Case Study 1 for Ethical Reflections on Pastoral Practice

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Reflection Paper: Seminar Case 1

Tom Aratyn

RGT 1905 HF

October 3 2011

Prof. Mary Rowell, CSJ


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The case I selected covers the life and relationships of an unnamed alcoholic in recovery

(referred to as John) and his struggle to understand what is a good thing to do and build a

better relationship with God. He recognizes that he needs Gods help but is struggling to find

it. Guilt and the need to appease God play strong roles in his life but hes managed to reshape his

life. Now hes approached the reader forhelp. I examine the case in the context of knowledge

and freedom and how that can help John not be overwhelmed by his guilt. Also, I examine how

he could use contemplative prayer can foster a nurturing relationship with God.

John, a man in his late 20s, is a member of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), though his

attendance at meetings and how he is working the steps is not detailed. About eight years ago

he started reshaping his life, pursuing normality. He has completed a degree in law, made a

career for himself, gotten married, and has a daughter. Despite this, he realizes the powerful

role addiction continues to play in his life. John has also tried to build a life of prayer to

support his new life.

Recently, Johns father passed away from the effects of alcohol abuse. The sole

description of his relationship with his father was that, his father was occasionally abusive.

His mother, also an alcoholic, claims to have experienced a religious conversion fifteen

years ago but this ha s not lead to any concrete change in her life. However, her conversion

has led her to emphasize questions of sexual guilt, notably in her children. John and his mother

have conflicts. Specifically mentioned is his challenging his mothers behavior, his mother being

unsupportive of Johns life changes, and his mothers claim that Johns marriage is invalid

because his wife is a drunk.


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Johns five siblings are also unsupportive of his life changes. Furthermore they do not

like Johns challenging of their mother, they feel he should be easy on her during her

declining years.

Johns wife is also an alcoholic in recovery. John is, now, aware that marrying a fellow

alcoholic, and one only recently sobered at that, was probably nota great thing. The case

does not provide much detail about her. However, we do know that there have been rocky

times in their marriage but despite that he loves her and has been faithful to her. The case states

that they have a good relationship.

John and his wife also have a daughter to whom they are both dedicated. He is also

making a conscious effort to go out of his way to spend time with his daughter, together with

his wife, and to show affection on a consistent basis. Hes working to break the pattern of

alcohol, physical, and emotional abuse in his own upbringing.

The case describes that John has approached the reader asking for help with specific

questions. Explicitly he asks:

1. Might he be receiving [communion] unworthily? Particularly with regard to sexualissues.

2. Is his desire to attend mass more often part of his old pattern of appeasing God?3. Is attending Mass more often a good thing to do?4. How should he pray?5. Might it be helpful for him to go to confession more often?6. How can he avoid slipping backwards?7. What would be a good thing to do?


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Implicitly, there is the question of how to deal effectively with his relationship with his

family [being] severed by his sobriety?

Johns questions are not just for advice but about morality with two major themes in his

questions: firstly, about the validity of his feelings of guilt (questions 1, 2, 6, 7) and secondly,

how to foster a relationship with God (questions 2, 3, 4, 5).

The latter, while obviously a pastoral question, does not necessarily seem like a valid

moral question. However, cultivating a relationship with God is necessary to be able to discern

what is the moral action to do in a finite world. John is concerned not just with what the moral

correctness of his current and past actions but also how to live a moral life in the future (question

4).

The first theme, the validity of guilt, is really a question of culpability. In helping John

understand culpability in Catholic Moral Theology, I would focus on explaining the two primary

components, freedom and knowledge. Knowledge and freedom make culpability more complex

than simply blaming a person for performing the wrong act. I would hope that complexity would

help John understand Gods merciful and charitable view ofhuman moral struggles.

Freedom is particularly pertinent for a child of abuse and alcoholics. Indeed, OConnell

posits that the capacity [to live a moral life following the pattern of Jesus Christ] resides in the

human persons precisely because, and to the extent that, these persons are genuinely free (p.

31). Johns case has two important aspects that affect his freedom to make moral choices: his

alcoholism and his childhood abuse.

As an alcoholic in recovery, John has acknowledged his own powerlessness over alcohol.

That, literally, means that he admits that there are some situations, primarily related to alcohol,

where he is not totally free to choose his own actions. While that does not exculpate him from


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the consequences of all his actions according to Catholic morality it also means that he is not

completely culpable for all his actions. Instead, John needs (and is seeking) to rely on Gods help

in those situations of powerlessness.

