“Donnez-moi une place”: an introduction to the theological ethics of France Quéré

Abstract

David Sinclair first presented this reflection on the writing of the French ethicist France Quéré (1936–95) at the inaugural meeting of the Church of Scotland’s Church and Society Council in order to demonstrate the kind of thinking that would be necessary when approaching the kinds of ethical issues facing the Council. Prominent in the French protestant community as a patristic theologian, Quéré’s subsequent work on the family, the place of women in society, and disability issues led to her becoming a member of the French National Consultative Ethics Committee. This paper picks out some of the key themes from her writing during this period: human rights and the quest for justice; suffering and death; love and sex; and drug addiction, as well as outlining her engagement with reception theory.