History of Catholic Moral Theology in the Twentieth Century

by James F. Keenan

This is an historical survey of 20th Century Roman Catholic Theological Ethics (also known as moral theology). The thesis is that only through historical investigation can we really understand how the most conservative and negative field in Catholic theology at the beginning of the 20th could become by the end of the 20th century the most innovative one. The 20th century begins with moral manuals being translated into the vernacular. After examining the manuals of Thomas Slater and Henry Davis, Keenan then turns to three works and a crowning synthesis of innovation all developed before, during and soon after the Second World War. The first by Odon Lottin asks whether moral theology is adequately historical; Fritz Tillmann asks whether it's adequately biblical; and Gerard Gilleman, whether it's adequately spiritual. Bernard Haering integrates these contributions into his Law of Christ. Of course, people like Gerald Kelly and John Ford in the US are like a few moralists elsewhere, classical gate keepers, censoring innovation. But with Humanae vitae, and successive encyclicals, bishops and popes reject the direction of moral theologians. At the same time, moral theologians, like Josef Fuchs, ask whether the locus of moral truth is in continuous, universal teachings of the magisterium or in the moral judgment of the informed conscience. In their move toward a deeper appreciation of their field as forming consciences, they turn more deeply to local experience where they continue their work of innovation. Each continent subsequently gives rise to their own In Europe they speak of autonomy and personalism; in Latin America, liberation theology; in North America, Feminism and Black Catholic theology; and, in Asia and Africa a deep post-colonial interculturatism. At the end I assert that in its nature, theological ethics is historical and innovative, seeking moral truth for the conscience by looking to speak crossculturally.

256 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2009

About the author

James F. Keenan, S.J.
EDUCATION
STL, STD, Gregorian University, Rome
MDiv, Weston Jesuit School of Theology, Cambridge, MA
BA, Fordham University, New York

BIOGRAPHICAL SUMMARY

Jim Keenan has been a Jesuit of the New York Province since 1970 and an ordained priest since 1982.

RESEARCH INTERESTS

university ethics, fundamental moral theology; history of theological ethics; Thomas Aquinas; virtue ethics; HIV/AIDS; Church leadership ethics

TEACHING

Fundamental Moral Theology
Virtue Ethics
Twentieth Century Catholic Moral Theology
New Testament and Ethics
The Church and Ethics: Contemporary and Historical Cases
The Human Body
The Ethics of Thomas Aquinas
Ethical Issues of HIV/AIDS
Genetics Seminar
Catholic Theological Ethics, twelfth through eighteenth centuries
John and Virtue Ethics

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES AND AWARDS

Founders Professor, Boston College, 2008-2014.
Founder and Co-Chair, Catholic Theological Ethics in the World Church. 2003-
Board of Directors, Catholic Theological Society of America (CTSA). 2012-2014
Fellow, Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities, University of Edinburgh.
Fellow, Center of Theological Inquiry, Princeton.
Grant and Faculty Fellowship, Association of Theological Schools.
Tuohy Chair, John Carroll University.
Gasson Chair, Boston College.
Alpha Sigma Nu National Book Award (2002) Catholic Ethicists on HIV/AIDS
Prevention.
Consultant to National Conference of Catholic Bishops for the Revision of the Ethical Guidelines for Catholic Health Care Institutions. 1988-1995
Editorial Board Member of Theological Studies. 1991-2013
Series Editor, Moral Traditions, Georgetown University Press. 1993-2013
Chair, Catholic Theological Coalition on HIV/AIDS Prevention. 1997-
Board of Trustees, John Carroll University. 1999-2002
Group Leader, Surgeon General’s Task Force on Responsible Sexual Conduct. 2000-2002
Advisor, Global AIDS Interfaith Alliance. 2000-
Board of Directors, Society of Christian Ethics. 2001-2004
Chair, Catholic Theological Ethics in the World Church. 2003-
Adjunct Professor, Gregorian University, Rome: Loyola School of Theology, Manila.
Adjunct Professor, Dharmaran, Bangalore.


BOOKS

University Ethics: Why Colleges Need A Culture of Ethics, Rowman and Littlefield, May 2015. (forthcoming)

Paul and Virtue Ethics with Daniel Harrington (New York: Rowman and Littlefield, 2010).