The second factor affecting Johns freedom is his childhood abuse. Our moral formation

begins in our childhood and requires a home where tenderness, forgiveness, respect, are the

rule (CCC 2223). A child raised without a place of safety where he doesnt know when the next

bout of abuse will occur, possibly not understanding why the abuse is happening, gets a warped

view of the world. That altered perception can take the form of negative habits, passions (that is,

unstable emotions), or fears. These impediments can prevent the exercise of Johns freedom to

choose moral alternatives (OConnell, p. 33).

None of the features ofJohns case completely exculpates him but it also means that he

cannot be considered fully culpable. His precise culpability has to be actively discerned, a

discernment that has to be complemented by examen of conscience but driven by an authentic

relationship with Goda topic we will return to later.

Knowledge complements freedom in discerning moral choices by exercising our reason.

Specifically for it requires the exercise of evaluative knowledge: a knowledge that is not just in

our minds but that is felt in our bones as to what is right and what is wrong, a kind of knowledge

that carries with it an imperative to act morally (OConnell, p. 29).

Johns case demonstrates that he has evaluative knowledge about which parts of his life

are leading him away from God. If moral actions can be summarized as doing good and

avoiding evil then John has a clear understanding of the latter (alcoholism, pattern of abuse) but

is struggling with discerning parts of the former (explicitly asking what would be a good thing

to do?). An important point to emphasize to him is that he has been acting on what he has


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discerned (reshaping his life for the last eight years, going to Alcoholics Anonymous, remaining

faithful to his wife despite the rocky times, etc.) without waiting for a perfect understanding of

all the issuesa powerful example of his active exercise of prudence.

There can be many reasons for having trouble discerning what is a good thing to do but

I want to focus on how that question relates to another of Johns questions (question 4) and the

general theme of fear of being inadequate in Gods judgment and the need to appease God

(questions 1, 2, 5, 6).

The question how should I pray I assume indicates a limited familiarity with prayer,

excepting the most basic form almost all children are taught: rote prayer. I think the question

speaks of a yearning for a more intimate form of prayer to help with Johns efforts to

reconstruct his vision of God.

I would recommend John focus on contemplative prayer to help discern what is a good

thing to do. The Catechism quotes St. Teresa in describing contemplative prayer as nothing

else than a close sharing between friends; it means taking time frequently to be alone with him

[sic] who we know loves us (CCC 2709). Another important part of contemplative prayer is

asking for grace.

Asking for grace in contemplative prayer is different than praying for intercession.

Intercessionary prayer is asking for God to change the world to our needs. Praying for grace is

asking God to change us to meet His needs. Contemplative prayer moves our focus from the

outward, what we need of the world, to the inner life, and what God needs of us.

While contemplative prayer is much more intimate than rote recitation it can still have a

formula. I would probably recommend prayers like scriptural reflection and lectio divina. These

two forms of contemplative prayer have the virtues of having a clear structure, which is helpful


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for someone being introduced to a new form of prayer, and actively engages the imagination of

the precant into nurturing an intimate relationship with God (visually and experientially in the

case of the former, aurally in the case of the latter). Formulas can also focus the mind on specific

actions and assuage doubts like am I doing this right and whatam I doing.

Returning to the role of Johns knowledge in his moral life and decision making, it is

important to note not just that hes acting on his evaluative knowledge hes also overcoming the

impediment of ignorance by actively seeking out more information and help on what is a good

thing to do. In my discussions with him I would commend him and recommend for him to seek

the assistance of either spiritual director or a pastoral counselor. Someone who could work him

to help his prayer life complement his work on building a life recovered from alcohol and the

emotional traumas of his past and family.

Johns case is likely an optimistic archetype of the problems many alcoholics in recovery

go through. In reflecting on this case I have ignored addressing Johns specific concerns but

rather focused how the two main determinants of culpability in Catholic moral theology, freedom

and knowledge, apply to Johns situation. Particularly I focused on how Johns freedom is

limited by his alcoholism and childhood trauma but despite that hes acting on his evaluative

knowledge that a life of alcoholism and distance from God is not the life he, nor God, wants for

him. In response to Johns question of how should I pray I tie the response to both the topic of

how contemplative prayer can help achieve greater communion with God but also how it can

increase ones evaluative knowledge of what is morally right.


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Bibliography

Catholic Church. Catechism of the Catholic Church. Edited by Joseph Ratzinger.

Translated by United States Catholic Conference Inc. Vatican: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1994.

O'Connell, Timothy E.Making Disciples. New York: The Crossroad Publishing

Company, 1998.

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Case Study 1 for Ethical Reflections on Pastoral Practice