Synopses & Reviews
Gaudium et Spes, Vatican II’s Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, marked fundamental shifts in ethical methodology, in how we do ethics in the Catholic tradition, and in how we think about ethical and ecclesial issues in the Catholic Church in the modern world. On the document’s fiftieth anniversary, this book explores the historical origins of
Gaudium et Spes, its impact on the Church’s ecclesial self-understanding, and its implications for doing Catholic theological ethics for the specific ethical issues of marriage, social justice, politics, and peacebuilding.The book engages in the ongoing communal discernment of the
aggiornamento sought by the council’s convener, Pope John XXIII, seeking to bring the Church up to date in the twenty-first century.
About the Author
Michael G. Lawler, PhD, Amelia and Emil Graff Professor Emeritus of Catholic Theology at Creighton University, received his training in theology at Dublin, Oxford, Rome, and St. Louis. He was a member of the Theology Department at Creighton for thirty-five years and is a prolific lecturer and writer. He has published twenty-two books and some 150 scholarly essays on topics related to sacraments, marriage, and sexuality. His most recent books are co-authored with Todd Salzman: the award winning and best-selling
The Sexual Person: Towards a Renewed Catholic Anthropology (Georgetown University Press, 2008);
Sexual Ethics: A Theological Introduction (Georgetown University Press, 2012). Dr. Lawler and his wife Susan have three adult children and four grandchildren.Todd A. Salzman, PhD, is professor of theology at Creighton University. His areas of interest include Christian ethical theory, sexual ethics, biomedical ethics, and ethics and international humanitarian law. In addition to the co-authored books with Dr. Lawler, he has published over sixty scholarly articles in journals such as
Theological Studies,
Studia Moralia,
Heythrop Journal, and
Louvain Studies. Todd is married to Katy Salzman and they have three children: Ian, Aaron, and Emily.
Eileen Burke-Sullivan, STD, holds the Barbara Reardon Heaney Chair in Pastoral Liturgical Theology and associate professor of theology at Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska. She also directs the MA programs in ministry and Christian spirituality at Creighton. Eileen co-authored The Ignatian Tradition, published by Liturgical Press, and has lectured and published widely on liturgical, spiritual, and ecclesial topics. Eileen and her husband, Michael Sullivan, live in Omaha.