Assessment

Continuous Assessment 20% + Supervised project 20% + Exam 60%

Module Aims

The aim of this module is to provide foundational understanding of the discipline of moral theology. Students will examine the three fonts of moral theology in the Catholic Tradition; reason [natural law], Scripture and the ongoing and dynamic living tradition of the Church, including the Magisterium. The nature, scope and dignity of conscience will be explored including the relationship between conscience, Church teaching and the sensus fidei. The history of moral theology will be explored and the major shifts in the discipline will be identified. The module utilizes contemporary scholarship in this area, both within the Catholic theological ethics and beyond. It will facilitate interdisciplinary intellectual engagement among participants. The module will enable students to identify different models of decision making and apply them to contemporary issues that have generated global discussion.

Indicative Syllabus

• Week One: The search for the ‘good’ as an essential part of being human.
• Week Two: Three sources of moral/ethical wisdom utilized by the Catholic tradition.
• Week Three: The benefits and challenges of the ‘natural law’ tradition.
• Week Four: Scripture and Morality: key themes.
• Week Five: The living tradition of the Church on the content of morality.
• Week Six: The roots, nature, and scope of conscience.
• Week Seven: Key texts on conscience.
• Week Eight: The role of object, intention, and circumstances in evaluating human action.
• Week Nine: The principle of double effect: content and applications.
• Week Ten: The history of moral theology --- key moments and developments.
• Week Eleven: Synodality: Implications for moral method?
• Week Twelve: Round up and exam preparation.

Learning Outcomes

• — illustrate key concepts relevant to this module: for instance, the morality of human actions, the nature of conscience, the prerequisites for moral agency, the moral wisdom of Scripture.
• — examine the connections between Scripture and the Church’s moral teachings.
• — appraise the benefits and challenges of the natural law tradition.
• — critically evaluate current scholarship on the benefits and challenges of using the Scriptures for moral insight.
• — extrapolate from the Christian tradition its keys insights into the human call to be moral agents.
• — employ the resources of the Christian tradition in a coherent manner when addressing issues of morality. 
• — demonstrate an appreciation of the centrality of the human person as a moral agent called to live conscientiously in a complex world.

Bibliography

• — Bretzke, James T A Morally Complex World, Liturgical Press, 2004
• — Catechism of the Catholic Church [CCC] [1992/7], Part Three: Life in Christ
• — Cox, Kathryn Lilla, Water Shaping Stone: Faith, Relationships and Conscience Formation. Liturgical Press, 2015
• — Fides et Ratio [1998].
• — Gula, Richard M Reason Informed by Faith, Paulist Press, 1989.
• — Harrington, Daniel & Keenan, James Jesus and Virtue Ethics: Building Bridges between NT Studies and Moral Theology, Sheed & Ward, 2002
• — Hannon, Patrick Moral Decision Making Veritas, 2005
• — --------------------, Moral Theology: A Reader. Veritas, 2006
• — Harrington, Donal What is Morality?, Colomba, 1996
• — Hoose, Bernard (ed), Christian Ethics: An Introduction, Cassell, 1998
• — International Theological Commission, In Search of a Universal Ethic: A New Look at the Natural Law, CTS (College Theology Society), 2012
• — Kim, Andrew An Introduction to Catholic Ethics since Vatican 11, CUP, 2015
• — Keating, James [Ed], Moral Theology Paulist Press, 2004
• — Keenan, James A History of Catholic Moral Theology in the Twentieth Century: From Confessing Sins to Liberating Consciences. Continuum, 2010
• — Lamoureux, Patricia & Wadell, Paul J. The Christian Moral Life, Orbis Books, 2010
• — MacNamara, Vincent Faith and Ethics, Gill & MacMillan, 1985.
• — -------------------------- The Truth in Love: Reflections in Christian Morality, Gill & MacMillan, 1988
• — Mattison, William C. Introducing Moral Theology, Brazos Press, 2008
• — O’Connell, Timothy E. Principles for a Catholic Morality (Revised Ed), Harper Collins, 1990
• — Pinckaers, Servais Morality: The Catholic View, St. Augustine’s Press, 2001
• — Pontifical Biblical Commission, The Bible and Morality, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2008
• — Salzman, Todd A & Lawler, Michael G., Introduction to Catholic Theological Ethics, Orbis Books, 2019
• — Spohn, William C Go and Do Likewise: Jesus and Ethics, Continuum, 2000
• — Veritas Splendor [1993]
• — Westberg, Daniel A Renewing Moral Theology, IVP Academic, 2015
• — Readings in Moral Theology Series, Volumes 1- 18