Conscience Bound

A Reflection on law for the Feast of St. Thomas Aquinas.

By Br. Joe Trout, O.P.

As we celebrate Thomas Aquinas today, I think it is safe to say that only a small minority of Americans have read anything he wrote. To be fair, his writing is dense and dry. Some of it is only available in Latin. But I would also be willing to bet that a much larger portion of our population has come across one of his claims: laws which contradict the natural and eternal law are unjust and should not be followed. Martin Luther King, Jr. cites Aquinas in his “Letter from Birmingham Jail” (see image below) to explain why segregation laws are unjust and should not be followed. In 1963 this was a profound, counter-cultural and necessary message. (Every time I teach it, I do find a little bit of joy from seeing the ideas of a fellow Dominican used as one step towards making the world a better place.)

Given the events since the murder of George Floyd, the current fears of war with Russia, and the push to get people further into space, one could be forgiven for thinking that it’s still 1963. MLK’s writing certainly remains profound for us today. However, I think our time needs to be reminded of the basics which MLK took for granted. We need to read a little more deeply and remember the rest of what Aquinas wrote about the law (something MLK clearly did while getting his doctorate in systematic theology). Unjust laws are the footnote — they are not the main focus of legal theory. In a world where the claim that “an unjust law is no law at all” is thrown around right and left, the modern revolutionary is the one who respects authority. 

To be clear, I am not arguing that all laws are just or that we should be blindly subservient to the government. Nor am I saying we shouldn’t protest. It can be a powerful way to create needed change. Civil disobedience will always be necessary as systems will always be flawed as long as humans run them. My claim is merely that we have talked about the exception so much that we have forgotten the norm.

What is the norm?

Consider this: Before I graduated from college in Indiana, I got three speeding tickets, each costing about $150. One was for going 78 mph in a 65 zone, another for going 68 in a 60 (my cruise control was set at 63) and the last was for going 58 in a 55. Students laugh when I share this. Most of them don’t even know what the speed limit on 290 is. They certainly cannot imagine a world where going 10 miles over the speed limit on the highway matters. To be fair, Chicago does have norms for “safe” driving — they just don’t match the written laws. Can you imagine Chicago without any traffic norms at all? I wouldn’t leave the priory! 

Brother Trout

Or look at our use of alcohol. Each year in Moral Theology we discuss whether alcohol can contribute to our happiness; and students have some excellent reflections on the formation of friendships, the dangers of alcoholism, the horrors of drinking and driving, the goodness of simple pleasures in moderation, etc. Then we push it further: “Can it be good for a teenager to drink alcohol?” Invariably students bring up concerns about healthy neurological development. Rarely does anyone say, “No, it’s better for me to follow the law than to drink with my friends.”

Aquinas, on the other hand, insists we have a moral obligation to learn from and obey laws. Always. As MLK correctly explains, he does not argue that we don’t have a moral obligation to follow bad laws — he argues that unjust laws are not laws at all. This is a bizarre claim at first. He isn’t saying that they don’t actually exist or that no one passed them. He is saying that an unjust law fails to meet the necessary criteria for something to count as a law. Might does not make right. A law is “an ordinance of reason for the common good, made by him who has care of the community, and promulgated.”1 Laws are supposed to teach us how to be part of a harmonious society. They help us to be good. For example, school-zone speed limits count as laws because they structure our driving practices around the goal of protecting children. They are made by a legitimate authority and are very clearly posted for drivers to see. Following such a law is simply a good thing to do — individually and communally we benefit from the harmony such a law creates. 

If a law isn’t actually directed to achieving a reasonable good (a major topic in its own right, which I have to set aside here), it’s an abuse of power and not a law. A law limiting families to one child is oppression, not law. However, a lot of laws have good reasons of which people aren’t aware or with which they disagree. We are not all experts. It’s important to hold government leaders accountable for creating good laws, but that’s also a lot of work. Sometimes I do just need to trust that a law has a good reason even if I don’t understand it. 

None of this tells us how to respond to unjust laws. Should we follow them? Aquinas’s answer is, unsurprisingly, nuanced.2 If the law is directly contrary to clear natural goods or divine goods, then do not follow it; they will not lead you to any form of goodness. Breaking these is the right choice. MLK explains why masterfully: “All segregation statutes are unjust because segregation distorts the soul and damages the personality. It gives the segregator a false sense of superiority and the segregated a false sense of inferiority.” Following such a law clearly adds to the destruction of human dignity individually and communally. 

