A thoughtful reflection on how the "Francis revolution" can address the practical concerns of ordinary Catholics on a range of contemporary issues
The papacy of Pope Francis has ushered in remarkable changes for the Roman Catholic Church. From a new emphasis on collegiality in ecclesial governance to a transformed set of public priorities for the global Church, Francis's unique model of pontifical leadership has far-reaching implications for virtually every aspect of Catholic practice. Catholic moral theology—particularly in the United States—has still not grappled fully with the emphases of Francis's pontificate.
To address this lacuna, The Moral Vision of Pope Francis brings together a range of Catholic ethicists to reflect on Pope Francis's implicit approach to moral theology, establishing the unique insights of this first Jesuit pope. This evaluation of Pope Francis's teachings and actions draws out the moral vision animating his work and demonstrates how his moral vision should apply to Catholic ethical reflection on a range of contemporary issues.
The Moral Vision of Pope Francis shows how the "Francis revolution" meaningfully addresses the practical concerns of Catholics in the United States.
Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments
Introduction, Conor M. Kelly and Kristin E. Heyer
Part I: Foundations
1. The Moral Theology of Pope Francis: Contextual, Collaborative, Charitable, and Not Always Clear, Lisa Sowle Cahill
2. Responsive Listening: Giving Recognition and Empowering the Voices of Those Long Ignored, James F. Keenan, SJ
3. Pope Francis: Virtue Ethicist? Conor M. Kelly
4. Pope Francis's Ecclesial Ethics: Mercy, Subsidiarity, Justice, Elyse J. Raby
5. Pope Francis's Social Ethics: Advocacy for Economic Justice and Equity, Thomas Massaro, SJ
6. The Preferential Option for the Poor: Incarnational Theology in the US Context, M. T. Dávila
Part II: Applications
7. An Ever Wider We: Pope Francis's Migration Ethics, Kristin E. Heyer
8. Pope Francis, Antiracist? Revealing the Heart in a Time of Racial Reckoning, Maureen H. O'Connell
9. The Twilight of Dissent: Pope Francis and LGBTQ Persons and Morality, Bryan N. Massingale
10. The Work of the Spirit, or Machismo with a Skirt? Feminism, Gender, and Pope Francis, Megan K. McCabe
11. A Discerning Bioethics: Francis's Threefold Approach, Andrea Vicini, SJ
12. Francis's Peace Ethics: Beginning from the "Wounded Flesh of the Victims", Laurie Johnston
13. Pope Francis's Ecological Ethics: A Constructive Application for a Climate "Revolution" in the US Catholic Church, Daniel R. DiLeo
Conclusion, Conor M. Kelly and Kristin E. Heyer
Index
Contributors
About the Author :
Conor M. Kelly is an associate professor in the Department of Theology at Marquette University. He is the author of Racism and Structural Sin: Confronting Injustice with the Eyes of Faith (2023) and The Fullness of Free Time: A Theological Account of Leisure and Recreation in the Moral Life (Georgetown University Press, 2020). Kristin E. Heyer is professor of theological ethics in the Theology Department at Boston College. She is the president of the Catholic Theological Society of America (2023–24) and the author or editor of multiple books, including Christianity and the Law of Migration (2022) and Kinship Across Borders: A Christian Ethic of Immigration (Georgetown University Press, 2012).
Review :
The book's subtitle expresses well the goal of the editors and contributors: to expand the US reception of the moral vision of Pope Francis. The book does so admirably. It is professionally written, clear in its presentation, and extremely well edited.
This excellent collection will be of great value to anyone wishing to engage deeply with Pope Francis's understandings of the Gospel and the world.
Both the introduction and conclusion are particularly well-written, providing an integrated road map of the principal contributions and their relationship to the overall project, and the individual essays often make reference to the others, which is helpful for providing continuity in their analyses.
