COVID-19 Vaccines, Aborted Baby Cell-Lines and Catholic Moral Theology - Part C: St. Thomas' Principle of Double Effect

JMJ

The next stop in working through the vaccine issue is to understand the Catholic principle of Double Effect.

I decided to not take everyone's word about the principle of double effect, so I broke it down to confirm it's four basic principles.

The principle of double-effect has four criteria.

The act must be moral, meaning it cannot be immoral (ie evil). This is the simple principle that the ends do not justify the means.
Any bad effect (result) must be accidental or indirectly caused, whereas the good effect is directly caused.
The intention that directs the action must be to create only the good effect. For example, you cannot intend to kill someone, but you can intend to protect your life.
Finally, the intended effect must be proportional to the intended end.

So ... if any of these criteria missing, the act is sinful.

It is pretty simple once you work through the criteria, but I have run into Traditional Catholics who have difficulty accepting this principles.

In the next article, I will breakdown the principles regarding how you can be cooperate in evil.

P^3

Comments

News Roundup: May 11, 2024

+ JMJ There has been a lot of activity over the last month, but not all good and not all bad. Wars and Rumours of Wars Just as the War goes on in Gaza creating the fear of a global war, the war goes on between the Church and the World. The Catholic Church or at least the people within Her, was the first to loathe Her Doctrines and Dogmas. Now the West loathes the actions of the past. It is true that there were men and women involved in the worst of colonialism for worldly gain. What is forgotten is what was done for the spiritual and material good. There are examples of Jesuits doing good work for the good of the peoples that they found on the various continents outside of Europe. Then the men and women who came for profit arrived and undid what had been started. Around the world civilization is pulling in the walls on top of themselves. Netherlands: Euthanasia Accounts for More Than 5% of Deaths in 2023 | FSSPX News Ground News - Woman, 28, to be euthanized in May after

SSPX and the Resistance - A Comparison Of Ecclesiology

Shining the light of Church Teaching on the doctrinal positions of the SSPX and the Resistance. Principles are guides used to aid in decision making. It stands to reason that bad principles will lead to bad decisions. The recent interactions between Rome and the SSPX has challenged a number of closely held cultural assumptions of people in both sides of the disagreement. This has resulted in cultural skirmishes in both Rome and the SSPX. Since it is the smaller of the two, the skirmishes have been more evident within the SSPX. The cultural fault-line that Bishop Fellay crossed appears to be linked to two points of Catholic Doctrine: Ecclesiology and Obedience. The cultural difference of view points is strong enough that it has resulted in the expulsion of a number of members. It should also be noted that some other priests expelled since the beginning of the latest interactions (starting in 2000) held the same view points and have joined with the latest departees in a

Regarding Post: Fr. Joseph Pfeiffer no longer ... now Bishop Joseph Pfeiffer (Can't see this being a problem...)

+ JMJ I've been watching the popularity of the post about Fr. Pfeiffer's attempted episcopal consecration and its continued top listing on the 'popular posts' list at the bottom of posts. After some thought, I decided that I don't want to be responsible for anyone joining Fr. Pfeiffer's 'group', however unlikely that would be at this time. So I have reverted the article to the draft state. If anyone wants it reinstated, I would ask that they comment on this post with a rationale for reinstatement. P^3

Morning and Evening and other sundry Prayers

+ JMJ Along the theme of P^3 (Prayer, Penance, Patience), and for my own reference ... here is a collection of Morning and Evening prayers from the Ideal Daily Missal along with some additional prayers. In this crisis of the Church, I do not think it is possible to do too much prayer, penance and have patience. P^3

War: The Next Pope!

+ JMJ As I write this on December 23, 2023, I can't help by wonder what the next Pope (i.e. Vicar of Christ) will do in the aftermath left by Pope Francis (the First and hopefully the Last). Pope Francis has placed another landmine on the path outwards of this Crisis of the Catholic Church. Simply put, it is the allowance of 'blessings' for Gay Couples. The list of other landmines is long and glorious but some highlights would be the dismantling of the hierarchy, removal of priests and bishops for being 'divisive', ambiguous documents that open the Catholic Church to the acceptance of sinful acts as practical doctrine, Yes, Pope Francis (elected March 13, 2013) has left quite a mess and this mess is what the next Pope, if he is a great (not just good) Vicar of Christ will have to walk the Way of the Cross to undo the evil Gordian knot tied by Popes since Pius XII. Each Pope has, by their decisions, added Bights, Crossings, Elbows, and loops to the knot that tha

Tradicat

Search This Blog