Theologians have a moral responsibility to attend to the grave disorder in which the language of morality currently suffers. I argue that the healing of this disorder involves a morally prescribable disloyalty to the semblance of the virtue of charity. In this paper, I will review the moral blind spots and ethical inconsistencies in how the semblance of the virtue of charity is confused with the actual virtue of charity and is thus actualized inappropriately in today’s society. I will then investigate the virtue of solidarity as a prescription to help repair the potentiality of what the virtue of charity ought to be and look like. In looking to solidarity, I will turn to Ada María Isasi-Díaz’ epistemological concept of lo cotidiano as a means of practicing accountability in virtue theory and virtue practice. First, I will explore mujerista theology as an approach and why it is important to ethically attend to the voices on the margins; then, I will investigate the concept of lo cotidiano as a methodology that centers a commitment of responsibility to the other; lastly, I will turn to the virtue of solidarity and argue how attending to solidarity enhances our call to charity in an authentic and accountable way (A version of this paper was presented at the 2025 Convention of the Catholic Theological Society of America (CTSA) in Portland, Oregon).
The age of disruption—driven by digital transformation, rapid cultural shifts, and emerging ethical challenges—demands a renewed theological framework for Christian ethics and education. This study aims to develop a missional contextual theology that provides an integrated foundation for scholars, practitioners, and faith-based educators in responding to disruptive social and technological realities. The research seeks to articulate how Christian ethical formation and educational praxis can faithfully participate in the missio Dei while remaining contextually engaged with contemporary digital culture. Using a qualitative theological methodology, this study integrates biblical-theological reflection, contextual hermeneutics, and interdisciplinary analysis of missiology, ethics, and Christian education. Drawing on Bosch’s concept of mission as participation in God’s redemptive movement and Bevans’s dialogical–incarnational model of contextual theology, the article proposes that Christian ethics must be understood as active alignment with God’s justice, love, and holiness. Meanwhile, Christian education is reframed as a transformative pedagogical practice that equips communities of faith to embody the Gospel meaningfully within digital, cultural, and ecclesial spaces. The study concludes that a missional-contextual theological approach offers a constructive and holistic framework for cultivating moral integrity, spiritual discernment, and transformative agency amid disruptive global conditions. Its primary contribution is the development of an interdisciplinary model that strengthens the theoretical and practical foundations of Christian ethics and education, providing valuable guidance for theologians, ministry practitioners, and Christian educators in navigating the complexities of the digital age.
While disproportionate harms visited upon the most vulnerable call for drastic change to our current trajectory of producing, using, and disposing of plastics, the scale of the crisis is daunting. When considering the global economic factors driving this trajectory, it is tempting to conclude that until governments step in to stop markets from doing what they do “naturally,” the “rest of us” are effectively powerless. While granting the necessity of coordinated political action, this chapter proposes that economics and Catholic social thought each offer resources for taking a less fatalistic approach, and viewing the economy—and thus the plastics crisis—in more three-dimensional terms. Drawing upon these fields, this chapter sketches a view highlighting the deeply social nature of all economic activity, and the way that market processes and outcomes are sustained and shaped by cultural norms and practices undertaken at all levels of society. Such a perspective broadens our sense of who participates in economic governance and of what forms of action can be taken to steer global and local economies away from our mindlessly increasing reliance on plastics—and in so doing, opens up important questions about who is called to implement the preferential option for the poor.
Connectedness, belonging, and relationality are necessary ingredients for a flourishing society. They point to the theological and anthropological truth that humans are not alone. Ethical and moral principles require that we have a duty and obligation towards one another, thus emphasizing that we are relational and interdependent. We are meant for relationships and have a shared responsibility to live for one another. We are for others. These truths are at the heart of creation and the Gospel accounts of Christ’s salvific mission. We are all endowed with human dignity as an immutable quality regardless of race, nationality, and background. Thus, we are called to respect, reverence, and protect everyone’s dignity and work together to promote each other’s lives and well-being. This reflects the practical concept of solidarity, which Desmond Tutu articulates as Ubuntu and J. S. Mbiti as “I am because we are.” Inspired by this, Pope Francis in _Fratelli Tutti_ encourages the building of a human community that cuts across races and nationalities. Against this backdrop, this article argues that in recognition of one another as brothers and sisters, we can contribute to building a social friendship and global network devoid of discrimination, racism, wars, and conflicts. The connections between _Fratelli Tutti_, Ubuntu, and “I am because we are” establish that we are endowed with the capacity to inspire and engender a global network that can significantly impact international politics through solidarity and social friendship.
