UNDERSTANDING SINFUL SOCIAL STRUCTURES
‘What Can You Do?’ Understanding Sinful Social
Structures
By
Daniel K. Finn September 20, 2018
"This
insight (of Benedict XVI) is extended here in the claim that sinful social structures are sinful
in the same way that original sin is sinful. Both influence our moral agency,
and they do so in similar ways. No one is morally responsible for sins
committed by an ancestor. The principal insight of the doctrine of original sin
is that, whatever our efforts at virtue, we are sinners.
There
are eight things we might note about original sin, presented here with little
defense due to the constraints of space. All are analogously true of sinful
social structures. “
Finn
claims that 1) original sin has its effect through both one’s environment and
one’s personal disposition, 2) we are already disordered when we reach an age
of moral responsibility, 3) original sin is an inclination to evil, 4) original sin’s influence on our choices
occurs through our freedom and not in violation of it, 5)our sinful choices
occur with the psychological sense that only a part of our self is engaged, 6)
each sinful choice made under the influence of original sin shapes who we are,
7) formation in virtue by one’s parents reduces the influence of original sin,
and 8) given the interplay of environment and personal disposition in original
sin, it is impossible to draw a bright line between our freedom in choosing and
the influence of that environment.
Time to Leave? Damon Linker, Sexual Abuse, and the
Church
By
Paul Baumann
Baumann
says “ I think the answer is similar to the one you might give when asked to
justify allegiance to the United States of America, a nation founded as a slave
state and established by the virtual annihilation of its native population, a
country that killed several million Vietnamese in an unprovoked and unjust war
and now threatens the peace of the entire world by putting nuclear weapons in
the hands of a clearly repulsive and disturbed individual. You remain because,
despite the nation’s manifold sins, you still want to believe in the truth of
the propositions put forth in the Declaration of Independence, the
Constitution, and the Gettysburg Address.”
Questions for
discussion
Can we understand “clericalism” as consisting of clerical social structures as
well as sinful people? 1 What in our religious environment as well as personal
dispositions contributes to clericalism?
2. Does clericalism already start in our earliest formation experiences? 3. What inclinations to evil foster
clericalism in both clergy and laity? 4. Do both clergy and laity choose
clericalism under the appearance of a good? 5. Is clericalism a failure to live
life holistically? 6. How does
clericalism shape both the clergy and the laity? 7. Does formation in virtue by
parents reduce clericalism? 8. Is part
of the problem of clericalism that we do not understand the interplay between
the clerical environment and personal dispositions to clericalism?
Can we say the same things about clerical social structures that we can say about any sinful structures? e.g. that they do not force individuals to participate in clericalism but they make it make it more likely. (1) Clerical structures generate restrictions and opportunities that encourage clericalism by persons within them. (2) Clerical structures appeal to our disordered beliefs and loves. (3) Clerical structures incline those within them toward clericalism. (4) Clerical structures have their influence by leading us to choose differently, but not in a deterministic way. (5) When we participate in clericalism reluctantly in the face of the influence of a clerical social structure, we have the sense that our “true” self has not made this decision. (6) If week after week we make choices for clericalism encouraged by the restrictions we face within a clerical social structure, we slowly become the kind of person who choose clericalism. (7) A virtuous person is more likely to be willing to “pay the price” required when violating restrictions presented within the clerical social structure. (8) When both structural restriction and a failure of virtue play a part in clericalism, it is not possible to demarcate precisely how much each contributed to clericalism.
Can we say the same things about clerical social structures that we can say about any sinful structures? e.g. that they do not force individuals to participate in clericalism but they make it make it more likely. (1) Clerical structures generate restrictions and opportunities that encourage clericalism by persons within them. (2) Clerical structures appeal to our disordered beliefs and loves. (3) Clerical structures incline those within them toward clericalism. (4) Clerical structures have their influence by leading us to choose differently, but not in a deterministic way. (5) When we participate in clericalism reluctantly in the face of the influence of a clerical social structure, we have the sense that our “true” self has not made this decision. (6) If week after week we make choices for clericalism encouraged by the restrictions we face within a clerical social structure, we slowly become the kind of person who choose clericalism. (7) A virtuous person is more likely to be willing to “pay the price” required when violating restrictions presented within the clerical social structure. (8) When both structural restriction and a failure of virtue play a part in clericalism, it is not possible to demarcate precisely how much each contributed to clericalism.