidal suggests that moral theology mustcontinue to be open to the movements of culture and the realityof pastoral practice (171).This completes our outline of the essential content of eachcontribution. The purpose of the first part of this piece hasbeen essentially informative in that it has attempted to offer atleast a general idea of “what they are saying about BernhardHäring” as regards his contribution to moral theology. If theprimary objective of the symposium and of this publication wasthat of revisiting Bernhard Häring as an historical figure inorder to understand and assess his contribution to moral theology,then we can conclude that this objective has been impressivelyreached. The cumulative effect of the various readings,with their contrasting and complementary perspectives, servesto bring out the many interrelated aspects of this complex question.All those involved in the organization of the symposiumand the production of this volume are therefore to be sincerelycomplemented and thanked. In the concluding section of thispiece we will consider, in a more personal perspective, some ofthe broader issues raised for moral theology by this study ofHäring’s contribution.