The morality of the New Testament is different from the morality of the Old Testament. There is less specific guidance in the New Testament, and hence “more” human reason is needed to point to and justify particular (especially more specific) moral norms. Therefore, moral theology uses ethics to explain and justify moral norms. This is stated in no. 68 of the Encyclical Letter Fides et ratio. However, such ethics must meet certain basic requirements, e.g. compatibility with Revelation (not contradicting the truths contained therein). The problematics of the interdependence between moral theology and ethics have been addressed by many philosophers and moral theologians. Many textbooks on moral theology discuss the reference to philosophical ethics. Nevertheless, among the most representative authors for the discussion of the relationship between moral theology and ethics in the context of the debate over Karol Wojtyła’s habilitation dissertation are, on the part of philosophy, Kłósak, who was a professor at the Theological Faculty of the Jagiellonian University, where Wojtyła earned his habilitation degree; and Pinckaers, on the part of moral theology, who wrote a commentary on no. 68 of the Encyclical Fides et ratio, which was authored by John Paul II — Karol Wojtyła.
Meghan Clark, Anna Kasafi Perkins, Emily Reimer-Barry
In this introductory essay, the co-editors explain why a special issue on intersectional methods in moral theology is necessary, introduce intersectionality, and provide a brief overview of the essays.
The Activity of the Church in Light of the Pandemic: Facing a Denialism of Science and the Death of the Vulnerable
La pandemia ha agudizado problemáticas que parecían anteriormente resueltas. En especial, la relación iglesia-ciencias se vuelve a jugar bajo las peleas públicas sobre la clausura de iglesias y sus cultos, el desarrollo de una vacuna, y las órdenes de llevar mascarilla de cara. Las políticas de salud pública enfrentan nuevamente a la iglesia a establecer su compromiso con la verdad en el plano público, a reanudar su amistad con las ciencias, y aportar lo que es único de la iglesia aportar: la opción preferencial por los pobres. Ésta sirve de compás dándole dirección a la acción colaboradora de las ciencias y los responsables por la salud pública y el bien común para afrontar la pandemia y los retos que esta realidad establece para el futuro.
The pandemic has highlighted problems that seemed that have been resolved in the past. Specifically, the relationship between the Church and Science is once again at play in light of the public battles of church closures, vaccine development, and mask mandates as public health measures. The politics of public health once again demand that the church renew its commitment to the truth in the public sphere, to renew its friendship with the sciences, and to contribute that which is uniquely of the church to contribute: the preferential option for the poor. This specific element serves as a compass to direct the collaborative action of the sciences and those responsible for public health and the common good in order to confront the pandemic and the challenges that this reality establishes for our future.
W niniejszym artykule przedstawiona została moralność aktu małżeńskiego w świetle nauczania Jana Pawła II zawartego w Katechezach Środowych. Omówione zostały następujące aspekty tego zagadnienia: norma aktu małżeńskiego i jej etyczno-teologiczne uzasadnienie, norma etyczna aktu małżeńskiego odczytana w perspektywie „mowy ciała”, naturalna regulacja poczęć i cnota wstrzemięźliwości, chrześcijańskie świadectwo małżonków dokonane w mocy Ducha Świętego oraz duchowość małżeńska. W świetle podjętych analiz moralność aktu małżeńskiego opiera się na uznaniu „podwójnej funkcji znaku w zbliżeniu małżeńskim” oraz „nierozerwalności” tej podwójnej funkcji. Jan Paweł II poszerza rozumienie owej normy o kategorię „mowy ciała”, w ramach której do wewnętrznej prawdy aktu małżeńskiego należy sens miłości i prokreacji. W niniejszej analizie wskazano również na wartość cnoty wstrzemięźliwości w pożyciu małżeńskim oraz na duchowość i świadectwo życia małżonków katolickich, realizujących normy moralne komunii małżeńskiej mocą Ducha Świętego.
