Church Ethics And Its Organizational Context

Church Ethics and Its Organizational Context is the first book to provide a broadly interdisciplinary approach to understanding the leadership crisis in the Catholic Church in the wake of the sex abuse scandal and how it was handled. Well-known scholars, religious clergy, and laymen in the trenches of church formation and leadership come together from the disciplines of organizational behavior, theology, sociology, history, and law, to foster the creation of a new code of ethics that is both ecclesial and professional. Touching on issues of governance, authority, accountability, and transparency, this volume goes on to specifically explore whether and how professional ethics can shape the identity and actions of Church leaders, ministers, and their congregations. While evoked by the sex scandal in the Church, the essays in this book raise questions that have implications far beyond this current issue, to much broader issues such as the role of professionalism in ethics and what it means for an organization to engage in moral action.

The Church is not a business, but it does have a stewardship responsibility to ensure that all of its resources are used as effectively as possible to carry out God's work on earth. In the case of human resource assets, good stewardship involves assisting those engaged in ministry (whether clerical or lay) to achieve their greatest potential through the various components of performance management, including performance assessment. This unique collection brings together both scholars and practitioners who tackle the tricky questions related to the performance management of lay Church workers and clergy (priests and deacons). Performance management is multi-faceted, ranging from issues about hiring, job descriptions, performance criteria, performance appraisal, formation, and firing procedures. As a charitable organization, the Church is subject to the same civil law employment regulations as companies in the private sector. Contributors demonstrate that Canon Law and Church tradition supports the performance management of Church ministers (including clergy). This is a valuable resource for programs in church ministry, pastoral administration, and in the emerging field of church management.

In Charles E. Curran’s latest book, Diverse Voices in Modern US Moral Theology, he presents the diverse voices of US Catholic moral theologians from the mid-twentieth century to the present. The book discusses eleven key individuals in the development and evolution of moral theology as well as the New Wine, New Wineskins movement. This diversity, which differs from the monolithic understanding of moral theology that prevailed until recently, comes from the diverse historical circumstances or Sitz im Leben of the authors. Each of these theologians developed her or his approach in light of these circumstances and in response to shifts in the three audiences of moral theology—the Church, the academy, and the broader society. By exploring this diversity, Curran recognizes the deep divisions that exist within Catholic moral theology between the so-called “liberal” and “conservative” approaches and acknowledges the need for greater dialogue between them, providing a deeper understanding of the methods and approaches of these significant figures. This new book from a major figure in the field will be an important resource for students and scholars of US Catholic moral theology and for anyone seeking to understand the current state of moral theology in America today.

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Some are calling the synod on synodality “the greatest consultation effort in human history” and for good reason. It is no small task to listen to the world’s 1.36 billion Catholics, especially when many Catholics have felt marginalized or unwelcome. Taking a cue from this ongoing synodal process, the experts gathered for Reforming the Church: Global Perspectives place the broader issues relating to church reform in their historical context, while exploring themes that have ongoing relevance to the universal church. Topics include ecclesial transfiguration and the episcopacy, clerical sex abuse, globalization of the church, and the theology of synodality. A number of chapters address issues of more local, or culturally-specific, significance, in this way mirroring the results of synodal consultations conducted worldwide. What emerges is a reflection on the theme of reform within the church: what it has meant in the past, what it means for us now, and what it might mean in the future. Contributors include: Christopher M. Bellitto Shaun Blanchard Agnès Desmazières Massimo Faggioli Francis Gonsalves, SJ Julia Knop Bishop Vincent Long, OFMConv Rafael Luciani Declan Marmion Ethna Regan Pedro Trigo, SJ

Moral Responsibility in Collective Contexts is a philosophical investigation of the complex moral landscape we find in collective scenarios such as genocide, global warming, organizational negligence, and oppressive social practices. Tracy Isaacs argues that an accurate understanding of moral responsibility in collective contexts requires attention to responsibility at the individual and collective levels.

Foreword by Dennis W. Bakke, best selling author of "Joy at Work". Afterword by C. William Pollard, best selling author of "The Soul of the Firm." Scott Quatro and Ronald Sims have put together an impressive group of experts that delve into the essential elements of C-suite leadership; especially, ethics-driven leadership. The book reminds us that the "bottom line" is more complicated now. Profits are only part of the equation. The post Sarbanes–Oxley era requires more than ethics-related compliance. It calls for the creation of an ethics-driven ethos as well. This book begins the dialogue toward such an ethos. This timely volume is unified in its collective voice, but uniquely diverse in its independent voices, as it draws on the wisdom and experiences of twenty-nine different contributors from both industry and the academy. This book will also help you understand how organizations can maximize the fun, effectiveness, and experienced meaningfulness of the people who work there. The fundamentals are simple and easy to understand. Unfortunately, few C-suite leaders can bring themselves to lead consistently following these fundamentals. An ethical organizational leader must continuously remind the organization why the organization exists, and why what it does is important. People will not work with energy, engagement, and consistency without a purpose they intensely believe is worthwhile. Leaders must continually find ways to articulate the importance of individual peoples' efforts toward that end.

When a New Leader takes Over: Toward Ethical Turnarounds takes a detailed look at the experiences of new leaders who are charged with turning an organization around following an ethical scandal. The challenges confronting new leaders who are tasked with restoring trust, rebuilding reputation, and turning around an organization following an ethical scandal are discussed along with specific actions taken by these leaders during the turnaround process. A main focus of the book is to offer insight into the difficult situations confronting new leaders at the beginning, during and after their turnaround experiences which means turning an unethical organizational culture into an ethical one. A number of examples of turnaround efforts that have taken place over the past two decades are included to provide the most comprehensive documentation of the ethical turnaround process. The book includes an in-depth look at what led to the unethical behavior by examining a number of real-world examples of ethical scandals from around the world. The book will provide an analysis of the various ethical scandals by focusing on concepts like unethical leadership, received wisdom, groupthink and moral silence, all of which contribute to the kind of organizational culture and unethical behavior one finds in organizations that experience ethical scandals. The book also discusses proactive leadership and its importance in implementing ethical turnarounds based on values-based leadership, employee involvement and ethics education. A main premise of this book is that new leaders can successfully create an organization environment to rebuild and institutionalize ethical behavior as part of the turnaround process and sustain ethical behavior beyond the turnaround. The book will be of interest to employees at all levels of an organization, business professionals and other practitioners and others who have an interest in organization change, transformation and ethical turnarounds.