NORMATIVE ANTHROPOLOGY AFTER GAUDIUM ET SPES
INSIGHT FOR A LIBERATIVE ETHIC
Keywords:
ANTHROPOLOGY, LIBERATIVE ETHICAbstract
The Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) signalled a significant shift
in the trajectory of the Roman Catholic Church. The spirit of
aggiornamento, which effectively opened the doors of the Church to
the world, had a notable impact on the way in which we think about
the human person as a moral agent. The human person as a moral
agent is an embodied person who lives in relationship with God and
with creation, including other human beings and all living organisms
on the earth. Sustained reflection on how we live in relationship to
each other, to God, and to our planet lies at the heart of theological
ethics. However, we know that fractures abound in these
relationships, sweeping far too many persons to the margins. As a
result, theological ethics must always begin from the recesses of the
dominant purview. In this essay, I celebrate Gaudium et Spes as a
point of departure and use theological anthropology and reflection
on the body as two additional resources that can generate a robust
liberative ethic, which has the capacity to raise our collective
consciousness to hear the voices of those who inhabit the margins.
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