About those COVID-19 protocols

But laws can fail to be real laws in other ways. A secret law isn’t a real law — if it isn’t promulgated, one can’t learn anything from it. A law could aim at a good goal but fail to accomplish it because the law is based on false assumptions or insufficient evidence. A government can overstep its authority. Do we have any obligation to follow a misguided law? According to Aquinas, yes, these “unjust laws” often do bind our consciences. Why? Because disregard for authority damages society and that should never be taken lightly. Something is still gained from following them even if it isn’t ideal. I think the American drinking age fits here. I disagree with 21 as the drinking age and think it should be lowered. But I don’t regret following it when I was in high school and college, and I encourage students to do so, too. There is much to be said for learning how to listen to authority even when authority is somewhat wrong. 

If Aquinas is right on this point, we have a lot to ponder when it comes to COVID protocols. One might generously call them a rough draft of what an ideal pandemic response would be. Revisions keep coming and everyone wants to supply their own peer-edit. Whether these protocols actually accomplish the goal or not, they are a real attempt to care for the common good of society; conscience demands that we prioritize this. The problem is that the right means to the end isn’t crystal clear. Aside from the novelty of this virus itself, there are tons of unintended consequences to every choice and many social goods that seem to fight against each other (i.e. physical health, mental health, economic health). Like many people, I have gone down rabbit holes reading about the efficacy of various safety measures. But I’m not an expert and I’m not in charge, so I have stopped researching. Sometimes we all just need to trust others and do what we were asked to do.  

Other times you do need to push back. I think I would really struggle to strictly enforce masks if I were a kindergarten teacher. Some protocols do seem to have gone too far, and I understand the argument that those measures are too harmful to children for us to follow them. However, I do not see any similar argument for teenagers and adults. Even if it turns out that wearing a mask while I taught for the last year and a half did little to stop the spread of COVID (which I can’t totally rule out), I am sure Aquinas would tell me I did the right thing by complying. Being part of a harmonious whole and prioritizing public health is a good thing even if we did it badly. It significantly outweighs some facial discomfort. 

Laws can be wrong. My understanding of Aquinas could be wrong. Aquinas himself could be wrong. All of this is possible, and we’d be a bit foolish to think otherwise. We’d also be foolish to mistake the exception for the norm and critique laws more than we follow them. If we want to live well, find joy in society and one day enter into eternal joy with God, it’s time to remember the goodness of obedience. If it turns out everyone in charge was wrong, I hope we all have the humility to pray as Christ did: “Forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do.”

  1. Summa Theologiae, I-II, Q90, A4

See Summa Theologiae, I-II, Q 96, A4

Teaching Morals and Values to Teenagers

The theology curriculum at Fenwick brings together all students to ponder important issues.

By Brother Joseph Trout, O.P.

Determining the “best” is a notoriously complicated task. Is the best team the one with the most wins? The one with the most potential? The one that wins the last game? The one that won the most consistently?

This is no less challenging in classes. Are good students the ones with the best scores; with the clearest understanding of the material; or with the most original thought? What of those who ask the best questions? The list goes on. 

Brother Joseph Trout, O.P. engages junior theology students in a morality discussion.

As a teacher of morality, the task becomes even more complicated. Some students are standouts, not because they always get the questions right on the tests, but because they have lived through difficulty and grasp immediately the significance of moral issues. Others have a deep, personal commitment to faith and justice: They innately grasp what it means to be good and raise the level of discussion, but can’t always explain their convictions perfectly. Others still have a nuanced grasp of ideas and ace the tests but demonstrate no real commitment to enacting justice in their lives. Which of those is the best?  

The great equalizer

Dominican Spirituality: Mr. Patrick Mulcahy instructing senior theology students last March.

All of this is to say that a theology class remains a great equalizer in Catholic education. Everyone, regardless of personal beliefs and upbringing, needs to wrestle with the big-picture questions of life. Does God exist or not? If so, who or what is God? What is a just world? What counts as a life well lived? No one can afford to live the “unexamined life.”

