This course covers the foundations of the Christian moral life and of Christian moral decision making. The fundamental themes to be covered include, but are not limited to: freedom, conscience formation and moral agency, moral normativity, what constitutes moral reasoning, the use of scripture, tradition and natural law in moral decisions, the interplay between sin and grace, virtue ethics, and the ecclesial aspect of moral decisions.

The implications of Christian faith and theological reflection for contemporary society. The social dimensions of biblical ethics and the social teachings of the Catholic Church.

This course examines how the application of fundamental moral themes informs particular issues of Christian morality. Particular issues potentially covered fall under the global nature of moral theology, life and death, sexuality, biomedical ethics, ethics of pastoral ministry, and the intersection of church and state.

Virtue ethics is a rich strand of the Catholic ethical tradition. The discipline begins with a simple, common human question: what is it to be happy? Christianity proposes a distinctive answer. This this course, we will begin with questions about the good life, continue by examining the role of the passions in making us happy, and finally focus on the virtues as constitutive of human happiness/flourishing. Our readings draw from a range of authors — Aristotle, Augustine, Aquinas, and contemporary theologians. The point of the course is to help students become conversant in this intellectual tradition and articulate in sharing it with others.

An examination of major social issues affecting rural America, the social justice dimensions of these issues, and their implications for ministry in the Church. Cross-listed with PTHM 456.

Inspired by the integral ecology of Laudato Si’, this course explores Catholic commitment to care for our common home. It does so from a theological perspective, focusing especially on the spiritual roots of the crisis and spiritual resources from within the Catholic tradition (such as Benedictine spirituality) that can inform one’s response to that crisis. That is, this course aims to help students express how one might live in right relationship with God, neighbor, and creation and promote ecclesial practices that hear the cries of the earth and the poor. Cross listed with SPIR 468.