Summaries / Resúmenes - Studia Moralia

384 BRIAN JOHNSTONE
needs to be taken into account. But this is not discussed explicitly
in the encyclical.
In a commentary on the Encyclical, Yves Floucat pointed
out that in the discussion of the morality of the human act, the
encyclical was interested almost exclusively in the objective
sources of morality. The document does not discuss at any
length the problem of intention, that is the subjective element,
and is content to affirm that the (ulterior) intention does not
modify the moral status of an act which is objectively bad. 8 It
would seem clear that the encyclical was not proposed as a complete
treatise on moral theology but sought rather to address
certain contemporary difficulties. In particular, it was concerned
to defend an object-based morality against certain so-called personalist
theories which were judged to give too much weight to
the subjective aspect of morality. It is in this context that we can
understand the emphasis on the objective element and the firm
insistence that there are “intrinsically evil” acts in the objective
sense. 9 This emphasis on the objective, with the lack of development
of the other more interior elements of the human act,
reflects the tension within the moral theological tradition
between the object-based and subject-based views, which has
been noted in earlier documents.
In a recent publication, Jean-Gabriel Kern has remarked
that the same tension is evident in the relevant section of the
Catechism of the Catholic Church (n.1752). The text states: “In
contrast to the object, the intention resides in the acting subject,”
an expression which this author finds somewhat unfortunate.
10 The point is, if I have understood it correctly, that the
8
Yves Floucat, “Les fondaments de la morale dans l’encyclique Veritatis
Splendor,” Revue Thomiste 96 (1996) 288-289.
9
Vidal suggested that the repeated insistence on intrinsically evil acts,
is linked to a defense of an objectivist morality against personalist tendencies,
of which the encyclical is critical. M. Vidal La risposta morale di
Giovanni Paolo II, Commento teologico-morale all’enciclica “Veritatis
Splendor” “Trattati di etica teologica,” 5 (Bologna, EDB, 1994) 128.
10
”Une expression, nous semble-t-il, un peu malheureuse du
Catéchisme de l’èglise catholique donne l’impression d’entériner une telle
polarisation.” Jean-Gabriel Kern, “L’objet de l’acte moral : Réflexions autour