The Critical Calling: Reflections on Moral Dilemmas Since Vatican II

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THE CRITICAL CALLING Moral Traditions series James F. Keenan, S.J., series editor American Protestant Ethics and the Legacyof H. Richard Niebuhr William Werpehowski Aquinas and Empowerment: Classical Ethics for Ordinary Lives G. Simon Harak, S.J., Editor Aquinas, Feminism, and the Common Good Susanne M. DeCrane The Banality of Good and Evil: Moral Lessons from the Shook and Jewish Tradition David R. Blumenthal Bridging the Sacred and the Secular:Selected Writings of John Courtney Murray J. Leon Hooper, S.J., Editor A Call to Fidelity: On the Moral Theology of Charles E. Curran James J. Walter, Timothy E. O'Connell, and Thomas A. Shannon, Editors The CatholicMoral Tradition Today: A Synthesis Charles E. Curran Catholic Social Teaching, 1891-Present: A Historical, Theological,and Ethical Analysis Charles E. Curran The Christian Casefor Virtue Ethics Joseph J. Kotva, Jr. The Context of Casuistry James F. Keenan, S.J. and Thomas A. Shannon, Editors Foreword by Albert R. Jonsen The Critical Calling:Reflections on Moral Dilemmas Since Vatican II Richard A. McCormick, S.J. Foreword by Lisa Sowle Cahill Democracy on Purpose: Justice and the Reality of God Franklin I. Gamwell Ethics and Economicsof Assisted Reproduction: The Cost of Longing Maura A. Ryan The Ethics of Aquinas Stephen J. Pope, Editor The Evolution of Altruism and the Orderingof Love Stephen J. Pope The Fellowship of Life: Virtue Ethics and Orthodox Christianity Joseph Woodill Feminist Ethics and Natural Law: The End of the Anathemas Cristina L. H. Traina The GlobalFace of Public Faith: Politics, Human Rights, and Christian Ethics David Hollenbach, S.J. The Ground Beneath the Cross: The Theology of Ignacio Ellacuria Kevin F. Burke, S.J. Heroes, Saints, and Ordinary Morality Andrew Michael Flescher Introduction toJewish and CatholicBioethics: A Comparative Analysis Aaron L. Mackler Jewish and CatholicBioethics:An Ecumenical Dialogue Edmund D. Pellegrino and Alan I. Faden, Editors John Paul II and the Legacy o/Dignitatis Humanae Herminio Rico Josef Fuchs on Natural Law Mark Graham Love, Human and Divine: The Heart of Christian Ethics Edward Collins Vacek, S.J. Loyal Dissent: Memoir of a CatholicTheologian Charles E. Curran Medicine and the Ethics of Care Diana Fritz Gates and Paul Lauritzen, Editors The Moral Theology of Pope John Paul II Charles E. Curran The Origins of Moral Theology in the United States: Three Different Approaches Charles E. Curran Overcoming Our Evil: Human Nature and Spiritual Exercises in Xunzi and Augustine Aaron Stalnaker Prophetic and Public: The Social Witness of U.S. Catholicism Kristin Heyer Shaping the Moral Life: An Approach to Moral Theology Klaus Demmer James F. Keenan, S.J., Editor Theological Bioethics: Participation, Justice, and Change Lisa Sowle Cahill Theology for a Liberating Church: The New Praxis of Freedom Alfred T. Hennelly, S.J. Who Count as Persons? Human Identity and the Ethics of Killing John F. Kavanaugh, S.J. T H E CRITICAL CALLING Reflections on Moral Dilemmas Since Vatican II RICHARD A. McCoRMiCK3 SJ. FOREWORD BY LISA SOWLE CAHILL Georgetown University Press Washington, B.C. Georgetown University Press, Washington, D.C.© 2006 by Georgetown University Press. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States ofAmerica 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 2006 This book is printed on acid-free paper meeting the requirements of the American National Standard for Permanence in Paper for Printed Library Materials. As ofJanuary 1, 2007, 13-digit ISBN numbers will replace the current 10digit system. Paperback: 978-1-58901-083-3 First printed in 1989. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data McCormick, Richard A., 1922The critical calling : reflections on moral dilemmas since Vatican II / Richard A. McCormick; foreword by Lisa Sowle Cahill. p. cm. — (Moral traditions series) Originally published: 1989. With new foreword. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-1-58901-083-3 (pbk. : alk. paper) ISBN-10: 1-58901-083-3 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Christian ethics—Catholic authors. 2. Medical ethics—Religious aspects—Catholic Church. I. Title. II. Series. BJ1249.M24 2006 241'.042—dc22 2005054433 For Nancy This page intentionally left blank ...