Introduction: Complex Situations

Abstract

The articles in the July 2024 issue of the _Journal of Moral Theology_ bring to the fore a series of anomalies for Catholic moral theology or, as one might call them, complex situations. These complex situations highlight Pope Francis’s constant maxim that reality is greater than ideas. These very realities inform his methodological vision for theology articulated in _Ad Theologiam Promovendam_, which itself provides a roadmap for Catholic moral theology moving forward. Only such a method—synodal, contextual, transdisciplinary, sacramental, and (in)formed by caritas—understands that what is foundational are not abstract philosophical principles but rather the necessarily complex realities of creation, human life and, therefore, the Christian moral life.