01/07/2026 17:20 - 19:30

HALL: Pola - A108

Contact: Ten Klooster A.

Chair: Smeets A.

The teaching of churches on the content of their beliefs (doctrine) and the moral behavior considered fitting for their members (ethics) has developed over time, and still develops. To some, this is a given, whereas to other the notion of 'change in teaching' is contentious. The purpose of this session is to unite scholars interested historical, apparent, or proposed developments in (sexual) ethics.


There are several angles from which the question of development can be studied. Historically, it could be argued that some teachings and practices do change. When they do, the question remains how a tradition accounts for it: what happened to the content of a fundamental category such as natural law, when the permissibility of slavery is challenged?


In Catholic theology, Newman's 'Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine' is foundational. More recently, Seewald's 'Theories of Doctrinal Development in the Catholic Church' reflects on how Newman and others have shaped views continuity and discontinuity. Might there be ecclesiological perspectives that allow for an idea of rupture or reversal without challenging the unity of a given faith tradition?


The question of development can touch upon neuralgic issues, specifically considering human sexuality. We invite speakers to explore fundamental questions such as human dignity, the function of penal law, or natural law. Does the emergence of 'human dignity' as a fundamental notion, take precedence over other concerns, such as the apparent necessity of retribution for capital crimes? Possible paper subjects include, but are not limited to: methods and dynamics of actual or possible change, the role of theology in development, the appropriation of new ideas such as human dignity, the use of traditional ethical categories for new topics such as gender issues, reflection on 'silent' reversals in pastoral practices, ecclesiological processes of discerning future developments etc.