What I Really Learned In Junior Morality

By: Dan Baxter

            What I really learned in Junior Morality is that I need to constantly be aware of the actions I make and the choices for making them.  I need to think before I act and go through the process of assessing my actions.  I realize that more situations than I ever thought have moral bases which require analysis. 

I need to use methods such as the OPTION method to determine whether or not my actions are moral.  I find the OPTION method to be extremely helpful and interesting.  Not only have I made sure to learn it but I have also tried my best to apply it to my own life.  I believe that this way I stand a better chance of making the right choices in my life.  I hope that the OPTION method will help me to make informed decisions.

I also found the research papers to be extremely fascinating.  In my first research paper on the just war theory in application to the Iraq War (2003), I was shocked to find that the Church has been opposed to the Iraq War from the very beginning and even told George Bush that it would not be a just war.  This surprised me because while they are extremely vocal on issues such as abortion, I had never heard the Church’s standpoint on this issue.  I also enjoyed finding out exactly what the just war theory is.

On my second paper, the Catholic Position paper, I looked into the issue of immigration.  I was once again shocked to find that the Church supported the rights of immigrants, even illegal ones.  As with the Iraq War, I found that this had not been publicized.  The Church’s position on such issues did not seem to be getting out to the people while its positions on other issues did.  I found this wrong and was slightly distressed by it.  I did however find the information I discovered about immigration to be very informative and interesting.

I believe that overall, this second semester has been very informative.  I found the videos very intellectually inspiring.  The papers helped get me thinking more about key issues.  I also was able to reassess my view of the Church.  I believe that this class has helped me to become a better Catholic.  I am grateful for the things I learned in this class and feel that it has had a positive influence on my character.