Contemporary Philosophy's Theology Problem

This cultural recession of philosophy has encouraged some Catholics to abandon philosophy as a central component of the churchâ??s discourse. The issue has become especially neuralgic in the dispute over the formation of clergy. But the project of a nonphilosophical Catholicism is fraught with peril.

Without a substantial philosophical formation, the teaching of the church on faith and morals becomes incomprehensible. It is difficult to understand, let alone teach, basic Christian doctrines, like the Trinity and the Incarnation, without a metaphysical grasp of person and nature. Informed by natural-law reflection, ecclesiastical moral teaching becomes a cipher without serious investment in moral philosophy. The principle of double effect, crucial in the churchâ??s medical and military ethics, did not tumble out of a biblical page.