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Post Vatican II Christ-Centered Ethical Theology

Dr. Jean-Marie Hyacinthe Quenum,S.J. 1

The Post-Vatican II Christ-centered ethical theology historically grounded is more consistent with the
material, social and spiritual dimensions of the redeemed humanity. The post-Vatican II ethical theology
is more contextual, less abstract, legalistic and individualistic, respectful of human dignity, and inclusive
in its universal approach of the good intentions and goals of the person inspired by Christian faith to
become better. It is shaped both by Christian revelation and the world situations of poverty, violence and
injustice calling for solidarity, common good, virtuous life and cooperation between nations.

The post-Vatican II ethical theology goes beyond the old moral theology of manuals stressing sinful
human behaviors and restores the dynamics of Christian way of living under Christ’s lordship, source of
ultimate good. The Holy Trinity is then the measure of all good through the Father’s covenant to restore
the created world in Jesus Christ by the renewal of human heart under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Post-Vatican II Christ-centered ethical theology is at the service of Christian discipleship that targets
human heart loving God and the neighbor as oneself as the radical norm of Christian existence in
sexuality, politics and management of the environment for a meaningful life consistent with the will of
the Trinitarian God as divine eternal Persons in communion with the created world.

Introduction

Christian moral theology as an academic discipline presupposes the self-actualization of Christian

mystery in the community of faith called the Church. Christian moral theology draws its methodology
and principles from the followers of Jesus Christ worshiping the Holy Trinity and making the
fundamental option to live as recreated children of God under the process of God’s justification and
sanctification in Christ through the Holy Spirit. By becoming Christ-like and by discerning in their daily
lives what is good and evil and what is right and wrong through the use of their reason, Christians have
developed before the Council Vatican II a specific moral theology linked to the sacrament of
reconciliation and the search for moral guidance. This normative morality was sin and act oriented
around intentions, circumstances, adequate knowledge, freedom and process of deliberation.

Our aim is to give a general view of the change that has occurred in Catholic moral theology, fifty years
after the Second Vatican Council.

In Post-Vatican II Church Christian moral theology has become in university context a field of Christian
ethics dealing with Christian living with real people in a real world of secularized societies. Appropriately
called theological ethics, Christian moral theology has become an inspiring discipline, based on
Scripture, reason, character formation, commitment to the reign of God, common good, virtues, social
responsibility and the goal to become better people of God after the last Adam, Jesus Christ.

1
Dr. Jean-Marie Hyacinthe Quenum is a Beninese Jesuit who teaches theology at the Jesuit School of Theology of
Hekima College in Nairobi (Kenya). Quenum_jm@yahoo.com
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How does Scripture shape theological ethics by taking God as the ultimate center of values and virtues?
How does the Christian Ethics refine the followers of Jesus Christ abilities to live their fundamental
option to be the covenantal people of God and to strive to be morally right and good? In which ways is
the theological ethics a promising discipline enhancing Christian social and prophetic responsibilities in
today’s world?

We will show with the help of post-Vatican II theological ethics, how Christians in their intentions to
become Christ-like manifest their fundamental relation to the Trinitarian God creator, savior and
transformer of the world by leading a virtuous life of moral responsibility and goodness.

We intend to focus on moral persons, disciples of Jesus Christ responding to the Gospel of Jesus Christ,
the Lord and Savior of the world whose death and resurrection changed the way redeemed human
beings relate to the Trinitarian God and to one another. Scripture as the final Word of God interpreted
rightly by human reason became in post-Vatican II Council Church the essential source from which the
moral agent seeks application and transformative action by reflecting the true and perfect humanity of
Jesus Christ.

1. The Scripture Interpreted by Human Reason as the Essential Source of Post-Vatican II

Theological Ethics

Christian faith is inspired by the proclamation of Scripture as the Word of God shaping the moral life of
the covenant people of God and allowing him to rule over their lives (1 Peter 1:25).

The Word of God is the gift by which God reveals himself by sending his eternal Word to dwell among
human beings (John 1:14). Jesus Christ is the Word of the Father present in human history through the
life and mission of the Church (1John 1:1). As mediator and fullness of all revelation, Jesus Christ is the
ultimate norm for the human person. Any Christian is ultimately inspired by the encounter with the Lord
Jesus Christ experienced in the proclamation of Scripture in the Church. 2 Jesus Christ is encountered by
the hearers of the Word of God who are the heralds of the Gospel which is the manifestation of God’s
Trinitarian life in human history (1 John 1:4). This love is lived personally and communally through
Christians motivated by the love of God and of neighbor in human circumstances.

