The Catholic Moral Tradition Today: A Synthesis (Moral Traditions and Moral Arguments Series)

By Charles E. Curran

Book Overview

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.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0878407170
• ISBN13: 9780878407170
• Release Date: April 1999
• Publisher: Georgetown University Press
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.44 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.0" x 9.0"
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

This book is THOROUGHLY Catholic, contrary to some reviews

Curran is truly Roman Catholic. The Church's moral teachings have changed drastically over the centuries, especially since 1891, and there is little reason to expect that it will cease to change. Curran's positions reflect the majority opinion among Catholic Moral theologians, most of whom are still "official" and work in Catholic schools. The trend is in Curran's direction in the vast part of Moral Theology today and hierarchical teaching will likely come around, eventually. I can think of only two or three designated "moral theologians" (Grisez and Finnis and ?) who still fully agree with the Pope (who is, we must remember, a human being) and are widely published. Curran may not be right on everything, but he also does not claim to be. This book reflects a balanced portrayal of the tradition and current teachings, but he is not afraid to position himself variously on some contentious issues. More people should write like this: with integrity and honesty. A review of this book posted in 2000 that refers to Veritatis splendor as "the real story" and suggests that Catholics ought to ignore Curran's book has clearly not read or has grossly misunderstood this book. Go read Veritatis splendor and you'll easily note its inherent self-contradictions (physical goods cannot, by definition, be extrinsic) and its statements that ignore earlier papal teachings (especially Pius XII, "The Prolongation of Life", 1957). Further, that review claims Curran has been censored by the Vatican. This is misleading. The most prominent and respected Catholic moral theologians signed a letter in support of Curran's positions, including Bernard Haring, most of them still teach in Rome (which awarded Curran two doctorates) and Catholic universities around the world. He was singled out and fired from the Catholic University of America, against the wishes of 95% of the faculty, for teaching the mere POSSIBILITY of dissent from hierarchical teachings designated "noninfallible". He was probably singled out because he wrote the dissenting opinion after Humanae vitae appeared and surprised everyone, even some cardinals who thought that the Pope would go the other way. Over 400 Catholic Moral Theologians signed that too. The critical reviewer also claims that Curran blends "relativism, consequentialism, [and] proportionalism." This is totally absurd. Curran devotes a chapter to refuting these positions!!! The reviewer has probably read only Veritatis splendor and assumed that its gross caricature of Curran (whose positions were found important enough by the Vatican to try to refute) is actually Curran's position. Only those who think the Pope is God would fail to see that John Paul II has misunderstood the positions he is supposedly refuting. I wonder how much of Vatican II the highly critical reviewer is committed to, or if that person has even read Curran or simply seen his controversial name and posted a meaningless and thoughtless review? It was hardly

Enlightening Discussion of Fundamental Moral Theology

This small book is a masterpiece. It is enlightening and thoughtprovoking and invites all Catholic readers to a critical examination of major moral themes and topics. It is a wonderful introduction to the fundamental moral theology of the Catholic church. Adequately presents dialogue going on among modern moral theologians and critizes some narrow views of the Vatican that will most likely change in the years to come.