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Book Review: Briola, Lucas: The Eucharistic Vision of Laudato Si’: Praise, Conversion, and Integral Ecology Theological Studies Pub Date : 2024-02-28 Kristi M. Haas
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Aesthetics and Contemporary Ethics Theological Studies Pub Date : 2024-02-28 Maureen O’Connell
This article provides a literature review on aesthetics and ethics, with a particular focus on how attention to aesthetics generates needed insights into ethical theory and the dynamics of moral practice.
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Book Review: Schindler, D. C.: Retrieving Freedom: The Christian Appropriation of Classical Tradition Theological Studies Pub Date : 2024-02-28 Stephen Arden Long
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Book Review: McCullough, Ross: Freedom and Sin: Evil in a World Created by God Theological Studies Pub Date : 2024-02-28 Terrence W. Tilley
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From Ecclesial Sin to Ecclesial Han: Ecclesiology Beyond “A Church of Sinners and Saints” Theological Studies Pub Date : 2024-02-28 Flora x. Tang
Debates within ecclesiology on the nature and possibility of ecclesial sin have regained interest in the midst of rising awareness of the church’s historical wrongs. Most theologies and metaphors of a sinful church, however, fail to consider the theological identity of the “sinned against” within the church. This article reads Andrew Sung Park’s theology of han (a Korean concept denoting a complex
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Book Review: Green, Chris, E. W.: All Things Beautiful: An Aesthetic Christology Theological Studies Pub Date : 2024-02-28 Christopher Pramuk
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Book Review: Bellitto, Christopher M.: Humility: The Secret History of a Lost Virtue Theological Studies Pub Date : 2024-02-28 William C. Mattison
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Tomáš Halík: A Theology for the Post-Secular Theological Studies Pub Date : 2024-02-28 Aden Cotterill
This article presents the work of Czech theologian and priest Tomáš Halík as a theology for the post-secular. The first section outlines three general post-secular themes woven throughout his corpus: the blessedness of spiritual seeking, a receptivity to the critical insights of atheism, and the affirmation of doubt and uncertainty as an integral feature of Christian faith. The second section then
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Recognizing Collectives as Moral Agents Theological Studies Pub Date : 2024-02-28 James F. Keenan
Until recently, discussions on moral agency focused almost exclusively on the individual moral subject. Recognizing that social structures and cultures influence human subjects but do not have agency, this article argues that we must now recognize the moral agency of organized collectives. Invoking the work of philosophers and other theologians who already do, this article turns to theological ethicists
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Book Review: Lett, Jacob: Hans Urs von Balthasar’s Theology of Representation: God, Drama, and Salvation, by Theological Studies Pub Date : 2024-02-28 Peter Nguyen
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NATO Expansion after 1989: An Argument from the Catholic Social Tradition Theological Studies Pub Date : 2024-02-28 Gerald J. Beyer
Pope Francis’s statement about NATO expansion provoking Russia to invade Ukraine raises the question about whether it is legitimate to support NATO generally and its expansion after 1989 in particular. This article argues that the right of nations to self-determination and legitimate defense and the ethic of solidarity as understood in the Catholic social tradition can justify NATO’s existence and
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Rahner and Scheeben on Grace: Reexamining a Forgotten Resemblance Theological Studies Pub Date : 2024-02-28 Vincent L. Strand
This article demonstrates the overlooked similarity between Scheeben’s and Rahner’s accounts of God’s self-communication to the human person through uncreated grace. It then argues that though Scheeben’s conception of God’s universal offer of grace evinces similarities with Rahner’s “supernatural existential,” Scheeben differs from Rahner by emphasizing the distinction between nature and grace. This
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Book Review: Riordan, Patrick, SJ: Human Dignity and Liberal Politics: Catholic Possibilities for the Common Good Theological Studies Pub Date : 2024-02-28 David E. DeCosse
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AI as Person, Paradigm, and Structure: Notes toward an Ethics of AI Theological Studies Pub Date : 2024-02-28 Paul Scherz
The unique capabilities of artificial intelligence (AI) have forced theologians to develop analytical categories beyond the instrumentalist model of technology. Recent work examines AI in terms of whether it has the qualities of a person, its effects on character, and its embedding in structures of sin. Constructive responses have focused on principles, communities, and virtues. None of these responses
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The “Hierarchy” of Truths in a New Context Theological Studies Pub Date : 2024-02-28 Catherine E. Clifford
This article revisits the debate leading to the inclusion of the notion of a “hierarchy” of truths in the Second Vatican Council’s Decree on Ecumenism to show that it not only concerns the presentation of Catholic doctrine in ecumenical dialogue but that it extends to all of Catholic teaching and practice and ought to serve as a guiding principle in the assessment of ecumenical agreements. Further
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Book Review: Frey, Jörg: Qumran and Christian Origins Theological Studies Pub Date : 2024-02-28 James C. VanderKam
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Synodality and the Francis Pontificate: A Fresh Reception of Vatican II Theological Studies Pub Date : 2023-03-06 Richard R. Gaillardetz
The ten-year Francis pontificate represents a fresh reception of the Second Vatican Council. The full dimensions of this reception can be apprehended through the lens of synodality, the leitmotif o...