ÖZVahiy olgusu, sadece İslam dininin değil, İbrahimî dinlerin en temel meselesidir. Dinin temelini oluşturan vahiy, esasen farklı bir ontolojik alandan yani Allah’tan, farklı bir ontolojik varlık aracılığı ile farklı bir ontolojik alana yani peygambere yapılan bildirimin adıdır. Vahiy, ilk insana iletilen mesajla, beşeriyetin gündemine girmiştir. İlk insanla vahiy yoluyla kurulan bu iletişim, Allah’ın gerekli gördüğü zamanlarda gönderdiği elçiler aracılığı ile kelama dayalı olarak devam edegelmiştir. Vahiy olayının irdelenmesinde Şûrâ suresinin 51. ayetinin eksen alınmasının uygun olduğu görülmektedir. Söz konusu ayet ekseninde, Yüce Allah’ın yeryüzündeki beşeri ilişkiye müdahalesinin, tekvini ve teklifi vahiy olarak iki ana başlıkta ele alınması gerekmektedir. Tekvini vahiy yani doğrudan vahiy, Yüce Allah’ın takdiri, yaratması, fıtratın tasarlanması, düzenlenmesi ve ilham olarak gerçekleşmektedir. Teklifi vahiy ise kelama ilişkin bilişsel vahiydir. Teklifi vahyin, Yüce Allah’ın mesajını perde arkasından - ki bu sadece Hz. Musa’ya özgüdür - ve elçileri Cibril ve Peygamberler vasıtasıyla muhatap olarak tüm insanlara göndermesi olarak anlaşılması gerekmektedir.Anahtar Kavramlar: Allah, Vahiy, Peygamber, Cibril, İnsan, Elçi, İletişim, Levh-i Mahfuz.ABSTRACT(REVELATION IN TERMS OF ALLAH – HUMAN COMMUNICATION) The phenomenon of divine revelation is not only one of the fundamental issues of Islam but also of the other Abrahamic religions. The divine revelation underlies the religion, and essentially is the name of revelation which comes from a different ontological sphere, the God, via a different ontological creature, to a different ontological sphere, the prophet. The divine revelation came in the sight of humanity with the first message given to first human. This communication created with first human via the divine revelation had continued through the medium of messengers, which the God had sent when they were needed.
When
analyzing the divine revelation, it is only proper to determine Shûrâ/51 as the
axis. In accordance with aforementioned verse, the divine intervention to earth
should be approached in two main aspects; takwini and taklifi. Takwini, aka
direct divine revelation, occurs as judgment and creation of the God, Him
designing and organizing the nature, and inspiration. As for taklifi divine
revelation, it is the cognitive revelation related with kalam. Taklifi
revelation is understood as the message of the God to all humanbeings, which is
either transmitted from behind the curtain –pertains to Prophet Moses- or via
His messengers Gabriel and Prophets. Allah, Revelation, Messenger, Gabriel, Human, Delegate, Communication, Lawh-i Mahfuz.Keywords:
W artykule przedstawiono zagadnienie relacji międzykulturowych na wybranych przez autora przykładach spotkań w codziennych sytuacjach pomiędzy tubylcami żyjącymi w zasadniczo katolickim społeczeństwie, w którym model życia rodzinnego oparty jest o zasady ewangeliczne, a przybyszami, dla których chrześcijańskie wzorce kulturowe są zazwyczaj obce. Autor opracowania dochodzi do wniosku, że każda zachodząca relacja między tymi dwoma podmiotami jest nie tylko wyjątkowym doświadczeniem, ale także okazją do kulturowego wzbogacenia się katolika oraz zweryfikowania przez niego swych przekonań kulturowych. Autor zauważa, że zarówno postawy, które sprzyjają owocnemu kontaktowi (np. otwartość, pokora, duch dialogu), jak i czynniki go utrudniające (np. nietolerancja, podejrzliwość wobec obcych) wynosi się z rodzinnego domu. Stąd należy dołożyć wszelkich możliwych starań, aby młodzi ludzie uczeni byli w rodzinnym domu postaw pożądanych z punktu widzenia właściwie ukształtowanych relacji pomiędzy przedstawicielami różnych kultur. Jednocześnie autor wskazuje, że kierunek działań, jakie powinny zostać podjęte dla ukształtowania przez katolików własnych odniesień do przedstawicieli niekatolickich kultur, wyznacza wiele oficjalnych dokumentów Kościoła rzymskokatolickiego. Jednym z najważniejszych wśród nich jest dokument Papieskiej Rady ds. Dialogu Międzyreligijnego i Kongregacji ds. Ewangelizacji Narodów „Dialog i przepowiadanie” (1991). Sumując przeprowadzone analizy, autor podkreśla, że harmonijne życie w społeczności wielokulturowej nie jest sprawą kompetencji, ale jest uwarunkowane budowaniem - w szczególności już w rodzinnym domu - właściwych postaw, które gwarantują otwartość i empatię wobec innego, a zwłaszcza obcego kulturowo człowieka.
