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PRINCIPLES OF CATHOLIC MORALITY

Lecture 1, Part 3

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What is Morality?It is the standard of goodness and perfection

conformed to the ideals of right human conduct and to God. It is the standard which God Himself has given.– Natural Law is written in the hearts of men and

reason by itself tells him what is good and what is evil. But man fell from grace, and rationalizes according to his fallen nature.

– The standard of morality is revealed by God alone partially through the prophets and fully through Jesus. It guides man’s fallen nature to the right path.

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Hebrews 1: 1-2

• 1 In times past, God spoke in partial and various ways to our ancestors through the prophets;

• 2 in these last days, he spoke to us through a son, whom he made heir of all things and through whom he created the universe,

• Confraternity of Christian Doctrine. Board of Trustees, Catholic Church. National Conference of Catholic Bishops, & United States Catholic Conference. Administrative Board. (1996, c1986). The New American Bible : Translated from the original languages with critical use of all the ancient sources and the revised New Testament (Heb 1:1). Confraternity of Christian Doctrine.

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John 14:15

15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

• Confraternity of Christian Doctrine. Board of Trustees, Catholic Church. National Conference of Catholic Bishops, & United States Catholic Conference. Administrative Board. (1996, c1986). The New American Bible : Translated from the original languages with critical use of all the ancient sources and the revised New Testament (Jn 14:15). Confraternity of Christian Doctrine.

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Romans 12:2

2 Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.

• Confraternity of Christian Doctrine. Board of Trustees, Catholic Church. National Conference of Catholic Bishops, & United States Catholic Conference. Administrative Board. (1996, c1986). The New American Bible : Translated from the original languages with critical use of all the ancient sources and the revised New Testament (Ro 12:2). Confraternity of Christian Doctrine.

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Morality is universal, objective, absolute and

unchangeable.

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Man’s Conscience

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CCC 1776

1776 "Deep within his conscience man discovers a law which he has not laid upon himself but which he must obey. Its voice, ever calling him to love and to do what is good and to avoid evil, sounds in his heart at the right moment. . . . For man has in his heart a law inscribed by God. . . . His conscience is man's most secret core and his sanctuary. There he is alone with God whose voice echoes in his depths."

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CCC 1777

1777 Moral conscience, present at the heart of the person, enjoins him at the appropriate moment to do good and to avoid evil. It also judges particular choices, approving those that are good and denouncing those that are evil.

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CCC 1778

1778 Conscience is a judgment of reason whereby the human person recognizes the moral quality of a concrete act that he is going to perform, is in the process of performing, or has already completed. In all he says and does, man is obliged to follow faithfully what he knows to be just and right.

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Freedom of Conscience

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CCC 1782

1782 Man has the right to act in conscience and in freedom so as personally to make moral decisions. "He must not be forced to act contrary to his conscience. Nor must he be prevented from acting according to his conscience, especially in religious matters."

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“The authority of the church, when she pronounces on moral questions, in no way undermines the freedom of conscience . . . freedom of conscience is never freedom from the truth but always and only freedom in the truth” (Splendor of Truth Encyclical)

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Original Sin

“Man’s history of sin begins when he . . . himself wishes to be the one who determines, with complete independence, what is good and what is evil.” (Splendor of Truth Encyclical)

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True Freedom

“True freedom isn’t the ability to do whatever you want, but the ability to do what you ought.” (Pope John Paul II)

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“I don’t need a Church to tell me I’m wrong when I already know I’m wrong; I need a Church to tell me I’m wrong where I think I’m right.” (G.K. Chesterton)

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CCC 2039

2039 Ministries should be exercised in a spirit of fraternal service and dedication to the Church, in the name of the Lord. At the same time the conscience of each person should avoid confining itself to individualistic considerations in its moral judgments of the person's own acts. As far as possible conscience should take account of the good of all, as expressed in the moral law, natural and revealed, and consequently in the law of the Church and in the authoritative teaching of the Magisterium on moral questions. Personal conscience and reason should not be set in opposition to the moral law or the Magisterium of the Church.

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Duty to Educate Conscience

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CCC 1783

1783 Conscience must be informed and moral judgment enlightened. A well-formed conscience is upright and truthful... The education of conscience is indispensable for human beings who are subjected to negative influences and tempted by sin to prefer their own judgment and to reject authoritative teachings.

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CCC 1785

1785 In the formation of conscience the Word of God is the light for our path; we must assimilate it in faith and prayer and put it into practice. We must also examine our conscience before the Lord's Cross. We are assisted by the gifts of the Holy Spirit, aided by the witness or advice of others and guided by the authoritative teaching of the Church.

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Our Conscience is Prone to Err

Without proper formation,

our conscience is subject to error.

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CCC 1792

1792 Ignorance of Christ and his Gospel, bad example given by others, enslavement to one's passions, assertion of a mistaken notion of autonomy of conscience, rejection of the Church's authority and her teaching, lack of conversion and of charity: these can be at the source of errors of judgment in moral conduct.

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Final Interpreter of Moral Law

The Church is the final and infallible interpreter of moral law. Its mission is to conserve, protect and proclaim objective truth as received from Jesus.

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FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF MORALITY

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The End Does Not Justify the Means

We can never do evil

to bring about good.

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Romams 3:8

8 And why not say—as we are accused and as some claim we say—that we should do evil that good may come of it? Their penalty is what they deserve.

• Confraternity of Christian Doctrine. Board of Trustees, Catholic Church. National Conference of Catholic Bishops, & United States Catholic Conference. Administrative Board. (1996, c1986). The New American Bible : Translated from the original languages with critical use of all the ancient sources and the revised New Testament (Ro 3:8). Confraternity of Christian Doctrine.

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CCC 1753

1753 A good intention (for example, that of helping one's neighbor) does not make behavior that is intrinsically disordered, such as lying and calumny, good or just ... On the other hand, an added bad intention (such as vainglory) makes an act evil that, in and of itself, can be good (such as almsgiving).

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CCC 1754

1754 The circumstances, including the consequences, are secondary elements of a moral act. They contribute to increasing or diminishing the moral goodness or evil of human acts (for example the amount of a theft). They can also diminish or increase the agent's responsibility (such as acting out of a fear of death). Circumstances of themselves cannot change the moral quality of acts themselves; they can make neither good nor right an action that is in itself evil.

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CCC 1756

1756 It is therefore an error to judge the morality of human acts by considering only the intention that inspires them or the circumstances (environment, social pressure, duress or emergency, etc.) which supply their context. There are acts which, in and of themselves, independently of circumstances and intentions, are always gravely illicit by reason of their object; such as blasphemy and perjury, murder and adultery. One may not do evil so that good may result from it.

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The Principle of Double Effect

A good act may have evil side effect

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CCC 1737

1737 ... A bad effect is not imputable if it was not willed either as an end or as a means of an action, e.g., a death a person incurs in aiding someone in danger. For a bad effect to be imputable it must be foreseeable and the agent must have the possibility of avoiding it, as in the case of manslaughter caused by a drunken driver.

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Choosing the Lesser Evil

We may choose the lesser of two evils

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CCC 1732

1732 As long as freedom has not bound itself definitively to its ultimate good which is God, there is the possibility of choosing between good and evil, and thus of growing in perfection or of failing and sinning.

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Counseling the Lesser Evil

If one is determined to do evil and can not be prevented from doing so,

counseling the lesser evil is moral.

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The Principle of Totality

… for the sake of overall health, may mutilate, modify or remove organ or body parts

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End

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