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Pope Francis on the Practice of Synodality and the Fifth Australian Plenary Council Theological Studies Pub Date : 2023-03-06 James Gerard McEvoy
This article argues that Pope Francis adopts a practice-focused approach to synodality, and it examines key elements of that approach, including the practice of ecclesial discernment, and the requi...
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Synodality and the New Media Theological Studies Pub Date : 2023-03-06 Agnes M. Brazal
During his pontificate, Pope Francis has both broadened and enhanced the concept of synodality and the synodal process to involve “especially those on the periphery who are often excluded and forgo...
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Pope Francis’s Contribution to Catholic Thinking and Acting on War and Peace Theological Studies Pub Date : 2023-03-06 Jan De Volder
In modern times, the papacy has consistently advocated peace, disarmament, and peaceful resolution of conflicts, limiting the scope of traditional just war theory, particularly in the era of weapon...
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Abortion and the Law in the United States: From Roe to Dobbs and Beyond Theological Studies Pub Date : 2023-03-06 M. Cathleen Kaveny
This Note traces the evolution of US constitutional law from Roe v. Wade (1973), which established a right to abortion, to Dobbs v. Jackson (2022), which overturned Roe along with Planned Parenthoo...
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Restoring Social Trust: From Populism to Synodality Theological Studies Pub Date : 2023-03-06 James F. Keenan, SJ
Social trust has been compromised locally, nationally, and globally, and very recently more and more social scientists, ethicists, theologians, and civic leaders have highlighted its necessity for ...
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Reconfiguring Ignacio Ellacuría’s Symbolic Conception of “the Crucified People”: Jesus, the Suffering Servant, and Abel Theological Studies Pub Date : 2023-03-06 Daniel P. Castillo
This article offers an appreciative but critical appraisal of Ignacio Ellacuría’s concept of “the crucified people,” which identifies the oppressed peoples of history with both Jesus and the Suffer...
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Turning toward a Theology of Transformation: Notes from the Borderlands Theological Studies Pub Date : 2022-11-28 Pearl Maria Barros
This article brings Chicana theorist Gloria Anzaldúa’s notion of “self” and “borderlands/mestiza consciousness” into conversation with M. Shawn Copeland’s call to “turn theology toward persons.” Af...
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Race, Gender, and Christian Mysticism: The Life of Zilpha Elaw Theological Studies Pub Date : 2022-11-28 Andrew Prevot
Drawing on the spiritual autobiography of the nineteenth-century Black female preacher Zilpha Elaw, this article argues that it should be included in the canon of Christian mystical texts because i...
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Children and the Eucharist at the Council of Trent Theological Studies Pub Date : 2022-09-09 Christopher M. O’Brien
This article examines the relationship between children and the Eucharist at Trent by studying the Acta of Sessions XIII and XXI and by historically and theologically contextualizing Session XXI. It argues that Trent’s teachings on children and the Eucharist are motivated more by concerns about what is necessary for salvation than by reflection on children’s spiritual growth or membership in the church
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From the Editor’s Desk Theological Studies Pub Date : 2022-09-09 Christopher Steck, SJ
To be a Jesuit “is to know that one is a sinner, yet called to be a companion of Jesus.” So states Degree 2 of the Thirty-Second General Congregation of the Society of Jesus.1 Like all core insights of Ignatian spirituality, the statement is equally applicable to the Christian life in general: the Christian is a sinner called to be a companion of Jesus.
