Theological ethicists confront key questions and issues from around the globe to provide a 'state of the art' volume in 21st-century moral theology.

An international meeting in Trento in July 2010 brought together some 500 theological ethicists from nearly 75 countries. This volume represents the "state of the art" in mural theology from around the globe, with contributors from North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia, and Africa. Divided into three main parts (the past, the present, and the future), contributors include John W. O'Malley (foreword); Monsignor Luigi Bressan, Archbishop of Trento; James F. Keenan; Archbishop Bruno Forte; Mercy Amba Oduyoye (Ghana); Ahmad Syafii Ma'arif, Ma'arif Institut (Indonesia), Paolo Prodi (Italy), Laurenti Magesa (Kenya), Regina Ammicht-Quinn Germany, Alberto Bondolfi (Switzerland), Diego Alonso-Lasheras (Italy), Roger Burggraeve (Belgium), Anne Nasimiyu (Kenya), Bryan Massingale (US), Antonio Moser (Brazil). ric Gaziaux (Belgium), Margaret Farley (US), Benezet Bujo (Switzerland), Brian Johnstone (US), Miguel ngel S nchez Carlos (Mexico), David Kaulem (Zimbabwe), Leo Pessini (Brazil), Pushpa Joseph (India), Margaret Ogala (Kenya), Julie Hanlon Rubio (US), Aloysius Cartagenas (Philippines), Christa Schnabl (Austria), Simone Morandini (Italy), Myroslav Marynovych (Ukraine), Peter Henriot (Zambia), Cardinal Reinhard Marx, Archbishop of Munich-Freising (Germany), Julie Clague (Scotland), Shaji George Kochuthara (India), and Mar a Teresa D vila (US).

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.

This book is a printed edition of the Special Issue "The Future of Catholic Theological Ethics" that was published in Religions

An introduction to Catholic theological ethics through the lens of its historical development from the beginning of the church until today.

Traditionally, Catholic moral theology has been based upon an approach that over-emphasized the role of normative ethics and subsequently associated moral responsibility with following or disobeying moral rules. Reframing Catholic Theological Ethics offers an alternative ethical method which, without destroying any of the valuable insights of normative ethics, reorients the discipline to consider human motivation and intention before investigating behavioral options for realizing one's end. Evidence from the New Testament warrants the formation of a teleological method for theological ethics which is further elaborated in the approach taken by Thomas Aquinas. Unfortunately, the insights of the latter were misinterpreted at the time of the counter-reformation. Joseph A. Selling's analysis of moral theological textbooks demonstrates the entrenchment of a normative method aimed at identifying sins in service to the practice of sacramental confession. With a firm basis in the teaching of Vatican II, the "human person integrally and adequately considered" provides the fundamental criterion for approaching ethical issues in the contemporary world. The perspective then turns to the crucial question of describing the ends or goals of ethical living by providing a fresh approach to the concept of virtue. Selling concludes with suggestions about how to combine normative ethics with this alternative method in theological ethics that begins with the actual, ethical orientation of the human person toward virtuous living.