Catholic Moral Anthropology

This chapter concerns Catholic moral anthropology. After beginning by emphasizing the centrality of the teaching that human beings are created in the image of God, the chapter shows that human beings, as a union of soul and body, are ordered towards beatitude, towards a true freedom that imitates and participates in divine freedom. The status of being in the image of God is a gift to all persons: even the most seriously intellectually disabled persons still bear this image in its fullness. The architecture of the moral life is then considered, by examining the passions and importance of an educated conscience. The chapter ends by showing that Catholic moral anthropology emphasizes the communal nature of the moral life.

THE Theology of the Body

This chapter outlines and defends the theology of the body that has been developed following the famous series of Wednesday catecheses offered by Pope St John Paul II. The chapter emphasizes three themes at the heart of the Theology of the Body. First, a vision, following Gaudium et Spes 22 that places Christ and the Incarnation at the core of the interpretation of humanity and society. Second, a vision of the human body that makes it possible to describe human existence in the light of love and to recover the theological significance of the notion of ‘experience’. Third, a corresponding anthropology of love that offers the key to the Christian vision of God, humanity, and the world; this anthropology of love is centred in the family relationships, as the privileged place where God reveals himself.

Virtue and Catholic Moral Theology

This chapter considers the possibility of a Catholic ethics based on the notion of virtue. Although the notion of virtue has been much discussed in recent years, and was central to early Christian ethics, for much of modernity it was a neglected concept in Catholic moral theology. After considering the shift that has again brought the concept of virtue to prominence, the chapter assesses different current models for virtue ethics. The remainder of the chapter argues for a contemporary Thomistic model of virtue ethics, arguing that St Thomas offers the most philosophically coherent model, and one that is also Christologically focused.

Origen and Augustine

At the foundation of Catholic theology are to be found Origen of Alexandria and Augustine of Hippo. They are so foundational not, most importantly, because of their positions on particular theological questions, but because of their conception of theological thinking itself. Both articulate accounts of the role of attention to Scripture and the use of philosophical reasoning that are formative in the centuries that follow. Both thinkers were original geniuses who also represent the approach of earlier Christian traditions. Widespread controversy over Origen’s thought throughout the Christian world means that Augustine’s conception of theology can also be understood as something of a corrective to his predecessor (even if this is often unconscious).

Catholic Teaching on Politics and the State

This chapter explores Catholic teaching on life in the political realm. It explores first how the contours of debate were set in the early Church. Augustine’s notion of the two cities’ provided a basic foundation for later Latin Catholic thought, presenting the city of God on pilgrimage towards the heavenly city—and yet united already to it as Christ’s body. The city of man is founded on humanity’s turn away from right desire for God, and it is from within the city of God that we learn to view the relative integrity and value of all other human social order. The middle sections of the chapter explore the development of this vision in the medieval period. Later sections examine transformations across the Reformation period, ending with a treatment of these questions at Vatican II and in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

Asian Theology

This chapter examines the character of Catholic theology in the Asian context. It argues that Asian theologies rely on the fundamental principles of universal Christian theology even though, in their reflections on these principles in the light of their lived experience, they arrive at conclusions that are unique but not contradictory to universal theology. The chapter proceeds by examining six fundamental principles shared by Asian theologies: God is actively present in all his creation; pluralistic diversity necessarily demands a dialogical existence; the lived reality of harmony is an essential Asian theological concept; theology occurs in and through lived contexts; the kingdom preached by Jesus is wider than the visible Church; and theology needs to bring total, integral human liberation.

The CouncilS of Trent and Vatican I

This chapter considers two important ecumenical councils of the Church in the modern era: Trent (1545–63) and Vatican I (1869–70). The chapter examines in detail the key teachings of each council. The reform decrees of Trent will only be discussed in so far as they touch upon dogmatic decrees. In the case of Trent the chapter identifies the key documents from the many sessions of the council over its twenty-year history, offering a clear guide to ways in which its teachings on revelation, grace, and justification offered a precise Catholic response to the emergent theologies of Protestantism. Vatican I’s key teachings on revelation, the knowledge of God, and the status of the papacy are similarly treated.

The Development of Doctrine

This chapter considers two fundamental points of reference in modern accounts of how Christian doctrine may be said to develop. First, the chapter considers the arguments of the members of the Tübingen school, with a particular focus on Johann Sebastian Drey (1777–1853) and Johann Adam Möhler (1796–1838). The second half of the chapter focuses on the work of St John Henry Cardinal Newman (1801–90). Although the degree to which Newman knew his Tübingen predecessors is hotly debated, there was a deep affinity between their approaches. The chapter considers the achievement of Newman’s An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine against the background of his corpus as a whole.

Thomism From 1962–2012

There are good reasons for thinking that Thomism (inspired by Thomas Aquinas), or at least a certain kind of Thomism, was undercut by the Second Vatican Council. Thomist categories are used sparingly and Thomist metaphysics hardly features. And yet a number of factors have enabled Thomism to renew itself in the post-conciliar Church. The persistence of institutions within which Thomism is taught, the vitality of recent historical studies on Thomas Aquinas, the renewal of a specifically theological interest in Thomas, and the persistent utility of Thomas in the exploration of the relationship between faith and reason have enabled Thomism to flourish.

Our Lady and the Saints

This chapter considers the nature and development of Mariology—the theology of the Virgin Mary, the Mother of God—within the context of the Church understood as the communion of saints. The chapter begins by detailing the gradual unfolding of Marian theology and devotion in the Church from the New Testament until the sixteenth century. The development and proclamation of the dogmas of the immaculate conception and of the assumption are then studied. Treatment of Mary and the Church is followed by discussion of the theology of sainthood. The chapter ends with reference to Vatican II’s emphasis on Mary’s role within the Church.