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A Feminist Theology of Testimony Theological Studies Pub Date : 2022-09-09 Erin Kidd
Feminist activists and women’s studies scholars have referred to moments where women understand the impact of sexism on their lives as clicks. Karl Rahner’s account of witness will help us identify why such clicks are theological. In turn, analysis of these clicks in conversation with feminist epistemology will illuminate what it will require to become hearers of the Word. A feminist theology of testimony
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Religious Nationalism, a Global Ethic, and the Culture of Encounter Theological Studies Pub Date : 2022-09-09 David Hollenbach, SJ
This article sketches the global ethic proposed by Hans Küng and how Pope Francis’s writings on a culture of encounter help advance it. Religious nationalism impedes the development of this global ...
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Beyond “The Anonymous Christian”: Reconsidering Rahner on Grace and Salvation Theological Studies Pub Date : 2022-09-09 Richard Lennan
Karl Rahner acknowledged freely that “the anonymous Christian,” as a category, could be problematic. His interest, he stressed, was not in the term but in understanding the universality of God’s gr...
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Catholicity and Translatability: Renewing Rahner on the World Church Theological Studies Pub Date : 2022-09-09 Peter Joseph Fritz
Karl Rahner famously proclaimed that Vatican II marked the beginning of a new Christian epoch, that of the “world church” (Weltkirche). He also proposed that the Catholic Church develop a global pa...
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A Blemished Offering: Economy, Eucharist, and the Limits of Epiphanic Conversion Theological Studies Pub Date : 2022-06-06 Antonio Eduardo Alonso
This article critiques Enrique Dussel’s use of the conversion of Bartolomé de Las Casas to ground his argument for a clear correspondence between Christian economic and eucharistic participation. Portraying justice as the result of an epiphanic conversion, Dussel implies a sudden and enduring ethical purity that undermines the justice he wants to call forth. I argue that a closer reading of the life
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The Chimera of a “Deinstitutionalized Church”: Social Structure Analysis as a Path to Institutional Church Reform Theological Studies Pub Date : 2022-06-06 Richard R. Gaillardetz
Anger over long-standing systemic dysfunction in the Roman Catholic Church has led to a disenchantment with the church’s institutional reality. However, for those committed to church reform, a more productive way forward lies with ecclesiology’s constructive engagement with sociology. This article defends the legitimacy of a critical appropriation of sociology in ecclesiology, then proposes the critical
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Reaching Up to the Mind of Lonergan: The Contribution of Robert M. Doran, SJ (1939–2021) Theological Studies Pub Date : 2022-06-06 John D. Dadosky
Robert M. Doran, who died in early 2021, made prolific and important contributions to Lonergan studies, especially arguing for some creative innovations and practical applications. Notably, he integrated a psychological component into Lonergan’s notion of conversion. Moreover, his vision for Catholic theology was global, and he sought creatively to engage the tradition with the complex contemporary
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Human Trafficking, Coercion, and Moral Agency in Agricultural Labor Theological Studies Pub Date : 2022-06-06 Karen Peterson-Iyer
The isolation and perceived interchangeability of agricultural laborers places them at risk for trafficking, and coercion often plays a significant role in keeping them at work under unjust circumstances. However, the concept of coercion is narrowly conceived in the public response to trafficking. Coercion is in fact culture-, race-, and gender-specific, and laborers often fall into intersectional
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Data Ethics, AI, and Accompaniment: The Dangers of Depersonalization in Catholic Health Care Theological Studies Pub Date : 2022-06-06 Paul Scherz