To recognize God as the source and goal of moral striving gives direction to the moral life. We
are always to act in ways that are responsive to the presence of God in our lives and that will
bring us toward fuller communion with God as the goal of our lives. In order for this to happen,
we must be guided by those values which are in accord with what God values. 3

The proclamation of Jesus Christ as the fulfilment of the Scripture leads to receive the meaning of life
born from him, who alone saves, justifies and sanctifies by the gift of the Holy Spirit. Through Jesus
Christ, the human person is transformed to act according to the great narrative of the Scripture which
finds its climax in the ministry and paschal mystery of Jesus Christ. 4

2
Joseph Ratzinger, “Sources of Moral Theology: Keynote Address” in The Priest , September 1984, pp:10-18.
3
Richard M. Gula,S.S. Ethics in Pastoral Ministry, Paulist Press, New York, p.10.
4
John P. Meir, A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus; Doubleday, New York, 1991-2001.
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Scripture interpreted contextually by the best biblical scholarship has become the foundation of
theological ethics since the liberating encyclical of Pius XII 5 on the subject and the promulgation of the
Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation. Recently The Word of the Lord6 of Benedict XVI has stressed
the importance of the Word of God in the life and mission of the Church.

Going beyond proof texting and the passive repetition of abstract moral standards based on sinful
behavior, the enlightened use of Scripture reveals the various patterns of salvation history where God
intervenes among human beings and communicates his will and who he really is by interacting with his
creation through the mysteries of redemptive incarnation of Jesus Christ and the activity of the Holy
Spirit in the body of Christ which is the Church. In fact Jesus Christ became what we are so as to make us
what he is. Human beings in moral striving become like Jesus Christ by being transformed by the Holy
Spirit who makes them participators of God’s Trinitarian life. The constant themes of the Scripture are
related to the redemptive and sanctifying humanity of Jesus Christ. Because Jesus Christ is true God and
true man, he can make human beings like himself. To be like Jesus Christ is the goal of Christian moral
life as Jesus Christ is the center and end of human life (1 Corinthians 15:28).

Scripture reveals to the believer the redemptive presence of God in the person and work of Jesus
Christ7. Theological Ethics is the continual reflection on this mystery in the light of socio-economic
situations calling for wide varieties of moral options. It confronts the social and political issues of
contemporary societies. Research of biblical scholars has fed the theological reflection of Christian
ethicists with a fresh approach of what God has done graciously in human history and how men and
women are responding holistically to the constant moral themes of the Old and New Testaments.

The world today needs the Word of God as light shining in devastating and chaotic human situations.
The Word of God has the power to bring meaning and transformation inspired by prayer, lively worship,
public witness and theological reflection. This theological reflection on human existence values
interpersonal relations and the commitment to the reign of God awakened by faith seeking
understanding. The Word of God is seen as the promises of salvation realized in Jesus Christ (Luke
24:25). It initiates a covenantal relationship with God. The Word of God is the source of divine truth
revealed for the salvation and transformation of human beings. Human beings in theological ethics are
called to be hearers of the Word of God. Good life is the response to the divine truths contained in the
Word of God. By listening carefully to the Word of God believers are transformed into followers of Jesus
Christ who fully understand his instruction, precepts and wisdom as the goals of their human existence.
By obeying reverently, gratefully and appreciatively the Word of God they become fruitful and they are
blessed to share the Trinitarian life of joy, immortality and glory.

This approach of moral transformation flowing from the Scripture interpreted by human reason is the
distinctive feature of post-Vatican II Church. The moral agents are no longer isolated from God’s
revelation in the Scripture. They are connected with the biblical claims of God as author of the basic
5
Pius XII in Divino Afflante Spiritu has significantly put the Word of God rightly interpreted by Hermeneutics at the
heart of Christian living. Sancta Mater Ecclesia endorsed this significant orientation and Dei Verbum crowned the
importance of the Word of God interpreted in story line by literary criticism.
6
Benedict XVI, The Word of the Lord, 2010.
7
Joseph Ratzinger, “Sources of Moral Theology: Closing Address” in The Priest September, 1984, pp.19-30
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nature of all reality. All moral acts belong to God’s plan for human life and for the created world. The
evangelist Luke summarizes Jesus Christ’s own statement on how redeemed human beings are to lead
an ethical life

