The Catholic Moral Tradition Today

The Catholic tradition has always tried to explain its theology in a coherent and systematic way, but the great changes and tensions existing within Catholic moral theology today have made it difficult to develop systematic approaches to what was once called fundamental moral theology. Now a leading scholar active in this field for forty years offers a synthesis of Catholic moral theology set in the context of the broader Catholic tradition and the significant developments that have occurred since the Second Vatican Council. Charles E. Curran’s succinct, coherent account of his wide-ranging work in Catholic moral theology points out agreements, disagreements, and changes in significant aspects of the Catholic moral tradition. His systematic approach explores major topics in a logical development: the ecclesiological foundation and stance of moral theology; the person as moral subject and agent; virtues, principles and norms; conscience and decision making; and the role of the church as a teacher of morality. Curran’s work condenses and organizes a large amount of material to show that the Catholic theological tradition is in dialogue with contemporary life and thought while remaining conscious of its rich history. Of great interest to theologians for its broad synthetic scope, this book is also a thorough introduction to the Catholic moral tradition for students and interested readers, including non-Catholics.

This volume brings together previously published studies presenting the spectrum of opinion on the change in official Catholic moral teachings.

A Call to Fidelity seeks to thoughtfully examine and critically evaluate the contributions that Charles E. Curran has made to the field of Catholic moral theology over the past forty years. It also seeks to assess the development of specific topics in contemporary moral theology to which Curran has made his unique mark, particularly in fundamental ethics, sexual and medical ethics, social and political ethics, and topics related to dialogue with other traditions and approaches to Catholic ethics. Reviewing the many years of his influential writings, thought, and scholarship, fourteen distinguished scholars examine his contributions and the current state of the topics under discussion-which are as far ranging as academic freedom, birth control, gay and lesbian relationships, and feminism. Each contributor also provides a critical evaluation of Curran's work and outlines how these areas will hold or undergo transformation as the church looks toward its relationship with society and culture in the coming decades.

Too many Catholics tend to believe that morality is primarily about keeping laws and avoiding sin. 'Catholic Moral Tradition, Revised', shows how from the beginning, the Christian moral life is first and foremost about living our lives according to the new law of grace. The gift of the Holy Spirit, given us at baptism, is a dynamic inner principle that transforms us into a new creation in Christ. This book presents an introductory summary of contemporary Catholic moral teaching based upon the renewal mandated by the Second Vatican Council. It also incorporates subsequent Church documents, especially the moral encyclicals of John Paul II--'Veritatis Splendor' and 'Evangelium Vitae'--along with his three encyclicals on Catholic social doctrine and the 'Catechism of the Catholic Church'.

In this magisterial volume Charles E. Curran surveys the historical development of Catholic moral theology in the United States from its 19th century roots to the present day. He begins by tracing the development of pre-Vatican II moral theology that, with the exception of social ethics, had the limited purpose of training future confessors to know what actions are sinful and the degree of sinfulness. Curran then explores and illuminates the post-Vatican II era with chapters on the effect of the Council on the scope and substance of moral theology, the impact of Humanae vitae, Pope Paul VI's encyclical condemning artificial contraception, fundamental moral theology, sexuality and marriage, bioethics, and social ethics. Curran's perspective is unique: For nearly 50 years, he has been a major influence on the development of the field and has witnessed first-hand the dramatic increase in the number and diversity of moral theologians in the academy and the Church. No one is more qualified to write this first and only comprehensive history of Catholic moral theology in the United States.

Three of the most eminent Catholic moral theologians in this country have gathered together in one volume a valuable collection of 25 of the most important articles in th field of feminist ethics and the Catholic moral tradition.

Catholic moral theology is a living tradition in which each generation must understand, appropriate, and live the Christian message in the light of its own history, culture, and time. "The Catholic tradition", argues Charles E. Curran in this new, meticulously reasoned set of essays, "must be in dialogue with present realities, sometimes criticizing them severely and at other times learning from them". Curran begins by examining the tensions existing in the Roman Catholic church today and suggests why they are more severe than they should be. He argues that official Catholic social teaching in sexual areas and Catholic ecclesiology have not incorporated a moral theology based on creative fidelity; he calls for a change in official sexual teaching, ecclesiology, and the exercise of the hierarchical magisterium on the basis of the methodological approaches found in contemporary official Catholic teaching. Richard A. McCormick, Curran suggests, is one contemporary Catholic moral theologian who successfully illustrates creative fidelity by employing the casuistic method of the Jesuit tradition in moral theology to evaluate the changing problems of our contemporary life. Curran discusses perennial issues in moral theology that take on crucial importance in the changing realities of our contemporary existence - the relationship between Christian and human morality, divine providence and human responsibility, academic freedom, and military force. Throughout the volume, while fully aware that the Roman Catholic church and moral theology will always know and experience the tensions of creative fidelity, Curran challenges himself and his readers to make certain that these tensions contribute tothe ongoing life of the church.

Distinguished Jesuit moral theologian John Mahoney examines the events, personalities, and conflicts that have contributed, from New Testament times to the present, to the Roman Catholic moral tradition and its contemporary crisis, and interprets the fundamental changes taking place in the subject today. Of central significance is the author's critical study of the claim to papal infallibility in "matters of faith and morals."