Table of Contents

ForewordPreface Acknowledgements CHAPTER ONE The Life and Career of John C. Ford, SJ PART I METHOD CHAPTER TWOJohn Ford's Moral Theology and the Manualist Tradition CHAPTER THREEJohn Ford's Two Modes of Resolving Moral Cases CHAPTER FOURThe Development of Doctrine PART II MORAL OBJECTIVITY CHAPTER FIVE Objective Moral Norms and Situation Ethics CHAPTER SIXSubjective Culpability CHAPTER SEVENJohn Ford and Josef Fuchs PART III MORALITY AND LAW CHAPTER EIGHTOpposing Totalitarianism and Protecting the Vulnerable CHAPTER NINEJohn Ford and his Legacy APPENDIXTimeline of the Life and Career of John C. Ford, SJ ReferencesIndex

Promotional Information

John C. Ford ,SJ, played a leading role in Catholic moral theology for over thirty years beginning in the late 1930s. Now, thanks to Eric Marcelo O. Genilo, contemporary moral theologians have a judicious, perceptive, in-depth, and balanced critical evaluation of Ford's work. -- Charles E. Curran, Elizabeth Scurlock University Professor of Human Values, Southern Methodist University and author of The Moral Theology of Pope John Paul II This study leaves no stone unturned in exploring the significance of Ford's achievements in moral theology. Even those familiar with the life, times and contribution of John Ford will discover surprises here, as Genilo documents with great acuity the richness of Ford's thought and his legacy. -- Thomas J. Massaro, SJ, associate professor of moral theology, Weston Jesuit School of Theology John C. Ford's major role in mid-twentieth century Catholic moral theology both contributed important developments and resisted new thinking other theologians regarded as essential. Genilo's study is history at its best: it tells us how the present came to be while shedding light on a wise path into the future. It makes an important contribution to our understanding of Catholic moral thought today. -- David Hollenbach, SJ, Boston College Genilo's book brings to life the American theologian who set the course for the magisterium-centered ethics that is so prominent today. -- Edward Vacek, SJ, Weston Jesuit School of Theology

About the Author

Eric Marcelo O. Genilo, SJ, is assistant professor of moral theology in the Loyola School of Theology at Ateneo de Manila University in the Philippines.

Reviews

In this concise, intelligent, and richly informative study of one of the last important American manualists, Genilo offers students of Catholic moral theology a sharp diagnosis of the complex mind and method of John Ford as well as a rich survey of the strengths and weaknesses of the larger moral tradition in which he operated but was ultimately unable to transcend. Theological Studies This is a fascinating historical study of a key figure in a turbulent period in Catholic moral theology. The politics of the time as well as Ford's struggle with alcohol addiction add poignancy. There is also much to be learned about moral theology, its subject matter and method as well as the factors, both personal and political, that affect the application of that method. Theological Book Review This work is significant contribution to the history of moral theology. The author has accessed the writings of his chosen subject and has examined them judiciously ... this book should be required reading for any course in the history of moral theology. CATHOLIC HISTORICAL REVIEW This is one of the better intellectual histories of one of the major forces in Catholic theology of the twentieth century; a man who set the stage for contemporary moral discourse. Catholic Library World Students of Catholic moral theology ought to study this book carefully, since it not only offers an exacting treatment of one of the most famous twentieth century American Catholic moral theologians, but also because it provides a window into the mental world of the manualists - and the gaze it offers is ultimately one bordering on moral schizophrenia, full of inconsistencies, ironies, and contradictions ... certainly the most informative book-length treatment of John Ford to date, and scholars, students, and interested laypeople will get a great deal from Genilo's work. American Catholic Studies