An Introduction to Catholic Ethics since Vatican II

This introduction provides a comprehensive overview of Catholic ethics in the post-conciliar period, covering Catholic social teaching, natural law, virtue ethics, and bioethics. Andrew Kim discusses contemporary controversies surrounding abortion, contraception, labor rights, poverty, and war, and he places these issues in the context of the Catholic moral tradition.

This introduction provides a comprehensive overview of the development of Catholic ethics in the wake of the Second Vatican Council (1962–5), an event widely considered crucial to the reconciliation of the Catholic Church and the modern world. Andrew Kim investigates Catholic responses to questions of moral theology in all four principal areas: Catholic social teaching, natural law, virtue ethics, and bioethics. In addition to discussing contemporary controversies surrounding abortion, contraception, labor rights, exploitation of the poor, and just war theory, he explores the historical sources of the Catholic worldview. Beginning with the moral vision revealed through the person of Jesus Christ and continuing with elaborations on this vision from figures such as Augustine and Aquinas, this volume elucidates the continuity of the Catholic moral tradition. Its balance of complexity and accessibility makes it an ideal resource for both students of theology and general readers.