Because the subject matter is usually beyond all of us (God), everyone needs to reach beyond themselves and question their assumptions about reality. Yet it is also deeply personal — who am I? What does it mean to be me? What is my relation to God, neighbor, society? How will I know that I have lived well? Some of the highest achieving students struggle tremendously with that kind of introspection, while some of the lowest achievers soar. 

Father Thomas Saucier, O.P. holds “court” with Class of 2020 theology students.

At the end of the day, theology is an excellent subject to help develop humility because you face an unconquerable task. Calculus and grammar can be mastered, but not theology. Its subject is a transcendent God who is infinitely more complex than the human mind can understand. We can learn many truths about God and come to a deep understanding of and relationship with God, but we cannot tame God. No matter how brilliant, good, insightful, original or articulate we are, we remain equal as short-lived creatures before the one who simply is.

Perhaps the students who grasp this, who know precisely what it is that they do not comprehend, are the best ones of all.

Fostering moral servant/leaders

All Fenwick students, regardless of religious affiliation, study four years of Theology:

  • Theology I: Scripture
  • Theolgy II: The Mission of Jesus Christ and Sacraments
  • Theology III: Moral Theology
  • Theology IV:  Interreligious Dialog (may be taken for college credit) and Dominican Spirituality

READ ALSO:

“How Fenwick Students Minister to Others” (Fall 2018 Friar Reporter, beginning on page 6).

“The Myth of Science vs. Religion”

“Summer of Service”

Freshman students from the Class of 2023 get a lesson on scripture.
Continue reading “Teaching Morals and Values to Teenagers”

Student Preaching

At the 90th Celebration Mass for Fenwick on September 9, a Friar junior encourages his classmates to rise above social pressures and make morally good choices.

By Will Chioda ’21

In today’s Gospel , Jesus breaks the law by healing a crippled man on the sabbath day. The scribes and pharisees become angry with Jesus, and discuss what they might do to him.

Notice how Jesus responds to them: He says “I ask you, is it lawful to do good on the sabbath rather than to do evil; to save life rather than to destroy it?” His courage to do the right thing, despite what the law says sticks out to me. This brings about some key questions and points for self evaluation. In our own Fenwick community, do we find ourselves making decisions that are more socially popular, succumbing to various social pressures; or do we choose to make courageous and morally good choices?

At the end of each day, can we say that we did, or at least tried to live and love each other as Jesus did? Can we say that we treated others as Jesus treated the crippled man? Perhaps the answers to these questions are not what we would like them to be right now. But, with the guiding hand and example of Jesus Christ, it is always possible to grow as humans, change our hearts and minds, and engage in more loving relationships with those around us in and outside of the Fenwick community. 

Currently in Mr. Slajchert’s Moral Theology class, we are learning about Socrates teaching that living a morally good life, although it might seem like a burden at times, is truly the way to lead a happy and fulfilled life. In other words, living by the rules that God has given us allows us to live happily. Applying this more closely to our own Fenwick community, let us:

> show Jesus’ courage

> be more inclusive to others

> care for the poor

> support our peers here at Fenwick

When we consistently and consciously choose to live this way, as Jesus did, it will in time create a happier and more loving community both within and outside of the walls of Fenwick High School.

VIDEO:

See and hear Will deliver his reflection.

About the Author

William “Will” Chioda, a junior from Hinsdale, IL, is a member of the Fenwick Preaching Team.

Fenwick Fathers’ Club: 2019 Dr. Gerald Lordan Freshman Family Picnic

The recently retired faculty mentor addressed new Friar parents at the annual event renamed in his honor.

By Dr. Gerald Lordan, O.P.

Welcome to Pleasant Home for the 28th Fenwick Fathers’ Club Frosh Family Picnic. We started his event in 1992 to welcome Fenwick’s first coeducational class. Three of the members of that Class of 1996 now serve on the Fenwick faculty. Pleasant Home, like Fenwick, is located in St. Edmund’s Parish. The first Catholic Mass celebrated in Oak Park was held in the barn that serviced this building. 

