Toward an American Catholic moral theology /

All nine essays in this volume have been published before. The first four, grouped together under the caption ``Moral Theology Looks at Itself,'' include discussion of the distinctiveness of Christian ethics, biomedicine and bioethics, moral theology in the US, and historical development of moral theology. The first three of these essays are well documented. The other five essays, grouped together under ``Moral Theology Looks at Our Society,'' includes studies of just taxation in the Roman Catholic tradition, filial responsibility for an elderly parent, a Christian perspective on religious freedom and human rights, the US Bishops' Pastoral Letter on the Economy, and the differences between personal morality and public policy. These essays are mostly brief accounts of historical developments within the various issues. They will be most useful to the undergraduate who needs an introduction to this material. There is little in the volume that points to creative, valuable work on these issues in the future. All of the essays but one are suppled with references that could serve as a reading list. Appropriate for undergraduate, community college, and graduate libraries.-M.C. Rose, St. Mary's Seminary and University