BEYOND NATURAL LAW
RETHINKING THE CONCEPT OF THE FAMILY IN THE CATHOLIC MORAL TRADITION
Keywords:
Catholic Moral Tradition, Family, Moral Law, Natural Law, Social DoctrineAbstract
The family has been an important subject in Catholic moral tradition. Grounded on the classical interpretation of Natural Law (NL), the Church continues to teach that the family is the most basic unit of society. This is evident and concrete in the Magisterial texts, pastoral pronouncements, and ecclesiastical norms and regulations. In recent years, especially under Pope Francis, a challenge has been made to think of and about the family in more pastoral rather than philosophicaltheological-juridical terms. To what extent will this succeed or sustain — depends on the Church’s willingness to interrogate the very framework of its moral perspective and vision, which is still grounded on NL.
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