Fenwick is the only high school in the United States sponsored by Dominican Friars. Dominicans lead lives of virtue. Humility is the greatest of all the virtues. We are humbled by the confidence families place in us by sending us their adolescents for formation. It is a teacher’s greatest joy to be surpassed by his students. We are pleased to see so many of our former students here today as parents of students in the class of 2023. We are pleased to welcome our first fourth generation Friar! We have a member of the class of 2023 with us today who follows in the footsteps of a great grandfather, grandfather and father. 

Every high school in the United States has a legal obligation to the state legislature, which charters it to train patriotic citizens and literate workers. As a Dominican school, Fenwick follows the Thomist educational philosophy. A Thomist school has an obligation to our Creator, the Supreme Being to train moral, servant-leaders of society. The late Ed Brennan, a Fenwick alumnus and CEO of Sears, was once asked what course he studied in his graduate school of business that best prepared him to be the chief executive of a Fortune 500 Corporation. Mr. Brennan replied, “Nothing I studied in business school prepared me for my job. The only class that prepared me was Moral Theology during my junior year at Fenwick High School.”

Training moral, servant-leaders

Fenwick President Fr. Richard Peddicord, O.P. (front center) joined Dr. Lordan (left) and Fenwick Fathers’ Club President Frank Sullivan ’86 at the Freshman Family Picnic.

Our freshman students will learn this year in history class that we are in an Axial Age. Everything changes in an Axial Age. We have had an Agricultural Revolution, which made us farmers. We have had an Industrial Revolution, which made us factory workers. We are entering an Information Revolution, which will make us computer scientists. We study the past to understand the present to shape the future. We do not know what challenges beyond our present comprehension the future may bring. We must be prepared to be the moral, servant-leaders of our society so we can enable others to meet these challenges. Therefore, Moral Theology is the most important subject that our students study.

The Dominicans are the Order of Preachers and have the initials, O.P., after their names. All of our students will study speech as sophomores.

The lessons we learn in class are important or we would not bother to teach them. Even more important, however, are the lessons we learn inside our building but outside of the classroom.  Three of the Dominican Pillars are Prayer, Community and Study. Once a month we assemble in our Auditorium to celebrate Mass. It is appropriate that we meet in community to pray before we study. 

The most important lessons we learn at Fenwick are taught outside of the building. All of our students will make a Kairos religious retreat during their senior year. This is the most important thing we do at Fenwick.

3 takeways

I am going to identify three activities that will enhance our Fenwick Experience. The first is for adults. The second is for adolescents. The third is for families. These suggestions are based on educational research. They are neither my opinions nor intuitive thoughts. Pedagogy is the science of education. These suggestions come from empirical pedagogical research and enjoy a measure of scientific certitude.

  1. Adults should be active in parent associations. Vibrant parent associations are in indicator of excellence for a school. Do not just join. Do not just pay dues. Get active. Make a difference.
  2. Adolescents should participate in student activities. This does not mean just sports. It includes all manner of student clubs such as speech, drama, student government, art and music.
  3. Families should eat dinner together. They should shut off the television. They should put down the smart phone. They should talk with one another. 
Continue reading “Fenwick Fathers’ Club: 2019 Dr. Gerald Lordan Freshman Family Picnic”

Putting Our Faith into Action

Fenwick’s newest Dominican brother explains how student members of the Class of 2019 have ‘met Jesus’ through their junior year Christian Service Project.

By Br. John Steilberg O.P.

The Gospels reveal to us a very basic story line just after Jesus’ resurrection on the first Easter Sunday. Soon after discovering the empty tomb, the disciples meet Jesus repeatedly. They kept meeting Jesus personally at various places and moments. After encountering Jesus in person, they were motivated and inspired to go and tell others. Our junior class knows all about this basic cycle of encountering Jesus personally, then going out and telling others about their encounter.

Homelessness plagues Chicago’s suburbs, as one Fenwick junior has seen firsthand.

Just like those early disciples right after the resurrection, our juniors are meeting Jesus. Our juniors have been encountering personally in the face of the poor, the lonely, the forgotten, the unloved. At Fenwick, as part of the Christian Service Project where Gospel virtues, Catholic morality and Catholic social teaching are combined with our theology curriculum, our faith is put into action. Our juniors are currently completing a service project where they have been out in the community performing the corporal works of mercy and meeting Jesus face to face in those they serve.

