Christian morality and social teaching
What this domain tests
This domain tests Christian moral reasoning and Catholic social teaching. You need to apply principles to concrete cases, not just list virtues.
Core rules and concepts
- Moral sources: Scripture, Tradition and reason; natural law is the moral order knowable by human reason, not a list of arbitrary rules.
- Conscience is the capacity to judge right and wrong; it must be formed and can be mistaken. A well-formed conscience does not license ignoring Church teaching.
- Virtues: cardinal (prudence, justice, fortitude, temperance) and theological (faith, hope, charity).
- Catholic social teaching principles: human dignity, common good, subsidiarity, solidarity, universal destination of goods, and preferential option for the poor.
- Just War criteria include legitimate authority, just cause, proportionality, last resort and non-combatant immunity. Bioethics applies dignity to beginning and end of life.
Worked example
A parish opens a food bank but ignores local housing policy. Is that sufficient? Reasoning: feeding the hungry is a real corporal work of mercy and meets an immediate need. But CST also requires attention to structural causes and the common good. Subsidiarity says local communities should act, while solidarity links them to wider responsibility. The answer: keep the food bank and add advocacy, without replacing direct charity with politics.
Traps
Treating conscience as pure feeling; confusing subsidiarity with leaving everything to individuals; applying Just War criteria selectively; reducing Catholic morality to sexual rules; ignoring the option for the poor.