Stage 6 Catholic Studies E6-3 Moral Issues

Challenges of teaching moral issues to students of the 21st century A counterculture exists - Society teaches one thing and the Catholic Church teaches another - Catholic Church teachings being the less dominant of the two. The influence of society is stronger today due to social media. E.g. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram General strategies to effectively teach moral issues Students generally respond well to: Explanations - WHY is it wrong? WHY is it right? Facts and statistics Real life and relevant examples that relate to them Include secular and Catholic reasons Media is where most education occurs for young adults today

Brainstorm on what they know - students tend to pick issues that they can relate to Teenage pregnancy Global warming Religion Murder Terrorism Human cloning Euthanasia Moral Issues Rape Abortion Same-sex marriage Homosexualit y Pre-marital sex Contraceptio n Pornography Drug abuse

These are the links students created based on similarities... Same-sex marriage MURDER Euthanasi a OTHER Abortion Homosexuality Drug abuse Human cloning Global Warming Terroris m Religion PREMARITAL SEXUAL INTERCOURSE Rape Contraceptio n Abortion Teenage pregnancy Pornography

Approaches to ethical thinking Utilitarian: Morality of any decision is determined by its usefulness in contributing to human good. Subjectivism: Individual is seen as having the right to make judgements and take action according to their own judgment, freedom and conscience. Situation Ethics: Ethical behaviour is seen solely in terms of behaving in a spirit of love. Nothing is seen as wrong except an action that is intentionally unloving. Relativism: What is right or wrong, good or evil in human actions is not absolute (the same for everyone), but depends on the culture, context or circumstances in which each action occurs. Nihilism: The belief that values are falsely invented - there are no true morals.

Scenario 1

Scenario 2

Scenario 3 You are a very skilled doctor with five dying patients, each of whom needs a different organ in order to live. Unfortunately, there are no organs available to perform any of the transplants. It just so happens that you have a sixth dying patient, suffering from a fatal illness, who will die sooner than the other five if not treated. If this sixth patient dies, you will be able to use his organs to save the five other patients. However, you have a medicine you can give to this sixth patient that will cure his illness and he won’t die. Would you: a: Wait for the patient to die and then harvest his organs or b: Save the patient even though the other patients won’t get organs.

Scenario 4 You have witnessed a man rob a bank, but then, he did something completely unusual and unexpected with the money. He donated it to an orphanage that was poor, run-down and lacking in proper food, care, water and amenities. The sum of money would be a great benefit to the orphanage, and the children’s lives would turn from poor to prosperous. Would you: a: Call the police and report the robber, even though they would likely take the money away from the orphanage, or b: Do nothing and leave the robber and the orphans alone?

Scenario 5 A madman who has threatened to explode several bombs in crowded areas has been apprehended. Unfortunately, he has already planted the bombs and they are scheduled to go off in a short time. It is possible that hundreds of people may die. The authorities cannot make him divulge the location of the bombs by conventional methods. He refuses to say anything and requests a lawyer to protect his fifth amendment right against self-incrimination. In exasperation, some high level official suggests torture. This would be illegal, of course, but the official thinks that it is nevertheless the right thing to do in this desperate situation. Do you agree? If you do, would it also be morally justifiable to torture the mad bomber’s innocent wife if that is the only way to make him talk? Why?

Natural Law Natural law refers to an INNATE knowledge of RIGHT and WRONG that is part of being human. Natural law is expressed in the conviction that ‘good should be done and promoted and evil avoided’. Christianity teaches objective moral values: that some actions are right or wrong irrespective of the view held by any individual.

The Catholic approach to ethics is grounded in the following The 10 Commandments Exodus 20:1-17 Jesus Christ’s Greatest Commandment Matthew 22:36-40 The Golden Rule Matthew 7:12 The Beatitudes Matthew 5:1-12 Students open their Bibles and outline how each of these scripture passages help to shape the values held by people today.

The Catholic Church: An informed conscience... In making an ethical decision, Catholics should ensure that their conscience is shaped and informed by natural law, Christian values, the Catholic view of life and the human person, and the teaching of the Church. The Catholic Church teaches that, once a person’s conscience is informed in this way, his or her conscience must determine his or her decisions. This does not mean that any decision can be justified. It does mean, however, that the person who carefully seeks the good, knowing and valuing the advice of the Church, must follow his or her conscience in choosing a response to an ethical issue.

Clips that you could show your students to create discussion Youtube: Type ‘What would you do’ into Youtube to get a list of different REAL WORLD scenarios.

Student Journal After each lesson, students write a half page reflective piece on the moral issue taught in class. In this journal, they must answer: What their views were prior to the lesson TWO things they learnt in this lesson Whether their views on certain issues have changed. This does NOT get marked IT IS INFORMALLY ASSESSED

Ideas for teaching the moral issue of ABORTION Include FACTS on abortion. How frequently does it occur? Why do people opt for it? What are the emotion and physical risks of it? Use the Catechism Catholic perspectiv e Secular perspectiv e DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: When is the foetus considered a life? “My body, my choice” Why should we care? What does Scripture say about abortion?

Ideas for teaching the moral issue of PORNOGRAPHY Use the Catechism Catholic perspectiv e Secular perspectiv e DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: Do you put pornography under the same category as drugs and alcohol? I’m not transmitting diseases and I’m not hurting anyone, so what’s the big deal? Jason Evert talks What does Scripture say about pornography? Useful facts on pornography - secular perspective

Ideas for teaching the moral issue of ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION Secular perspectiv e Use the Catechism Catholic perspectiv e Pope Francis encyclical on the care of the environment Christians have misinterpreted Scripture and “must forcefully reject the notion that our being created in God’s image and given dominion over the earth justifies absolute domination over other creatures.” CLASS DEBATE DO WE TAKE MORE THAN WE NEED? ARE WE REALLY TO BLAME FOR AFRICA’S POVERTY?