Ethics of the Word: Voices in the Catholic Church Today » (New Edition)

In Ethics of the Word beloved priest and author James F. Keenan, S.J., discusses the power of the Word in the Catholic Church. In the ongoing wake of the priest abuse scandals, Father Keenan argues that we need new ways to build trust and open communication in the Church on all levels-from bishops to parishioners. Keenan's engaging style blends stories, Scripture, and theology to show readers the importance of both speaking and listening. The book covers topics ranging from difficult confrontations to apologies to the language of faith, hope, and love.

Publishers Weekly

In a religion that calls its central figure “the Word made flesh,” words clearly matter. Keenan (Moral Wisdom) explores their use in hopes of promoting among Catholics a respectful and honest way of speaking. The author, a priest and ethicist who teaches at Boston College, began to record his ideas about how church members talk in a series of essays published in Church magazine. Here, he develops them further, revisiting such topics as lying, promise keeping, civil discourse, challenging words, and apologies. Keenan breathes life into his thoughts by illustrating them with examples from his personal history and relationships. For instance, in a chapter on the value of silence in the face of certain events, he tells of the loss his parents suffered when their home was destroyed by fire and how “respectful silence”—not the spoken word—was what they most needed as they coped with the tragedy. Keenan has given readers much to consider and makes a convincing case that all of us, regardless of faith tradition, could benefit from an “ethics of the word.” (May)

Acknowledgments xi

Introduction: As I See and Hear It 1

Part I A Church in Need of New Ways of Living the Truth in Love

Chapter 1 Ethics Inside the Church: Looking Back, Looking Forward 7

Chapter 2 Proposing an Ethics of the Word 15

Chapter 3 Learning an Ethics of the Word 21

Chapter 4 Silence in an Ethics of the Word 27

Part II The Humanity of Our Discourse

Chapter 5 The Human Voice 35

Chapter 6 Memory 41

Chapter 7 Conscience 47

Chapter 8 A Critical Challenge: Recovering Christian Dialogue 55

Chapter 9 Modeling Christian Dialogue: The First International Cross-cultural Discourse on Theological Ethics (Padova, Italy, July 2006) 61

Part III Forms of Christian Discourse

Chapter 10 Teaching 69

Chapter 11 Conversations 75

Chapter 12 Civil Discourse 79

Chapter 13 Being Called 85

Chapter 14 Taking Vows 91

Chapter 15 Apologizing 97

Chapter 16 Appreciating the Limits of Language 103

Chapter 17 Reporting the Truth to Hurt Another 109

Chapter 18 Lying and the Obligation to Get the Story Right 115

Part IV Words

Chapter 19 Beautiful Words, Good Words 123

Chapter 20 Words of Death and Gratitude 129

Chapter 21 Challenging Words 135

Chapter 22 Words of Life 143

Chapter 23 Words of Greeting and Farewell 149

Part V Faith, Hope, and Charity

Chapter 24 The Language of Faith 157

Chapter 25 The Language of Hope 163

Chapter 26 The Language of Charity 169

Index 175

About the Author 185