Church Ethics And Its Organizational Context
Jean M. Bartunek, James F. Keenan (Editor), Mary Ann HinsdaleBooks.org participates in affiliate programs including Bookshop.org and the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. We may earn a commission from qualifying purchases made through links on this page, at no additional cost to you.
Overview
Church Ethics and Its Organizational Context is the first book to provide a broadly interdisciplinary approach to understanding the leadership crisis in the Catholic Church in the wake of the sex abuse scandal and how it was handled. Well-known scholars, religious clergy, and laymen in the trenches of church formation and leadership come together from the disciplines of organizational behavior, theology, sociology, history, and law, to foster the creation of a new code of ethics that is both ecclesial and professional. Touching on issues of governance, authority, accountability, and transparency, this volume goes on to specifically explore whether and how professional ethics can shape the identity and actions of Church leaders, ministers, and their congregations. While evoked by the sex scandal in the Church, the essays in this book raise questions that have implications far beyond this current issue, to much broader issues such as the role of professionalism in ethics and what it means for an organization to engage in moral action.
Editorials
Catholicbooksreview.Com
Drawing on multiple disciplines, this book sheds light on factors that created the conditions for the sex abuse scandal and initiates a conversation about the possibility of a professional code of ethics for church leaders...[it] invites church leaders and academics to continue this important conversation that promotes ethical reflection on professional ministry.— Angela Senander, 2007
Administrative Science Quarterly
While drawing from a rich range of perspectives, the volume presents a set of common themes....The volume should be useful to those seeking to understand the causes and consequences of the scandal, to suggest or implement corrective action, or to apply its lessons in other contexts.— Ramon J. Aldag, University of Wisconsin-Madision
Margaret A. Farley
This book should be required reading for all members of all churches, and especially for all church leaders or anyone in a particular office or role in the church. The interdisciplinary essays in this book never lose their clear and solid focus on ethical guidelines for the internal life of the church and its external mission. We have here, therefore, a remarkable new set of insights into church relationships and roles, and a significantly new understanding of the church itself. Moral responsibility is finally brought together in very specific ways with profound faith and accountable service. The result holds great promise for new life in the multiple concrete situations of every church.Andre L. Delbecq
I sat down to review and ended up devouring this book. At last we have a comprehensive perspective on the American Roman Catholic Church that combines sound ecclesiology with a contemporary organizational critique.This book will empower those trained in organizational theory and sociology to enter into the dialog of the present crisis of the Church no longer having to feel that the domain is restricted to psychology and moral theology.