Health-care systems use AI-driven data analytics to target high-cost patients for early interventions. Many ethicists see these programs as enacting a preferential option for the poor. Ethnographic studies, however, find that their data analytic framework emphasizes efficiency, cost containment, and constant evaluation of patients. Ongoing evaluation and surveillance can undermine other goals of Catholic
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From the Editor’s Desk Theological Studies Pub Date : 2022-06-06 Christopher Steck, SJ
As this issue goes to press, the world watches in heart-wrenching dismay the violence being inflicted upon the people of Ukraine, staggering violations of human dignity reported in disturbing textual detail and hauntingly graphic images. Over fifty years after Paul VI’s 1965 exhortation to the United Nations, “No more war, war never again,” Pope Francis has cuttingly condemned this most recent conflict
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Book Review: Doak, Mary: A Prophetic, Public Church: Witness to Hope amid the Global Crises of the Twenty-First Century Theological Studies Pub Date : 2022-02-28 Marcus Mescher
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Shorter Notices: Cassidy, Laurie and M. Shawn Copeland: Darkness, Desire, and Hope: Theology in a Time of Impasse Theological Studies Pub Date : 2022-02-28 Richard Lennan
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Book Review: T. Abernethy, Andrew: Discovering Isaiah: Content, Interpretation, Reception Theological Studies Pub Date : 2022-02-28 Richard J. Clifford
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Shorter Notices: Collinge, J. William: Historical Dictionary of Catholicism Theological Studies Pub Date : 2022-02-28 Massimo Faggioli
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Shorter Notices: Southgate, Christopher: Theology in a Suffering World: Glory and Longing Theological Studies Pub Date : 2022-02-28 Bruce T. Morrill
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Unintended Ultramontanism Theological Studies Pub Date : 2022-02-28 William L. Portier
The reception of Vatican I has changed unexpectedly in the fifty years between the centennial and the sesquicentennial. The ultramontane papacy created by Vatican I, seen as blocking renewal after Vatican II, has developed over fifty years into the condition making a global church possible. This historiographical sketch of Vatican I’s reception organizes these surprising developments around three pivotal
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Amoris Laetitia at Five Theological Studies Pub Date : 2022-02-28 Emily Reimer-Barry
This review article documents how Amoris Laetitia has been received and implemented, five years after the post-synodal exhortation on family life was promulgated by Pope Francis. Theological engagement with and pastoral applications of Amoris Laetitia have already proven life giving as we celebrate the Year of the Family in local contexts, even as questions remain about how best to interpret the document
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Hierarchicalism Theological Studies Pub Date : 2022-02-28 James F. Keenan, SJ
For the past twenty years, clericalism has been a helpful concept to identify the problematic culture within the clergy that is sorely in need of reform. In fact, it has served to focus matters needing reform not only concerning the sexual abuse crisis but also a wide array of other matters. Still, though reformers insist that clericalism embraces the entire clergy, from priests to bishops, they inevitably
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Pope Francis and Interreligious Encounter Theological Studies Pub Date : 2022-02-28 Peter C. Phan
The article examines the contributions of Pope Francis to the theology of religion and interreligious dialogue by examining his political, sociopolitical, and practical approach, and contrasting this approach with the doctrinal and theological dialogue and deploying the implications of his four principles—“time is greater than space”; “unity prevails over conflict”; “realities are more important than
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The Limitations and Hermeneutical Implications of Vatican I’s Prophetic Mode Theological Studies Pub Date : 2022-02-28 John W. O’Malley, SJ
The sociopolitical ramifications of Vatican I’s decree on papal primacy and infallibility set the church in opposition to the modern world. Nonetheless, certain elements in the council’s stance and especially the intimate relationship between ressourcement and aggiornamento paved the way to Vatican II.
