The Moral Virtues and Theological Ethics, Second Edition

First published in 1991, The Moral Virtues and Theological Ethics introduced readers to an approach in Christian ethics that was not then much in vogue. Although the Second Vatican Council had marked a departure from the legalistic code of proper conduct for Catholics (known since the Catholic Reformation as “casuistry”), few Catholic theologians had yet begun to explore an ethics based on moral virtues rather than one based on narrow, prescriptive rules.

At the forefront of studies that would begin to recover virtue ethics—the ethical teaching of the church in the patristic, monastic, and scholastic traditions—The Moral Virtues and Theological Ethics has been widely used to introduce both students and scholars to the relatively “new” idea of virtue ethics, now a dominant principle in Catholic moral theology.

Following a brief new preface, the text of the six chapters in the original edition remains unchanged. However, Romanus Cessario, O.P., has substantially updated the citations in the notes to account for recent literature on the subject and has written a new chapter that accommodates his original study to the current ethos of moral theology. He draws on documents of the Catholic Church since 1991 to enrich the contemporary discussion of moral virtues and the dynamics of living a happy life. This second edition will inspire a new generation of readers, especially students and teachers of moral theology.

"Since it was first published in 1991, The Moral Virtues and Theological Ethics has received praise from a wide range of commentators, both Catholic and Protestant. This second edition includes new materials that have been published since the early 1990s, especially the first papal document to address fundamental questions of moral theology, Veritatis splendor. Those who already have adopted the book for classroom use will welcome this new edition, while those who have just been introduced to it will find an authoritative account of the status that virtue-centered theological ethics enjoys today." Following a new preface, the text of the six chapters from the original edition remains unchanged. However, Romanus Cessario has substantially updated his notes to account for recent literature on the subject, and he has written a new chapter that accommodates his original study to current developments in moral theology. This second edition will inspire a new generation of students and teachers.

Romanus Cessario, O.P., is a fellow of the Pontifical Academy of Saint Thomas Aquinas and professor of systematic theology at St. John's Seminary in Brighton, Massachusetts.