Continuing the Quest for Morality Truly Christian, Truly African

Paulinus Ikechukwu Odozor is among the preeminent moral theologians of our time. He has reached the pinnacle of his profession after serving more than two decades as a professor of theology at the University of Notre Dame. Among African theologians, he stands at the forefront of the generation that came of age in the early postconciliar period. Fr. Odozor’s work in Morality Truly Christian, Truly African: Foundational, Methodological, and Theological Considerations (2014) has become a classic in the field of Catholic moral theology. His contribution to reuniting moral theology to dogmatics is a key element to processing the contention in theological scholarship in the wake of Vatican II and the shifting of the socio-economic global landscape. Understanding the influence of theologians such as Richard McCormick, Charles Curran, and Edward Schillebeeckx, Fr. Odozor, he is unable to ignore the work of John Paul II, Joseph Ratzinger, Joseph Boyle, and John Cavadini as essential to the age of renewal in the field of moral theology.

            The essays in this volume highlight the fruits of Fr. Odozor's ability to move between the spheres of moral and dogmatic theology, and his particular treatment of the nature of God, ecclesiology, and interreligious dialogue. He is a theologian who is rightly positioned within a postconciliar moral theological context, and his thought is critical as we enter a new era in the Church that no longer takes Vatican II as its reference point––that is, the Church is reorienting toward the future, in continuity but seeking to discern what lies ahead. Claiming postconciliar theologians shared basic agreement regarding the mission of the Church, within the foggy contention among pre- and postconciliar moral theologians Odozor sees a legitimate albeit complex connection. Fr. Odozor's appreciation for Humanae Vitae and Veritatis Splendor is clear, and his fidelity to seeing issues like contraception as a "God question" and representing the concerns and voices of Africa make him an indispensable leader of the Church in this field of study. His mission to "bring Africa to the University of Notre Dame, and Notre Dame to Africa," has been more successful than former dean John Cavadini expected: African theology is no longer separated from the wider world thanks to this partnership and Fr. Odozor's acumen to establish moral...read more...