James F Keenan, A History of Catholic Moral Theology in the Twentieth Century.

           

- This book is an excellent summary of the major developments in moral theology over the last century, and the individual theologians who made significant contributions .

- The rediscovery of scripture, history, human experience and life in the real world, and the formulation of essential concepts such as ‘the sanctity of life’ and ‘preferential option for the poor’ have been critical. 

- The old, medieval tradition of 'manuals' listing all the sins and giving all answers finally gave way to the centrality of contemporary experience and reflection. Moral theology was becoming trivial and irrelevant. 

- The turning point was Bernhard Haring's publication in 1954 of his magisterial three-volume The Law of Christ: Moral Theology for Priests and Laity. It was a landmark contribution which had a major impact on Vatican II, particularly through Haring's offical position leading the committee that drafted the revolutionary document Gaudium et Spes.

- 'Revionist' theologians like Charles E. Curran were heavily influenced by Haring and embraced his vision. French theologian Philippe Bordeyne argues in his work on the moral theology of Gaudium et Spes that here the Church conveyed a deep sympathy for the human condition, especially in all its anxieties, and stood in confident solidarity with the world. The entire experience of ambivalence that so affected the world in its tumultuous changes of the 1960s was positively entertained and engaged. 

- English theologian Kevin Kelly saw in Gaudium et Spes...a watershed moment in the Church's teaching...Vatican II's personalist approach spoke of children as the 'fruit' of married love, not its purpose.

- It was not to last however. The powerful conservative voices in the Church fought back.The progressives were cast aside and Rome again took control. The hierarchy were still committed to the centuries old tradition of thinking of truth as 'propositional'. Popes and bishops considered themselves as the authorities on all moral matters such as birth control, abortion, pain relief, life support, ectopic pregnancies, homosexuality, and a host of other issues. 

- As Keenan says: By the end of the twentieth century, bishops saw the pope and his curial officials (and themselves) as competent to decide moral matters...moral truth became identified with papal and episcopal utterances.

- The papacies of John Paul II and Benedict VI cemented that paradigm.