Summaries / Resúmenes - Studia Moralia

280 REVIEWS / RECENSIONESFour, “The Form of a Good Moral Action,” considers what must betaken into account for a good moral action (i.e., object, end, circumstances),as well as the relationship between virtuous behavior, teleology,and human happiness. Chapter Five, “The Life of ChristianVirtue and Freedom,” discusses Christian believer as a moral agentand the role of the virtues, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and the newlaw of freedom in Christ for life in a Christian community. Theappendix looks at the main schools of classical casuistry which (sothe author claims) dominated Catholic moral theology from theCouncil of Trent to the Second Vatican Council, and outlines itsmain characteristics. The select bibliography lists recent Englishmaterial on fundamental Catholic moral theology and related fields.A fifteen-page index is very well done and provides a useful referencetool for teaching, study, and research.The author displays a wide breadth of knowledge and is veryconversant in both classical and contemporary sources. He stateshis presuppositions clearly and responds well to possible objectionsto his arguments. These he presents with great clarity and tour deforce. The main strength of the book is its careful use of Aquinas’sthought to elucidate the principles of moral realism that underlieCatholic magisterial teaching on the moral life. This reviewer wasparticularly pleased to find an integrated (as opposed to truncated)Thomism presented in the book, one that posits a continuity in thefields of dogma, moral theology, and spiritual theology. Theauthor’s discussion of the gifts of the Spirit as aids to the virtueswhen facing concrete difficulties was especially well appreciated.Although this reviewer found nothing in the author’s presentation ofAquinas’s thought that could not be found elsewhere, in such writersas M.-D. Chenu, Ralph McInerny, and Servais Pinckaers, he wasimpressed with his command of source material, his probing analysisof the Catholic tradition of moral realism, and his strong synthesizingabilities. The result is a polished tome that may well becomethe standard text for studying the philosophical and theologicalunderpinnings of the Catholic magisterial moral teaching.As far as the book’s shortcomings are concerned, this reviewerwas disappointed that the author did not say much regarding thechallenges facing the magisterium’s elaboration of Catholic moralrealism today and how approaches other than Aquinas’s might helpto meet them. He was also disappointed that the author did not presentany of the research that calls into question the causal connectionbetween the growing historical influence of William of