Let’s listen to our juniors describe how they encountered Jesus.

“You know, you see the homeless on the streets downtown and such. But by working at this shelter, I have gotten to know many of the people from this area who come there needing help,” the student says. “I am shocked at how much need is in my own neighborhood.”

This past March, Fenwick students collected items for the 4th annual HOLA (Hispanic Outreach & Latino Awareness) Food Drive. The humanitarian effort stocks the pantry for three months at St. Pius Parish, which provides more than 45,000 meals annually to people on Chicago’s Lower West Side.

Another junior has been working at a food pantry. Serving there and meeting many of the neighbors in need has had an effect on her and how she views what is happening in her community. She even mentions the effects it has had on her own family and their approach to material things. She explains, “Every night after serving at the food pantry I sit down and talk to my mom about what happened. Just the other night we were talking about how many people come to the food pantry in need of food. Mom and I talked about how well off we are. We discussed how maybe we really don’t need so many things. We talked about how maybe we do not really need to buy that second loaf of bread.”

Friends of Fenwick, pay close attention to what these two juniors have shared. This is God speaking. This is the Holy Spirit at work in Friar Nation. This is what it means to be a friar. Listen carefully to their words and you will listen in to their personal conversation with Jesus.

To help provide weekend meals for impoverished children, Fenwick senior Chris Sedlacek co-founded Feed Our Future, a non-profit corporation in La Grange. (www.feedourfuturenfp.com)

We are very blessed here at Fenwick. We have been given so much by God, and we have so much to be thankful for. One thing I am thankful for is the incredible and inspirational service of our juniors this past year in the Christian Service Project. They are inspiring. Let us all take a moment to thank them personally for their service and give thanks to our Heavenly Father for sending us young people willing to serve others through the corporal works of mercy.

About the Author

Brother John Steilberg joined Fenwick’s Theology Department last summer, at the beginning of the 2017-18 school year. He teaches freshman theology and organizes the Christian Service Project, whose mission is to put faith into action. “It is an opportunity to meet Christ in the poor and marginalized of our community and an opportunity to serve others as taught by the Gospel of Jesus Christ,” he explains. “All Fenwick Friars participate in the Christian Service Project as we bring the corporal works of mercy to those in need.”

If Geese Flock, How Will Your Child React?

Being a kid today is not easy. But then again, it never was, which is why Catholic schools such as Fenwick teach both ‘résumé virtues’ and ‘eulogy virtues.’

By John Paulett

Mr. Paulett is a Golden Apple-winning Moral Theology Teacher at Fenwick.

One of our graduates, currently a student at a university in Indiana, sent me a copy of an article she wrote for the college publication. Her essay told about a college student being transported to the hospital for excessive consumption of alcohol.

“’Four guys carried this kid downstairs limb by limb and they sat him down, and he could barely sit in the chair, and we tried to wake him up, but he was unconscious,’ (a witness) said.”

The article, written on October 10th, stated that, “21 students were hospitalized for alcohol consumption in the fall semester of last year, 20 students have already been hospitalized in the first half of the fall semester this year.”

I am a parent as well as a teacher, and I know these are frightening stories to read. They remind us that young people often face situations that are new and uncertain. Young people can make bad decisions, sometimes because pressures take the place of good judgment.

When I think about young people confronted by difficult choices, it brings to mind a dramatic incident from 2009. On January 15th of that year, minutes after takeoff, US Airways flight 1549 struck a flock of geese. The collision happened at 3:27:11. The plane’s pilot, Captain Chesley Sullenberger (Sully, they called him,) radioed a Mayday call at 3:27:33. At 3:31 p.m., less than five minutes later, the pilot landed the plane in the Hudson River. His recognition of the problem, creation of a plan, and execution of the action happened in minutes. Like most people, I found the Captain’s ability to solve the problem and land the plane in such a short time almost unbelievable. (Actor Tom Hanks portrays him in the 2016 motion picture, “Sully.”)

Captain Chesley Sullenberger

I read an interview with Sullenberger in which he was questioned about his ability to act so well so fast. He said, “I had to very quickly come up with a paradigm of how to solve even this problem.”

His response reminds me of what happens in Catholic education. Continue reading “If Geese Flock, How Will Your Child React?”