Génicot, Édouard
GÉNICOT, ÉDOUARD
Jesuit moral theologian; b. Antwerp, June 18, 1856;d. Louvain, Feb. 21, 1900. Génicot entered the Society of Jesus on Sept. 27, 1872. He took over the chair of moral theology at Louvain in 1889, teaching first Canon Law and then moral theology until his death in 1900. His teaching was marked by great clarity and the avoidance of subtleties, and by the careful pursuit of principles to their legitimate conclusions. His Theologiae Moralis Institutiones, first published in 1896, went through numerous revised editions and became the standard moral text in many seminaries. It draws its inspiration mainly from the large work of Ballerini-Palmieri, and was in turn frequently edited and adapted, especially after the promulgation of the Code of Canon Law, by Génicot's nephew, Joseph Salsmans. Génicot judiciously popularized, for the use of students and the general public, the work that Ballerini had written for scholars. Génicot's other wellknown work, Casus Conscientiae, published posthumously at Louvain in 1901, was also brought up to date by Salsmans.
Bibliography: p. bernard, Dictionnaire de théologie catholique 6.2: 1223–24. h. hurter, Nomenclator literarius theologiae catholicae 5.2:2056.
[j. h. campana]