Living the Gospel during hard times VINCENT NICHOLS
Virtues in the storm
Britain is facing a new age of austerity following the coalition Government’s cuts. Here, the Archbishop of Westminster argues that our financial institutions – and society as a whole – need to practise the Christian tradition of the virtues
T here seems no doubt that the next
five years, at least, are going to be difficult, with some predicting that the measures announced in the Comprehensive Spending Review are not stringent enough. The questions that domin - ate discussions at the moment are heartfelt: where will the new jobs come from? How will this reshaping of social welfare work out? How much sensitivity is there for those who will bear its harshest brunt? Isn’t it down to exces- sive spending by the last administration? One major factor in the crisis we face is the recent near collapse of the international bank- ing system and the financial industry itself. This is a major contributor to the burden of £43 billion a year in interest payments to be met on the national debt. It is now widely acknowledged that the lack of solid ethical foundations contributed significantly to the crisis in the financial sector. Some leaders in that sector have acknowledged this, and admitted that new regulatory systems on their own will not bring about the changes that are needed.Recently, I took part in a conference organised by the Lord Mayor of London at the Mansion House entitled “Values and Trust in the City: beyond Law and Regulation”. The main theme was about the crisis in trust being
faced by the finance sector itself. Repeatedly the assertion was made that as a society we are somewhat adrift when it comes to being clear about the moral basis for our lives. Points were made about the long, slow withdrawal from a consensus around Christian principles, values and behaviour. But equal concern was expressed in the lack of any alternative, any shared basis for behaviour that can be taught and authentically shared. This was surely the point being made by
Pope Benedict in his remarkable speech in Westminster Hall on 17 September when he said that “the world of reason and the world of faith – the world of secular reality and the world of religious belief – need one another and should not be afraid to enter into a pro- found and ongoing dialogue, for the good of our civilisation”. One way of doing this is to explore some of the treasures held in trust by the Christian tradition of the virtues which can be an extremely fruitful point of profound and ongoing dialogue between the secular reality and the world of religious belief. According to the Catechism of the Catholic
Church, “a virtue is an habitual and firm dis- position to do that which is good. It allows the person not only to perform good acts, but
The Archbish Roop Rome T Saturday December 4th 2010 11.00am
Special Commemor day December 4th 201
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celebrated by Fr Michael Campbell-Johnston SJ Therese Osborne
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to give the best of himself. The virtuous person tends towards the good with all his sensory and spiritual powers; he pursues the good and chooses it in concrete action.” The classic description of these human
virtues numbers them as four and calls them the “cardinal virtues”, those on which all else hinges, and a description derived from cardo, meaning hinge. They are prudence, courage, justice and temperance. Perhaps we have seen in our society an expansion of regulation taking the place of the exercise of virtue. A society that is held together just by obedience to rules is open to further abuses which will be met by a further expansion of regulation. This cannot be enough. The virtues are not about what one is allowed to do but who one is formed to be. They strengthen us to become moral agents, the source of our own actions. The classical virtues form us as people who are prudent, just, temperate and courageous. To them is added, in the Christian lexicon and life, the theological virtues of faith, hope and charity, by which we see that our human growth is rooted in the gifts of God and forms us for our ultimate happiness: friendship with God. The virtue of prudence does not mean exces- sive or fearful caution. It can mean acting boldly where necessary, for it is the virtue of right reason in action. So its opposite is rash- ness and carelessness. This virtue engages us in considering consequences, advantages and disadvantages. It means critically weighing up the swell of popular opinion to see if it is actually beneficial rather than merely popular. The exercise of prudence enables us to discern the good in any circumstance and the right way to achieve it. It is rational and intelligent, including emotional intelligence. Courage ensures firmness and the readiness to stand by what we believe, even in times of difficulty. It is the opposite of opportunism and evasiveness. Courage frees us from being enslaved by fear, even fear of death. It is the practice of fortitude in the face of difficulty. It produces heroism in battle and in social reform. It resists the pressure to conform to the destructive expectations of others and helps us to challenge the assumptions of a culture. Courage is an important element in artistic creativity and it helps those who battle
8 | THE TABLET | 6 November 2010
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