Catholic Theological Ethics, Past, Present, and Future: The Trento Conference edited (Orbis, 2011); (Bangalore: Theological Publications in India, 2012). (Manila: Ateneo de Manila University Press, 2013).

A History of Catholic Moral Theology in the Twentieth Century: From Confessing Sins to Liberating Consciences (New York: Continuum, 2010).

more info:

http://www.bc.edu/schools/cas/theolog...

Reviews

[Nick Ramirez · Rating 1 out of 5]

The subtitle of Fr. James Keenan, S.J.’s book might have been “The Unraveling of Catholic Moral Theology,” or “An Ethics in Man’a Image,” or better yet, “The Story of Dissident Theologians.” The book receives one star for the extensive and copious amount of citations provided by Fr. Keenan. For any Catholic faithful to the magisterium of the Catholic Church and its moral tradition, this book is of inestimable value for identifying those dissidents of the Church, wolves in sheep’s clothing, who have undermined the Church’s moral teaching from within by repudiating intrinsically evil acts, justifying abhorrent acts consistently rejected as evil in the tradition, all while at the same time implicitly denying the infallibility of the Church on matters of faith and morals and the Church’s ability to infallibly teach through Her ordinary magisterium. Although Fr. Keenan assures us that there are no moral absolutes and that the moralist must help persons to “rightly realize their moral truth” (141), the latter claim in no way being indicative of any kind of moral relativism or subjectivism as this would, of course, be a naive representation of the self-professed revisionist view of moral theology, it just so happens by coincidence that those morals truths of which we must all be absolutely certain are those that best conform to the sensibilities of modern man. These values include respect for the seemingly absolute autonomy of the individual, the preferential option for the poor, and solidarity. Yet, if we are all called to find our moral truth and our conscience truly is “the standard of moral objectivity” (97), then Fr. Keenan should rest easy if the Supreme Pontiff finds it right and just in conscience to “restrict” the autonomy of the faithful and bind them to believe in particular moral truths such as the existence of intrinsically evil acts as Saint John Paul II did in Veritatis Splendor. On the part of the Pontiff, this would not simply be “morally right,” but indeed, “morally good” to use that sublime distinction of the fundamental option theorists and proportionalists. Indeed, if His Holiness’ conscience demands that he disregard the autonomy of the faithful, this indeed must be what is morally, objectively good, since his conscience is the standard of moral objectivity. And this should be of no threat at all to the importance of respect for the autonomy of the faithful since, afterall, autonomy cannot be an absolute norm, and the violation of such autonomy must at worst be a pre-moral or ontic evil.

To conclude in all seriousness, souls not adequately instructed in Catholic moral theology and its history should steer clear of this text. Even on the historical front, one gets the impression from this work that the neo-scholastics neglected virtue in their treatment of moral theology and reduced moral theology to casuistry and the avoidance of sin. But a simple look at those venerable neoscholastic works from the early 20th century on spirituality from figures such as Fr. Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange, O.P. (see Beatitude and The Three Ages of the Interior Life), Fr. John G. Arintero, O.P. (See The Mystical Evolution in the Development and Vitality of the Church), or the moral manuals/commentaties of figures like Fr. Michel-Marie Labourdette, O.P. and Fr. Benedict Merkelbach, quickly dispel such a simplistic narrative. These men strove to show the heights to which Catholic moral theology called all of the faithful (religious and lay), a life which is ordered to nothing less than mystical union with God. Nevertheless, for the faithful educated in Catholic moral theology, this book is helpful for understanding the problems Saint John Paul II addressed in Veritatis Splendor, identifying those figures and erroneous lines of thought that are repugnant to the truth and the Church’s moral tradition, and providing a sort of genealogy of the intellectual rot that has pervaded moral theology in the modern academy.

[Chemteacher · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very fine account of what the "manualist" Roman Catholic tradition of moral theology is. The historical accounts are precise, readable and largely unbiased, laying out the chief players in the narrative that is the development of manualist or 18th-20th century Neo-Scholastic moral theology.

I solidly recommend it for students, those interested in the historical aspects of Catholic moral theology and those interested in Catholic history, particularly in the United States.

The author is a professor of the history of moral theology at Boston College. http://www.bc.edu/schools/cas/theolog...

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting and informative read on the development and transformation of Catholic moral theology in the twentieth century from a very individualistic, sin obsessed, juridical morality to a framework for ethics that is much more relational and based on positive virtues like charity, solidarity, compassion, and justice.