Moral Theology after Humanae Vitae: Fundamental Issues in Moral Theory and Sexual Ethics

The author discusses some of the major developments in fundamental moral theology which were sparked off by the publication of the hugely controversial encyclical, Humanae Vitae (1968), as well as the impact of its rejection by many leading moral theologians. Within the broader cultural background of modernity, Professor Twomey analyzes this dissent and attempts to sketch an alternative moral theology based on the recovery of virtue as the context for moral reflection and on a new appreciation of the nature of sexuality. He also attempts a positive appreciation of the generally neglected 'doctrinal content' of Pope Paul VI's encyclical that shook the world when it appeared in order to explain why Humanae Vitae remains to this day a sign of contradiction within the Church and beyond.