Moral Theology (also known as the Theologia Moralis) is a nine-volume work concerning Catholic moral theology written between 1748 and 1785 by Alphonsus Liguori, a Catholic theologian and Doctor of the Church. This work is not to be confused with Theologia moralis universa ad mentem S. Alphonsi, a 19th-century treatise by Pietro Scavini written in the philosophical tradition of Alphonsus Liguori. [1]
Nine editions of Moral Theology were published during the author's lifetime, the first of which was released in 1748 and consisted of annotations on a treatise called Medulla Theologiae Moralis by Hermann Busenbaum, a 17th-century Jesuit theologian. After the eighth edition in 1779, Alphonsus considered his work definitive, and in 1785 the ninth edition finalized the book's contents. [2] Since his death, many further editions have been published, including a partially completed English edition from Mediatrix Press, the first volume of which was released in 2017.
The contents of each volume of Moral Theology are listed broadly below: [3]
Mid-19th century and later editions may also include prefatory documents concerning Liguori's life, his beatification and canonization, or his recognition as a Doctor of the Church.
In theology and philosophy, probabilism is an ancient Greek doctrine of academic skepticism. It holds that in the absence of certainty, plausibility or truth-likeness is the best criterion. The term can also refer to a 17th-century religious thesis about ethics, or a modern physical–philosophical thesis.
In Christianity, contrition or contriteness is repentance for sins one has committed. The remorseful person is said to be contrite.
Alphonsus Maria de Liguori, CSsR was an Italian Catholic bishop and saint, as well as a spiritual writer, composer, musician, artist, poet, lawyer, scholastic philosopher, and theologian. He founded the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, known as the Redemptorists, in November 1732.
Francesco Antonio Zaccaria was an Italian theologian, historian, and prolific writer.
Hermann Busenbaum was a Jesuit theologian. He attained fame as a master of casuistry.
Dogmatic theology, also called dogmatics, is the part of theology dealing with the theoretical truths of faith concerning God and God's works, especially the official theology recognized by an organized Church body, such as the Roman Catholic Church, Dutch Reformed Church, etc. Accordingly, "dogmatics is the theological discipline that, on the basis of the biblical witness and against the background of church tradition, thinks through and systematically presents the truth of the Christian faith in its central contents (dogmas), adopting a scientific and critical method and taking into account the contemporary situation."
Daniello Concina was an Italian Dominican preacher, controversialist and theologian.
Salmanticenses and Complutenses are the Latin names designating the Spanish Catholic authors of the courses of Scholastic philosophy and theology, and of moral theology published by the lecturers of the philosophical college of the Discalced Carmelites at Alcalá de Henares, and of the theological college at Salamanca.
In Catholic moral theology, probabilism provides a way of answering the question about what to do when one does not know what to do. Probabilism proposes that one can follow an authoritative opinion regarding whether an act may be performed morally, even though the opposite opinion is more probable. It was first formulated in 1577 by Bartholomew Medina, OP, who taught at Salamanca.
Catholic moral theology is a major category of doctrine in the Catholic Church, equivalent to a religious ethics. Moral theology encompasses Catholic social teaching, Catholic medical ethics, sexual ethics, and various doctrines on individual moral virtue and moral theory. It can be distinguished as dealing with "how one is to act", in contrast to dogmatic theology which proposes "what one is to believe".
Tommaso Tamburini was an Italian Jesuit moral theologian.
Antonio Ballerini was an Italian Jesuit theologian.
Paul Gabriel Antoine was a French Jesuit theologian.
Anthony Konings was a Redemptorist professor, who wrote works of theology which influenced Catholic life in late nineteenth century America.
Domenico Viva was an Italian Jesuit theologian.
Patritius Sporer was a German Franciscan moral theologian.
Fernando Castro Palao was a Spanish Jesuit theologian.
Pio Bruno Pancrazio Lanteri, or simply Bruno Lanteri, was a Catholic priest and founder of the religious congregation of the Oblates of the Virgin Mary in the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia in northwestern Italy in the early 19th century. His spiritual life and work centered on the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola. He was also renowned for challenging Jansenism by distributing books and other publications that promoted the moral theology of St. Alphonsus Liguori, as well as establishing societies to continue this work.
Disputationes de Controversiis Christianae Fidei adversus hujus temporis Haereticos, usually referred to as Disputationes, De Controversiis or Controversiae, is a work on dogmatics in three volumes by Robert Bellarmine.
Joseph Ambrose Stapf was an Austrian Catholic theologian.