Josef Fuchs (1912–2005) was a German Roman Catholic theologian and

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

priest of the 20th century.

Life

Born 5 July 1912, Josef Fuchs was a German

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

priest, who taught at the

Gregorian University The Pontifical Gregorian University ( it, Pontificia Università Gregoriana; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana,) is a higher education ecclesiastical school (pontifical university) located in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as ...

in Rome for almost thirty years. In the 1950s, Fuchs's ''Natural Law'' and ''De Castitate'' were the standard texts for moral theology courses. Fuchs' theology focuses mostly on moral objectivity. While serving on the Pontifical Commission on Population, Family, and Birth from 1963 to 1966, Fuchs experienced an intellectual conversion on two levels: his understanding on the issue of artificial means of

birth control Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent unwanted pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth contr ...

within marriage and his understanding of natural law, appropriating the

theological anthropology In the context of Christian theology, Christian anthropology is the study of the human (anthropos) as it relates to God. It differs from the social science of anthropology, which primarily deals with the comparative study of the physical and soc ...

of fellow Jesuit Karl Rahner. This set the stage for Fuchs' work to achieve in moral theology what Rahner had accomplished in systematic theology. Fuchs chaired a theological commission on contraception, the majority report of which was rejected by Pope Paul VI in the encyclical '' Humanae vitae''. Father James Keenan, SJ, who studied under Fuchs, has claimed that Fuchs was one of those who provided the foundations for the moral theology of the Second Vatican Council. Deacon James Keating, conversely, sees Fuchs's views as conflicting with key points of Pope John Paul II's moral theology, and Keating stated in 2004 that he expected Fuchs's influence on future moral theologians to be minor. Fuchs died in Cologne on 9 March 2005.Keenan, James F., "Champion of Conscience", ''America'', 4 April 2005
/ref>

Works (available in English)

*''Christian Morality: The Word Becomes Flesh'' *''Moral Demands and Personal Obligations'' *''Personal Responsibility and Christian Morality''

Life

Works (available in English)

References

Further reading