But why do you call me “lord, Lord” and not do the things which I say? Whoever comes to me,
and hears my sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: He is like a man building a
house, dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream
beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it is founded on the rock. But he
who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation,
against which the stream beat vehemently and immediately it fell and the ruin of that house
was great.8

The discovery of the eschatological dimension of Christian message has made Jesus Christ, the decisive
climax of human history.9 What human beings hope for is already realized in the life, death and
resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Scripture preached today in the context of liturgy is the testimony of
the Trinitarian Persons in their interaction with the created world. The Trinitarian Persons in communion
act in human history by leading God’s people through their covenant love. The living God of Scripture is
constantly present to his people by acting graciously on their behalf. The living God of the Scripture is
the source of life, the subject of soteriological actions and the transformer in depth of created reality in
the body of Christ which is the Church. Post-Vatican II theological ethics relates Christian living to the
mystery of the Holy Trinity assuming human pains, anxieties, fears and hopes. Post-Vatican II
theological ethics is more historically oriented, more biblical, more person-centered and communitarian.
It recognizes the identity rights of the marginalized and works for the rehabilitation of social roles
distorted by sin. It encourages feminism, the movement of human rights and humanitarian concerns.

Post-Vatican II theological ethics has worked out the notion of a hierarchy of laws in moral evaluation. It
acknowledges laws of nature, laws of Scripture, human laws and customs.

Biblical stories of creation, liberation and redemption are meant to inspire the covenant people of God
to act in ways pleasing to God.10In biblical narrative, God in his wisdom has chosen to form the Christian
character of his people by providing models of life-giving behaviors such as the one of the Good
Samaritan, the grateful leper or the Good Steward.

Jesus’ parables teasing the mind are good metaphors in form of stories. They express God’s ecstatic
relationship with his creation by bringing people from familiar situations of everyday life to less familiar
moral decisions about the Kingdom of God. Jesus’ parables play a central role in the formation of moral
character. The moral agent can identify the situations and characters related to the Kingdom of God and
apply the insights of the stories to new situations calling for moral decisions that anticipate the coming
of the eschatological Kingdom of God in human history.

8
Luke 6: 46-49.
9
Rudolf Schnackenburg, Jesus in the Gospels: A Biblical Christology, John Knox Press, Louisville, 1995.
10
Terrence Tilley, Story Theology, Wilmington: Michael Glazier, 1985.
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The commandments of God found in Scripture are meant to be understood in their original settings for a
deeper application to new situations. Prayerful reflection on Scripture can help develop and refine good
habits of the heart called virtues. Virtues form human character. They are practical skills oriented
toward good actions. A moral agent in theological ethics perspective has a sound mind informed by the
principles and insights of the Word of God to bring about out of good habits some good actions for the
sake of the Kingdom of God and for the welfare of human beings in societies. Good habits are formed in
social settings through discipline, love and training. Good habits or virtues are meant to restrict bad
impulses and vices fostering responsible behaviors consistent with the message of the Gospel.

For today’s theological ethics, Scripture is the primary authority for how the disciples of Jesus Christ are
to live their daily lives as persons in family, in work-places, in market-places and as citizens. By listening
to the Word of God and by applying its content to new situations they receive the unearned gifts of
theological virtues associated with faith, hope and love. Theological virtues strengthen the acquired
human virtues of prudence, justice, temperance and fortitude needed to build a society free of social
evils such as war, violence, permissiveness and abject poverty. In today’s world the virtues of altruism,
trustworthiness and mutual care can make a difference in ethical life.

2. Theological Ethics and character Formation through the Seven Sources of Moral
Transformation

Post-Vatican II theological ethics in our view has seven sources: Scripture, the life-stories of God’s
people, the major contributions of natural and social sciences, prayer, the guidance of the Holy Spirit,
the teaching authority of the Church and the life of the saints.

