I, however, call on our Christians as individuals and as communities to open their eyes to the needs of their neighbours
III. Adjectival phrases/clauses
5.1.8 Obligation/necessity modalsappealing to the audience’s sense of responsibility and moral duty
Modal auxiliaries of obligation and necessity are deployed in the bishops‘ letters as a rhetorical device to appeal to the audience‘s sense of responsibility and moral duty and induce
157
persuasion.They include the modals should, must, have to, and need to, andare usually deployed at the end of a message or at the end of each pastoral letterinorder to make the most powerful possible appeal to the audience.Thebishops use them to elicit actions from the audience in relation to the message of the pastoral letter. The use of the modals is an expression of the bishops‘ power and authority over the faithful. Text 80 below exemplifies the bishops‘ use of modal auxiliariesto appeal to the audience‘s sense of obligation so as to elicit actions from them.
Text 80:
We need therefore to set our hearts on Christ and to accept him as the author and finisher of our faith (Heb.
12:2). It is Christ alone who can heal us of sin; he alone can restore our lives, he alone can give meaning to our existence even when the day is dark and the night cold.
(GCTR, p.13)
Inthe above text, need to is a modal auxiliary expressing necessity of action. Setting heart on Christ and accepting him as the author and finisher of faith is anaction which the audience are expected to carry out as a matter of necessity.The text is in form of advice aimed at eliciting positive reaction from the audience in relation to the message of faith which has been preached to them.In the first sentence, they are advised to have faith in Christ, while in the second sentence, they are offered convincing reasons why they should do so. The bishop has chosen to emphasise the necessity of the action so as to lure the faithful into compliance with the message of faith.
Similarly, in text 81 below, the modal of obligation have to is deployed to get the audience to repent of their sins:
Text 81:
We have to be committed to seeking eternal life, knowing that our eternal salvation is the only one thing that is important and necessary: ―What then will anyone gain by winning the whole world and forfeiting his life?
(Matt, 16:26) (WWF, p.59)
Have toin the above text is a modal auxiliary expressing strong obligation. The obligation is:
seeking eternal life. By using the modal, the bishop appeals to the audience‘s sense of duty.
The action of seeking eternal life is presented as a moral responsibility which the audience are
158
expected to fulfil without being prompted to do so. They are thus made to see it as a natural thing to do. The use of the modal of obligation is meant to persuade them to act according to the message of repentance: to seek eternal life, which is the ultimate goal of Christian life. The persuasive force of the text is intensified by testimonial reference to the Holy Bible.
In text 82,the modal auxiliary should is used to appeal to the audience‘s sense of moral duty to elicit positive response to the bishop‘s message of love.
Text 82:
For us to love as God really wants us to, God‘s grace is indispensable. We should pray constantly for this grace in order to counter our selfishness and also withstand the constant negative forces of our corrupt society (TML, p.49).
The modal shouldin the text above is used to express an obligation expected of a Christian who desires to love as God wishes: the obligation to pray constantly for the grace of God, which is capable of withstanding all obstacles to love.Through the use of the modal, the bishop presents the action of praying for God‘s grace of love as a duty, a responsibility to be carried out naturally by the audience without any external force. This way, the audience is expected to be lured into compliance. Presenting the obligation as a piece of advice is a more polite way of eliciting actions from them than the use of direct imperatives.
The modal auxiliaries mustis employed in text 83 to appeal to the audience‘s sense of obligation and duty in relation to the message of loyalty to the Roman Catholic Church faith:
Text 83:
The worst thing that can happen to a true believer in Jesus Christ is being cut off from the communion with his or her fellow believers in union with the Successor of Apostle Peter. You must do all in your power to maintain ecclesiastical communion even in your external conduct (see can.209). (FFF, p.86)
The obligation expressed through the use of the modalauxiliary mustis:maintaining communion of the Catholic Church. The audience are to fulfil this obligation, as a matter of compulsion, not of choice. It is non-negotiable. Breaking from the communion of the Roman Catholic Church, which is considered to bethe Ark of Salvation,is a risk to eternal salvation, a risk the audience would not want to take. For the bishop therefore, to gain eternal salvation, one has to be loyal
159
to theRoman Catholic Church. The use of the obligation modal is aimed at eliciting positive reaction to the bishop‘s message of loyalty.
By appealing to the audience‘s sense of obligation through the use of the modals must, need to, should, and have to, the bishops direct the faithfultowards a goal, not as the bishops‘
personal demand, but as an obligation determined by the common will for which the bishops are merely a medium of transmission (Oha, 1994).