UST’s Contribution to the Development of Moral Theology in the Philippines

Abstract

The paper discusses the contribution of the University of Santo Tomas (UST), particularly of the Faculty of Sacred Theology, to the development of Moral Theology in the Philippines. It traces the foundations of UST’s Moral Theology tradition from the Thomistic Aristotelian tradition of the Dominicans who taught this discipline in UST. It also talks of missionary catechesis as a method in moral theology, and of the manualist moral theology. It moreover discusses the development of moral theology after the Second Vatican Council. It will end with a mention of the emergence of Bioethics, treated as a theological moral discipline, and the introduction of the Salamanca process in the teaching and research of Moral Theology. It concludes with a presentation of how the professors of moral theology in the University responded to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.