Course Overview
This course explores moral theology as a dynamic, living tradition that guides faithful discipleship while evolving to address contemporary challenges. Through a distinctly Franciscan lens, students examine key theological concepts including natural law, virtue ethics, conscience formation, and synodality. The course emphasizes moral theology’s nature as a wisdom tradition that balances enduring principles with adaptive responses to new contexts. Special attention is given to Pope Francis’s moral vision and the role of communal discernment in ethical decision-making. The course culminates in an exploration of how Catholic social thought and moral theology have become increasingly integrated in the modern global church, particularly through networks like Catholic Theological Ethics in the World Church (CTEWC).