Background

James Keenan was born on February 15, 1953, in Brooklyn, New York, United States. He is the son of Francis and Dolores (Goodwin) Keenan.

Education

In 1976 James graduated from Fordham University, receiving a Bachelor of Arts. He holds a Master of Divinity (1982) from Weston School of Theology (present-day Boston College School of Theology and Ministry), Licentiate of Sacred Theology (1984), and Doctor of Sacred Theology (1988) from Pontifical Gregorian University.

Career

James F. Keenan started his career as a Teacher of Religion and English at Canisius High School, Buffalo from 1977 to 1979. In 1987 he became an Assistant Professor of Moral Theology at Fordham University. In 1991 James took the position of Assistant Professor of Moral Theology at Weston Jesuit School of Theology (present-day Boston College School of Theology and Ministry). He then became an Associate Professor of Moral Theology from 1993 to 1999 and Professor of Moral Theology from 1995 to 2005. From 2003 to 2005 James served as a Visiting Professor at Boston College, and since 2005 he is a Professor of Theological Ethics there. Since 2014 Keenan is a Canisius Professor and Director of Jesuit Institute.

In 2002, Keenan founded Catholic Theological Ethics in the World Church, a global network of theological ethicists and practitioners that has transformed the field by bringing together thousands of Catholic theological ethicists from more than 70 countries to learn from one another and speak out on pressing issues, such as climate change and migrants and refugees. Keenan served as chair of the organization from its founding until he stepped down in 2019.

Keenan is an accomplished scholar who is the author/co-author or editor/co-editor of numerous books, including Moral Wisdom: Lessons and Texts from the Catholic Tradition; Paul and Virtue Ethics: Building Bridges Between New Testament Studies and Moral Theology; Catholic Ethicists on HIV/AIDS Prevention, which won an Alpha Sigma Nu Book Award, and The Bible and Catholic Theological Ethics, which received recognition from the Catholic Press Association. For 10 years, he was the editor of Georgetown University Press' Moral Traditions series, which produced some 50 titles.

Achievements

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  James F. Keenan is an internationally renowned moral theologian and prolific author. He is a highly regarded teacher and mentor of students ranging from undergraduates to doctoral candidates. He received the 2018 Phi Beta Kappa Teaching Award, presented annually by Boston College students in the national honor society. In 2019 he became a recipient of the John Courtney Murray Award, presented by the Catholic Theological Society of America in recognition of a lifetime of distinguished theological achievement.

Works

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  • Paul and Virtue Ethics: Building Bridges Between New Testament Studies and Moral Theology

    (In Paul and Virtue Ethics, Daniel Harrington and James Ke...)

    2010
  • Street Homelessness and Catholic Theological Ethics

    (A collection spanning five continents that seeks to deepe...)

    2019
  • The Works of Mercy: The Heart of Catholicism

    (The Works of Mercy introduces readers to the seven corpor...)

    2005
  • Virtues for Ordinary Christians

    (Simplifying the practice of virtue is what James Keenan d...)

    1996
  • Moral Wisdom: Lessons and Texts from the Catholic Tradition

    (Moral Wisdom introduces readers to moral theory through a...)

    2004
  • University Ethics: How Colleges Can Build and Benefit from a Culture of Ethics

    (Stories about ethical issues at universities make headlin...)

    2015
  • A History of Catholic Moral Theology in the Twentieth Century: From Confessing Sins to Liberating Consciences 2010
  • Catholic Theological Ethics Past, Present, and Future: The Trento Conference 2011
  • Journal of Moral Theology, Volume 8, Special Issue 1: Contingent Faculty 2019
  • Catholic Ethicists on HIV/AIDS 2000

Religion

Keenan is a member of the Roman Catholic church.

Membership

Keenan is a member of the Society of Christian Ethics since 1989 and the Catholic Theological Society of America since 1991.

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  Society of Christian Ethics , United States

  1989 - present

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  Catholic Theological Society of America , United States

  1991 - present