15. Intercultural Ethics and Institutions: Challenges and Possibilities

The chapter critically examines moral agents and their agency, as well as institutions and structures, by discussing how moral agents, institutions, and structures are, at the same time, influenced by and able to frame ongoing cultural dynamics. This assessment allows to identify the changes and transformations that occur, and those which are needed to foster inclusivity and promote the common good. In such a way, cultures are approached as living realities that continue to evolve. Theological ethics accompanies individuals, groups, networks, collectives, and institutions in addressing these transformations by enabling an inclusive and comprehensive—Catholic—approach that aims at empowering moral agents; that critically assesses moral agents and institutions, along with their practices; and that strives to modify unjust structures and their power dynamics. Contributions of Protestant and Catholic theologians, as well as the teachings of recent Popes point to the challenges and possibilities that characterize moral agents and institutions in the demanding task of engaging cultural diversity in today’s pluralist, globalized, and multireligious world.