Moral Theology

Moral theology is the branch of theology that studies human acts and the sources of those deliberate acts so that the disciple of Jesus Christ can direct them to the loving vision of God understood as his/her true, complete happiness and final end. This vision is attained by means of grace, the virtues, and the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and in the light of both revelation and reason. As an academic discipline, moral theology answers the call to "develop a deeper understanding of the reasons underlying the Church's teachings and to expound the validity and obligatory nature of the precepts it proposes, demonstrating their connection with one another and their relation with one's ultimate end." (Veritatis Splendor, §110) In this way, the student of moral theology strives to "be transformed by the renewal of [his/her] mind, that [he/she] may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect." (Rom. 12:2)

Department Chair

Justin M. Anderson, Ph.D. 
(973) 275-2112

Full-time faculty and areas of specialization

• Justin M. Anderson, Ph.D.
  Areas of specialization: Thomistic Ethics
  Areas of concentration: Moral Theology; Philosophical Ethics; Virtue Ethics; Medieval Philosophy and Theology

Adjunct faculty and areas of specialization

• Reverend Lucio Nontol, T.O.R., Ph.D.
  Areas of specialization:  Moral Theology; Bioethics; Philosophy of Alasdair MacIntyre; Philosophy of Jacques Derrida; Philosophy and Theology of Ramon Llull; Moral Theology of Joseph Ratzinger; Thomas Merton's Spirituality; Counseling and Spirituality
• Reverend Pawel Tomczyk, Ph.D.
  Areas of specialization:  Moral Theology; Catholic Sexual Ethics; Theology of the Body

Recently-retired faculty and areas of specialization

• Reverend W. Jerome Bracken, C.P., Ph.D.
  Areas of specialization:  Healthcare Ethics; Catholic Sexual Teaching; Christology and Soteriology of Thomas Aquinas; Thomas Aquinas's Ethics of Virtue; Thomas Aquinas's Anthropology

Degrees offered

• Master of Divinity in Pastoral Ministry
• Master of Arts in Theology

Active courses

• CETH 6105: Fundamental Moral Theology I
• CETH 6201: Fundamental Moral Theology II
• CETH 6306: Catholic Sexual Teaching
• CETH 6205: Health Care Ethics
• CETH 6407: Catholic Social Teaching
• CETH 6112 (STHO 6112): Moral Evil and Moral Absolutes
• CETH 6121: Christ, Morality & the Sacraments
• CETH 6126 (STHO 6126): Ethics of Virtue
• CETH 6130: Major Themes in Christian Ethics
• CETH 6138 (STHO 6138): Theological Aesthetics: God, Beauty, and Film
• CETH 6259: Secularism and Catholicism
• CETH 6422: Christian Decision Making
• CETH 6509 (STHO 6509): Christian Marriage
• CETH 6588 (PTHO 6588): Christianity and Human Happiness
• CETH 6655 (PTHO 6655): Contemporary Pastoral-Ethical Issues
• CETH 6252 (PTHO/STHO): Theology of the Body
• CETH 6254 (PTHO/STHO): Theology and Spirituality of Marriage and Family
• CETH 6266: Spirituality of Disability
• CETH 6401: Canon Law for Deacons
• CETH 6405 (PTHO): Canon Law of Christian Marriage