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A Presidential Year: Election, Transition, and Recovery Theological Studies Pub Date : 2022-02-28 Kenneth R. Himes, OFM
An analysis of trends in American politics and economics points to serious threats to the legitimacy and vitality of the nation’s democracy. Large numbers of disaffected individuals are resentful and mournful regarding recent developments in public life. Understanding the sources of resentment and grief should lead to a reassessment of government’s role in the economy and to an imperative to address
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Expanding Horizons 150 Years after Vatican I: Toward a Renewed Relationship between Synodality and Primacy Theological Studies Pub Date : 2022-02-28 Kristin Colberg
Pope Francis calls the church to greater synodality to build up practices of communion, participation, and mission at every level of the church’s life. Proponents of synodality often interpret Vatican I’s definition of papal primacy as an obstacle to the synodal path. Recent scholarship, however, suggests ways that Vatican I need not present a stumbling block; rather, when properly contextualized and
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Synodality and the Sacramental Mission of the Church: The Struggle for Communion in a World Divided by Colonialism and Neoliberal Globalization Theological Studies Pub Date : 2022-02-28 Vincent J. Miller
This article examines an aspect of synodality that remains under-theorized: the expansion of listening and discernment beyond the church to the entire human community, facilitating attention to the “cries of the poor and the earth” that has the potential to engender forms of communication that current global structures neither facilitate nor allow. Synodality entails a struggle not only against ad
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From the Editor’s Desk Theological Studies Pub Date : 2022-02-28 Christopher Steck, SJ
In May 2021, the Vatican announced that the Synod of Bishops (“For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, and Mission”), previously scheduled for 2022, would be postponed until October 2023. The delay is partly due to COVID-19, but, as Cardinal Mario Grech, the general secretary for the Synod of Bishops, stated, it also allows the synod to be transformed “from an event into a process.” The timeframe
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Did Christ Have a Conscience? Revisiting the Debates on Christ’s (Un)Fallen Humanity Theological Studies Pub Date : 2021-11-27 Ximian Xu
This article draws on the Dutch neo-Calvinist dogmatician Herman Bavinck’s notion of conscience to explore the question of whether Christ’s assumed humanity is fallen or unfallen. It will demonstrate that, for Bavinck, Christ’s conscience was silent and did not accuse or exonerate him according to the moral law (the word of God) as occurs in the postlapsarian conscience. Such a unique conscience reflects
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Overcoming the “Distance”: Robert Doran as a Bridge between the Trinitarian Analogies of Bernard Lonergan and Hans Urs von Balthasar Theological Studies Pub Date : 2021-11-27 Eugene R. Schlesinger
Bernard Lonergan and Hans Urs von Balthasar would appear to be worlds apart in their trinitarian theologies. The former championed while the latter eschewed the traditional Western psychological analogy. And yet, Robert Doran’s Lonergan-inflected trinitarian theology presented a revised version of the psychological analogy, drawn from the order of grace. This analogy is in fact isomorphic to Balthasar’s
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Anger, Lamentation, and Common Ground Theological Studies Pub Date : 2021-11-27 M. Cathleen Kaveny
This essay argues that the Catholic Common Ground Initiative, founded twenty-five years ago, needs to shift focus to deal with the pervasiveness of anger among American Catholics. Instead of striving to achieve agreement through rational dialogue, American Catholics should aim to find common ground in our sorrow by developing liturgies of lamentation to address the pervasive devastation arising from
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“And We Shall See Him Face to Face”: A Trinitarian Analysis of the Beatific Vision Theological Studies Pub Date : 2021-11-27 Neil Ormerod
A traditional account of the beatific vision has focused attention on our vision of the divine essence. However, little attention has been paid to the trinitarian aspects of the vision. This article proposes a trinitarian account of the beatific vision drawing on the work of Bernard Lonergan and Robert Doran and the so-called four-point hypothesis. It concludes that, so conceived, the beatific vision
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Divine Persons and Notional Acts in the Trinitarian Theology of Thomas Aquinas Theological Studies Pub Date : 2021-11-27 Nicholas E. Lombardo
This article presents a reconstruction of an important but neglected element of the trinitarian theology of Thomas Aquinas: namely, his teaching on the notional acts, the intratrinitarian acts attributed to the Divine Persons, and how they relate to individual Divine Persons. In the process, this article shows that, for Aquinas, and for medieval theologians more generally, although we can distinguish
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Virtue Ethics and Action Guidance Theological Studies Pub Date : 2021-11-27 Daniel J. Daly
Theological ethicists rarely allow the virtues to perform the heavyweight work of guiding action. This article contests this tradition and argues that, and demonstrates how, virtue ethics provides a practicable method of normative action guidance. The article contends that there are five interrelated but distinct modes of virtue action guidance. The first three modes—dialogue, emulation, and substituted