Artykuł jest poświęcony katechizacji parafialnej w odniesieniu do obowiązujących przepisów kościelnych. Przypomniano, że parafia jest podstawowym środowiskiem katechetycznym. Ukazano podmiot aktywny nauczania katechetycznego w parafii, a także adresatów katechezy, różnicując ich ze względu na wiek czy sytuację życiową. Końcowa część przedłożenia traktuje o organizacji katechizacji w parafii.
We współczesnych serialach stosuje się nowy język wizualny. Na jego podstawie można dokonać szczegółowego opisu charakteru głównych bohaterów, przebieg fabuły, której podstawą jest dobra literatura. Według autora artykułu nowoczesny serial określany jest jako „inteligentny”. Wynika to z rozwoju nowoczesnych/inteligentnych technologii coraz powszechniej dostępnych.
AbstractMysticism: from confusion to clarity? A philosophical reconnaissanceIn spite of the fact that a great variety of mystical and semi-mystical spiritualties are again popular today, for many people past and present mysticism is a mystery, something misty and vague. According to others, however, a mystical experience is nothing extraordinary since it can even be produced instantly by simply taking a chemical drug. Again, some other proponents of a religious kind of mysticism believe that (semi)mysticism can be an antidote against stagnant beliefs and dying churches, a vitamin capable of revitalising any religion. They are opposed by other Christian thinkers who regard any kind of mysticism as unbiblical and thus to be totally rejected. Such disagreements and confusion call for a clarification of what mysticism really entails.Many approaches to this phenomenon, like psychological, theological, sociological ones and more are available today (cf. e.g. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2014). This essay tackles the issue from a philosophical perspective, trying to determine some basic characteristics of mysticism.The investigation is divided into the following five main sections. In the first a bibliographical summary is given of some works on mysticism and their more general definitions. The second contains a selection of philosophical definitions of mysticism. The third reviews the contributions of a few authors to arrive at some basic characteristics or typologies of mysticism. The fourth section is devoted to differing viewpoints about the possibility of instant chemical mysticism. It is followed by a brief review of the latest research on mysticism. The concluding section provides a summary of the final results of this reconnaissance. OpsommingTen spyte van die feit dat ʼn groot verskeidenheid mistieke en semi-mistieke spiritualiteite vandag baie gewild is, bly die mistieke figure en geskrifte van die verlede en die hede vir baie mense enigmas. Vir ander weer is ʼn mistieke ervaring niks buitengewoons nie. Volgens sommiges kan dit selfs vinnig met een of ander chemiese middel opgewek word. Nog ander persone is van mening dat ʼn religieus-gekleurde (semi-)mistiek as vitamiene diens kan doen om ʼn verstarde geloofslewe en sterwende kerke te laat herleef. Hulle standpunt word egter bestry deur ander Christelike denkers wat daarvan oortuig is dat enige vorm van mistiek onskriftuurlik is en geen plek in die lewe van ʼn Bybelgelowige behoort te hê nie. Sulke uiteenlopende en botsende standpunte met gevolglike onduidelikheid oor wat mistiek presies behels, is die motivering vir hierdie verkenning. Van die baie benaderings tot hierdie verskynsel (bv. histories, psigologies, teologies, sosiologies) probeer hierdie een mistiek vanuit ʼn diepermeer filosofiese perspektief benader. By 1.5 hieronder word vyf stappe genoem wat in hierdie ondersoek gevolg sal word om uit die huidige verwarring die waarheid oor ʼn aktuele saak te probeer uitkristalliseer.https://doi.org/10.19108/KOERS.80.3.2237
Autor artykuł na podstawie danych statystycznych prezentuje formy katechezy parafialnej realizowane współcześnie w archidiecezji warmińskiej. Następnie w oparciu o dokumenty Pierwszego (XIV) Synodu Archidiecezji Warmińskiej i literaturę przedmiotu formułuje postulaty dotyczące katechezy parafialnej, niezbędne do tego, aby parafia w większym stopniu mogła stać się miejscem katechezy dorosłych, młodzieży i dzieci.
Recent advances in evolutionary biology and ethology suggest that humans are not the only species capable of empathy and possibly morality. These findings are of no little consequence for theology, given that a nonhuman animal as a free moral agent would beg the question if human beings are indeed uniquely created in God's image. I argue that apes and some other mammals have moral agency and that a traditional interpretation of the imago Dei is incorrectly equating specialness with exclusivity. By framing the problem in terms of metaphor, following the work of Paul Ricoeur and Sallie McFague, I propose that the concept of the imago Dei could be extended to accommodate moral species other than our own.