Conclusion
In conclusion, I hope that the cagey criticism by the nine bishops moves people both Catholics and non-Catholics -- to study Salzman and Lawler's book THE SEXUAL PERSON. The nine bishops have referred to the traditional teachings regarding sexual morality advanced by the Roman Catholic Church as authoritative, but not infallible. This term "authoritative" is best understood to mean that those teachings are advisory in the sense that they are meant as advice for people to consider as they work out their own understandings of how to judge matters and how to act in accord with reasonable judgments that is, the teachings are the best advice that church authorities can come up with. The reasoning used by church authorities to support their advisory positions deserves to be considered as people form their consciences about matters regarding sexual morality, as does the revisionist reasoning of Salzman and Lawler, and the reasoning of Fetzer and other philosophers and theologians. For in the final analysis, each person is responsible for informing himself or herself and forming his or her own conscience, and then following the dictates of his or her own conscience under his or her own personal circumstances. This applies to individual personal morality.
However, as we all know, in addition to individual personal morality, there is the vast realm of public policy what should be legal and therefore permitted, and what should not be legal? For example, should abortion in the first trimester be legal, or not? Or should same-sex marriage be legal, or not? The Catholic bishops say no.
But the Catholic bishops clearly want no debate about their views regarding sexual morality. So it would be wonderful if more people joined in debating their views regarding sexual morality. Salzman and Lawler's book can serve to jump-start one way to debate with the Catholic bishops regarding sexual morality. Fetzer provides another way.
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