Vulnerability can be a sign of hope in these fragile times. But how do we teach our students to be vulnerable?
James F. Keenan, S.J.
James F. Keenan, S.J., a moral theologian, is the Canisius Professor at Boston College.
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Focusing on the individual is not enough to face today’s crises. We need collective moral agency.
In the field of Catholic theological ethics, the concept of collective moral agency is becoming more and more important. Why?
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How Americans lost our trust in government—and how we can rebuild it
The widespread collapse of social trust has led to a summons to work for its restoration in a variety of significant institutions.
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The Catholic case for American cosmopolitanism
A cosmopolitan stance—one that values other cultures while treasuring the unique gifts of one’s own—is a necessary one in a world where Donald Trump is destroying the venturing spirit and generosity of the American people.
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What comes next? A moral theologian’s 5 post-election takeaways
Five matters have been on my mind in the weeks since Donald Trump won the 2024 U.S. presidential election, each of them connected to my work as a moral theologian.
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The liberating work of mercy: Banning ‘servile work’
The church’s teaching on servile work as it developed over the centuries is another indicator of how the church constantly sought ways not only to extend its evangelization but to challenge itself to recognize fully the others for whom Christ died.
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A brief history of the corporal works of mercy
The works of mercy are the practices that Christian disciples collectively engage to respond to the needs of others. Both the Beatitudes and the works of mercy are our pathways, one inner, one outer, to lead us into fellowship with the poor in spirit.
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The Beatitudes: A training manual for the moral life
The Beatitudes provide a course of training that develops our vulnerability so as to recognize the poor in spirit. In this sense, they are a remarkable guide to life.
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Vulnerability isn’t weakness. It’s what makes us human—and able to love.
Vulnerability, defined as the capacity the human being has to be open and responsive to another human being, is a central mark of what makes us human.
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The great religious failure: not recognizing a person in need
If you do not recognize, you do not act. Recognition is the beginning of the moral life, writes Jesuit moral theologian James Keenan, S.J.