In post-Vatican II theological ethics, life experience of God’s people connected with Scripture has
become the second vital source for moral decisions. Christians have been inspired by the life-stories of
ordinary people who showed moral strength, hope, serenity, trust, compassion, forgiveness, generosity
and solidarity in disturbing and challenging situations. These moving stories of human greatness have
stimulated moral reflection in both individuals and communities. Linked with Scripture, life-stories of
God’s people have provided models for the formation of conscience and character. The contemporary
life stories of God’s people have addressed the issues of poverty, war, bio-engineering, death and dying.
Wherever the narrative methods are used in life-stories of God’s people the aim is to discern positive
values for inspiration. Post-Vatican II theological ethics is less prohibitive by fostering biblical and
anthropological values such as faithfulness, protection of life, quality of interpersonal relationship, social
responsibility and virtuous life. But contemporary cultures compel theological ethics to dialogue with
new trends of post- modern and post-Christian societies. Theological ethics cannot just reaffirm
traditional moral views without expressing them in contemporary and convincing language. Theological
ethics is learning to know the specific situations of our time and to discern new ways of integrating the
concerns, anxieties and hopes of today’s people in its principles. Then social analysis and cultural
analysis are used in theological ethics in order to understand the human person shaped by social and
cultural conditionings.
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The third source of theological ethics is the major contributions of natural and social sciences to the
understanding of what it means to be the human person. Today the human person is perceived as a
related being growing and maturing through different stages corresponding to a dynamic psychic
development involving the mind, the heart and the body. The physical embodiment of the human
person has been explored by natural and social sciences and theological ethics has renewed its
understanding of the human body in moral evaluation. Today, the human body is seen as good and holy.
Theological ethics about sexuality values sexuality as intrinsic to human relationship with God. Salvation
includes the recovery of sexual wholeness. Sexual sins are no longer seen as violation of predetermined
sexual norms but as an alienation from the divinely intended sexuality. As culture and social
environment play a great role in the maturation of the human person, today’s theological ethics is
attentive in moral evaluation to the data of particular cultures and societies. The human person as social
being in every aspect of life makes the former individualistic and legalistic approach of morality
unacceptable. The major contributions of natural and social sciences to theological ethics help to bring
change in social structures by campaigning for better structures consistent with new ways of being
human inspired by the Gospel.

The fourth source of theological ethics is prayer. Prayer is the fundamental activity of a disciple of Jesus
Christ. The disciple of Jesus Christ enters into contact with the Trinitarian God through the inner life of
prayer. Prayer is a quality time set apart to review one’s daily life. It allows the disciple of Jesus Christ to
make daily decisions by seeking God’s heart. Prayer consists in listening God’s Word in faith (Hebrew 4:
2). By building human life on the rock of God’s Word, the disciple of Jesus Christ is open to the agenda
of God. The human heart is the deepest part of the human person experiencing the creative presence of
the Trinitarian God. From the human heart purified by the presence of the Trinitarian God flows the
moral transformation of the person called to discipleship by Christ and anointed by his Spirit.

The fifth source of theological ethics is the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit who prays in the
human person makes the voice of Christ heard and obeyed. The Holy Spirit guides the believer in the
quest of moral transformation. Christian moral transformation requires friendship with Jesus Christ who
helps the disciple to appropriate and to assimilate his life, passion, death and resurrection through the
work of regeneration of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit as comforter empowers the believer for a deeper
relationship with the Trinitarian God that brings the fruits of a blessed life. A blessed life is the one that
confirms the fruits of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). The Holy Spirit makes the disciple of Jesus
Christ an entire new creature (2 Corinthians5:17). By living and walking in the Spirit the disciple of Jesus
Christ acquires a new character (1 Corinthians 13:3-8). Moral transformation is seen in kindness,
humility, patience, forgiveness and thankfulness (Colossians 3:12-16).

The sixth source of theological ethics is the moral authority of the Church giving guidance for the
transformation of the human person. The Church has a moral authority over the disciple of Jesus Christ.
A lifestyle of submission is required in the body of Christ (Romans 13: 1, 5; Titus 3:1; 1 Peter 2: 13;
Ephesians 5:21; Hebrew 12:9; James 4:7). Submission to the guidance of the Church is a Christ-like
behavior worth of Christian imitation (Philippians 2:1-11).
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The seventh source of theological ethics is the life of the saints providing inspiration for moral
transformation through their total gift to God and to others in limitless love. The saints by gracehave led
outstanding lives of love. They laid down their lives for God and for the neighbor. They provide
significant models for Christian living and their stories move to gratitude, growth and generosity.

What are then the greatest challenges of theological ethics today?

