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Richard M. Gula

'''Richard M. Gula''' is a Sulpician priest who has dedicated his life to the education and formation of ministers in the Church. He is moral theologian who has attempted to unify the community of academic theologians and the community of pastoral ministers. He often gives seminars to ministers on topics in moral theology, medical ethics, and professional ethics. In the world of health care, he is an ethic consultant to hospitals. Currently he is teaching at the Franciscan School of Theology.

Degrees

1. Th.M. St. Mary's Seminary and University 2. Ph.D. University of St. Michael's College, Toronto 3. S.T.L. St. Mary's Seminary and University 4. S.T.M. St. Mary's Seminary and University 5. B.A. St. Mary's Seminary and University

Moral Theology

Richard M. Gula's aim in teaching moral theology is to challenge students to think critically about the practical implications of our faith so that we can live in a discordant and ambiguous world with our hearts in harmony with the spirit and life of Jesus. The uniqueness of the person and the peculiarities of historical circumstances are respected in the modern worldview because it is sensed that everything is conditioned. Ex. The way the Church interprets the scriptures directly affect how that dogmatic and moral teachings that are enforced to its followers. We do not need to know exactly what “good” is for it to be the foundation of our moral understanding. From the definition of “bad” we can see what good is by understanding what it is not. However, in Christian morality, there are examples of good from which we can take and apply to our own lives i.e. scriptures of Jesus, his works, reflections on the Old Testament. Reason and faith are two sources where we can gain moral knowledge. Reasoning helps us to understand ourselves and faith in religion encourages us to long for protection from the unknown in which we fear. Christian beliefs provide specific responses to teachings of Jesus such as to renounce power, to do penance, to ask for and to provide forgiveness, to seek the good for others and to love your enemies. We use these moral requirements to help form our ethics.

Ethics

Ethical wisdom and knowledge is accessible to all who are willing to critically reflect on human experience, Natural Law. Greek Stoics emphasized that Nature is unchanging and rigid therefore requires us to conform to a natural order of things.

Gula and the Magisterium

Pope John Paul II most likely would find some of the concepts in Gula's work troubling, most likely those that suggest that the Church is committing social sin when it limits the ability of women to hold positions of authority in the Church. Yet, Gula's book is by no means subversive in nature. Even to the novice moral theologian it is obvious that Gula is a brilliant, devout, holy, dedicated Catholic and very supportive of the Magisterium and its attempts to bring God's love to the world. Gula often in his debates argues effectively for both sides.

External Links

• http://www.fst.edu/faculty/gula-r.html
• http://www.arthurstreet.com/moraltheology.html

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