The living tradition of Catholic moral theology

This book argues that Catholic moral theology is a living tradition in which each generation understand, appropriate and live the Christian message in the light of its own history, culture and time. The Catholic tradition, argues Curran in this new set of essays, must be in dialogue with present realities, sometimes criticizing them severely and at other times learning from them. Curran begins by examining the tensions existing in the Roman Catholic church today and suggests why they are more severe than they should be. He argues that official Catholic teaching in sexual areas and Catholic ecclesiology have not incorporated a moral theology based on creative fidelity; he calls for a change in official sexual teaching, ecclesiology and the exercise of the hierarchical magisterium on the basis of the methodological approaches found in contemporary official Catholic teaching. Richard A. McCormick, Curran suggests, is one contemporary Catholic moral theologian who successfully illustrates creative fidelity by employing the casuistic method of the Jesuit tradition in moral theology to evaluate the changing problems of our contemporary life. Curran discusses perennial issues in moral theology that take on crucial importance in the changing realities of our contemporary existence - the relationship between Christian and human morality, divine providence and human responsibility, academic freedom and military force. Throughout the volume, while fully aware that the Roman Catholic church and moral theology will always know and experience the tensions of creative fidelity, Curran seeks to challenge himself and his readers to make certain that these tensions contribute to the ongoing life of the church.