The logic of desire explored by depth psychology has placed pleasure and comfort at the pinnacle of
human fulfilment. To say “no” to a desire is to repress it for a law that brings frustration, dissatisfaction
and depression. A person led by the logic of desire rejects rules, regulations and laws. The desiring
person constructs a subjective morality and rejects any objective morality. The subjective view of
morality exalts gratification through pleasure, comfort and freedom from law. Law is seen as repressive
by the desiring person who does not accept any limitations. This instinctive tendency to attain pleasure
is increasingly noticed in contemporary societies with the development of technologies and the
widespread avoidance of pain and suffering. Long-term relationships and coherent projects of life are
sacrificed for every new desire and every new gadget of consumer societies.

The task of theological ethics is to confront the desiring person with the reality of life that emphasizes
the quality of human relationships, the power of self-sacrificial love and the right use of God’s given
humanity. Theological ethics is about how to live true humanity in the sight of the good and wise God of
the Scripture. Human behavior cannot be beyond good and evil. Human behavior in the plan of God is
object of ethical attention and objective norms. By privatizing and trivializing the use of God’s given
humanity, the desiring person does whatever gives enjoyment and personal satisfaction. This self-
centered approach of morality fosters subjectivism, relativism, materialism, hedonism and lawlessness.
It inflates the ego and deprives the self-centered person of true peace, joy and happiness.

What is finally the originality of post-Vatican II theological ethics?

Post-Vatican II theological ethics has the originality of being non- judgmental. It aims at showing God’s
mercy and acceptance toward those who have not yet understood the path of salvation brought by
Jesus Christ. It provides supportive and brotherly community for those who are sincerely wrong. These
people are no longer blamed but accompanied by wise disciples of Jesus Christ in pastoral ministry.

In a pluralistic world post-Vatican II theological ethics is open to dialogue which is today the fruitful
method of being with others in respectful way. Dialogue in a world of competing and conflicting values
makes Christian vulnerable, modest and ready to learn from others.

3. The Theological ethics a Promising Discipline enhancing Social responsibility and Spiritual
Choice for the values of the Trinitarian God

Post-Vatican II theological ethics has a positive vision of Christian lifestyle based on intense fellowship
called love. This love coming from the Trinitarian God is the bedrock of Christian ethical transformation.
Christian ethical transformation is inspired by the love of the Father for his only begotten Son sent to
redeem human beings by the wise and loving power of the Holy Spirit. Human beings made in the image
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of the Trinitarian God are persons capable of love. Christians in their personal lives are in close
relationship with the three persons of the Holy Trinity who live in the deepest part of them
(1Corinthians 6:19; John 14:23; 1John 4: 12, 16). By living in love, Christians experience God’s presence
in their personal lives. The indwelling of the Triune God empowers and strengthens the Christians to act
ethically in any and every situation. Christians who are aware of the presence of the Trinitarian God in
the depth of their heart can do anything God wants them to do. Theological ethics is today the
framework of Trinitarian love that empowers and strengthens human transformation. God dwelling in
Christians is the measure of ethical transformation. Christian ethical transformation flows from the
indwelling of the Triune God who inspires in Christ the commitment to the reign of God in the world.
The Triune God living in Christians invites them to be holy (1 Peter 1:16). Holiness implies divine
adoption leading to an interior transformation that makes Christians to be like Christ. By being like
Christ, Christians act ethically when they give public witness to the Trinitarian God meeting the deepest
needs of human beings, the need of fellowship, of forgiveness, shared life of mutual service and
communion.

Theological ethics is about the values of the Trinitarian God. The Trinitarian God loves its creation and
wants the transformation of the creation into its Kingdom. The eternal begotten Son of the Father came
into the world to give his life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45). Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross was the
supreme demonstration of the Father’s love for the world (John 3:16). Jesus’ resurrection brings to the
world the blessings of God in terms of peace, righteousness, joy, healing, holiness, forgiveness,
reconciliation and communion with the Trinitarian God. Theological ethics is about the values of the
Kingdom of God: brotherhood or sisterhood in Christ, righteousness, joy, peace, healing, holiness,
forgiveness, reconciliation and communion. An authentic Christian theological ethics is concerned with
the restoration of wholeness through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on all people, forgiven and
sanctified. A Trinitarian theological ethics is Christ-centered. Christians who honor Christ by their
commitment to the Kingdom values do the will of the Father and the Holy Spirit guides them for the
greater glory of the Trinitarian God. The Trinitarian God is glorified when the world is transformed into
the household of God. A vision of the blue planet as a refreshing garden for the human family rejoicing
together under the Trinitarian God is the goal of Post-Vatican II Trinitarian theological ethics.

