St. Alphonsus is the Church’s moral doctor. His work, bringing together the commentary of the moral theologians of his day, holds the middle ground between rigorism and laxism.
The first volume contains Books 1 – 3, covering Conscience, then Law, followed by sin, and then the Theological Virtues.
The second volume contains the first part of Book 4, on the Ten Commandments [titled On the Precepts of the Decalogue] covering the first through sixth commandments. Here St. Alphonsus takes on questions on superstition, divination, irreligion, magic, vows, oaths, blasphemy, the obligation to hear Mass, obedience between superiors and inferiors or parents and children, questions on murder, just war, duels, and finally, sexual sins against the 6th and 9th commandments.
We are currently working on volume III, which will contain more of Book IV on the Seventh Commandment (which is longer than the previous 6) and this takes up not just questions about theft proper, but anything offending against this commandment in contracts, business dealings, and above all, by usury. If we can we will try to fit in the eighth commandment depending on the page limitations.
For more information see below.
In each article, St. Alphonsus begins with the commentary of Henry Busembaum, a Jesuit whose work the saint highly favored, and combines with it the commentary of all the moral theologians, dividing opinions into the more probable, less probable, and even those that are erroneous or must be avoided, citing St. Thomas Aquinas most frequently throughout. St. Alphonsus adds his own commentary and explains the reasoning for various opinions and shows how former opinions favored by older theologians had been superseded by subsequent decisions of the Magisterium. In the editing process, we have tried as much as we are able to add footnotes where certain teachings of St. Alphonsus’ day have been superseded by modern teaching of the Magisterium.
We need to raise funds, however, to complete this project. A lot of work goes into the Translation as well as the editing and layout. For these donations, we will provide the following:
$50 = The entire set in e-book
Donate $50$100 = The entire set in e-book and one volume.
Donate $100$1,000 = The entire set in e-book and in paperback. Donors at this level will receive early access to each volume as they are released.
Donate $1,000$2,000 = The entire set in e-book and in hardback. Donors at this level will receive early access to each volume as they are released.
Donate $2,000
***Current Status***
Volumes are where the books will appear in the English edition:
Volume I:
Book 1 (Conscience, Law); Book 2 (Sin); Book 3 (Virtue);
Published!
Volume II:
Book 4 (Ten Commandments, 1-6)
Published!
Volume III:
Book 4 (cont.) On the Seventh Commandment, De Justitia et Jure
Translating
Volume IV
Book 4 (cont.) On the 8th-10th Commandments. Book 5 (On particular precepts dealing with clergy);
Volume V:
Book 6 (Sacraments in General, Baptism Conf. Eucharist).
Volume VI:
Book 6 (Cont.) On the Penance, Extreme Unction, Order, Matrimony
Volume VII
Praxis Confessari
Book 7 (Censures: excommunication, suspension, irregularity, etc.)
Examination of those to be Ordained; Epitome of Moral and Canonical Doctrine from the works of Benedict XIV
Decrees of the Roman Pontiff and their Bearing on Moral Theology,
The Index of Forbidden Books, select questions