Religion & Law

A while back, several of us had a friendly exchange on natural law and the moral natural law. The International Theological Commission (ITC), whose five year mandate expires at the end of this calendar year, is meeting over the next five days to address a draft document on the moral natural law. The draft is presently entitled, The Search for Universal Ethics: A New Look at Natural Law. These sessions of the ITC are under the direction of my former colleague at the Gregorian University, and, I believe, still friend, Luis Ladaria, S.J., who retains his post at the Gregorian but is also the Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and the General Secretary of the ITC. It is thought that the draft will receive the ITC?s approval soon; however, there are still some procedural issues that must be dealt with prior to publication. Since the ITC will have an audience with Pope Benedict later this week as they conclude their plenary, there may be some chance that the approved text will be released shortly thereafter. I, for one, look forward to reading this document and will try to make it available by hyperlink, perhaps with a brief commentary.

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