The post-Vatican II Trinitarian theological ethics we have developed in this essay has shown the
relevance of the Word of God for the Christian living of the post-modern person. The Word of God can
shape the lifestyle of the post-modern person. The post-Vatican II Trinitarian theological ethics teaches
the post-modern person how to use freedom which is the highest gift of the natural person in order to
enter in the awesome supernatural life of the revealed Trinitarian God. The Word of God in both Old
and New testaments is basic and radical for ethical life. God’s way is the best for human existence.
Christians by following Jesus’ way of life loves God and the neighbor (Deuteronomy 6:5; Leviticus 19:18,
34). They take God as life’s companion and the neighbor as the human face of God. Christians are
journeying toward the absolute future of God called the Kingdom of God when they opt for a virtuous
life of love. They are set apart to mediate the presence of God in the world. The post-Vatican II
Trinitarian theological ethics is the practical frame for a renewed relationship with God, with the
neighbor and with the creation. The Trinitarian God becomes the center of human life. Christians who
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live out from the indwelling of the Trinitarian God are genuine human beings depending of God’s
strength, grace and power. They radiate in humility God’s love through the ongoing exercise of their
freedom for a shared life of service, self-sacrifice and communion. They become stewards of the good
creation of God promoting justice, integrity of creation and brotherhood or sisterhood without borders.

Trinitarian theological ethics promotes the virtuous life of compassion that characterizes the public
ministry of Jesus Christ who was open to the needs of people he encountered in various circumstances.
To live a Christ-like compassion today requires the ethical option to side with the abused, the
marginalized, the poor and the oppressed dehumanized by uncaring people. Compassion is only possible
when the ethical person overcomes tribal consciousness by expanding the horizon of benevolence to all
human beings in need of help. The compassionate moral agent is the one who is a state of connection
with all human beings through a positive perception of their presence. The true compassionate person is
fully aware of the dignity of all human beings as creatures of God deserving attention, acceptance and
unconditional love. By refusing to label them through a conditioned mind shaped by upbringing and past
life-experiences, the compassionate person expands the horizon of hospitality by being gracious to all
human beings imaging in the world the compassionate love of Jesus Christ.

Our broken and divided world calls for an overflowing compassion. The Trinitarian gift of compassion is
the love by which the disciples of Jesus Christ are recognized as faithful messengers of the Gospel (John
13:35). It is the love that shares patiently the plight and the sorrows of others in attitudes of solidarity
that it is healing. It is a hopeful awareness of being one with others. In this sense, the post-Vatican II
Trinitarian theological ethics is a successful story of an academic discipline which has superseded the
legalistic objective morality of forbidden sin that had made God’s people predominantly unhappy and
guilty for many centuries. Trinitarian theological ethics is convinced that God is already working in the
lives of people for their wholeness. By becoming aware of the values of God through the proclamation
of the Word of God, the moral agent is called to a free change attitude of heart that promotes a virtuous
life of steadfast love.

Concluding Remarks

Fifty years after Vatican II the pilgrim people of God is thinking differently moral life. The splendor of the
truth is in the person of Jesus Christ inviting human beings to share the perfect goodness of the
Trinitarian God through a virtuous life of love.

Moral life is no longer about forbidden behaviors and acts which are intrinsically evil. Moral life flows
from the human person whose heart is purified by the Gospel message of Jesus Christ and who makes
the fundamental option to share the Trinitarian God’s values in the body of Christ led by the Holy Spirit
in the renewed family of the Father.

Doing theological ethics is a personal and communitarian option to be better people of God in the midst
of real human history made of ambiguities, conflicting options and paradoxes.
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In Post-Vatican II Church, normative morality is slowly dying for a Christ-centered and Kingdom-centered
theological ethics focusing on the human person pursuing a virtuous life of love required by the
baptismal experience of the Trinitarian God.

Doing Trinitarian theological ethics implies the rejection of moralism, legalism and authoritarianism for a
better approach of the human person as a discerning agent inspired by the Gospel that does Justice,
Peace and fellowship in the redeemed world.