With the passing of Germain Grisez on Thursday, Catholicism has lost not only one of the most original theologians and ethicists of the last half-century, but one of the towering protagonists in what might be called the Church’s “wars of culture” over that span of time.Grisez became one of the most outspoken and forceful defenders of traditional views on contested matters in sexual morality, such as birth control and abortion. The ongoing relevance of both of those debates is reflected in new ferment that surrounds each.