The Truth about Mental Reservations Part 1: Introduction and Reference

JMJ

Introduction

The truth matters to me and there are few things that trigger me as strongly as the truth of a matter (pun). This may be due to my Mother's ability to always catch me in a lie or my inability to lie well :-). Nonetheless, I am strongly triggered by falsehood and being who I am, I don't back down in an argument as I believe that by having discussions we can drive towards the truth of a matter ... at least as close to it as possible in this life.

However, being the the son of a man who escaped a communist regime, I also realize that speaking the truth in an imprudent manner could lead to unpleasantries.

This is the reason why I decided to study the Catholic principles of mental reservations. The fruit of my labours will be this new series.

Mental reservations are the act of withholding some information when answering a question without directly lying. There are conditions where it is unlawful to conceal the truth, there are times when it is allowed and then there are the times when it is necessary.

Understanding how to recognize and react to these three conditions is the purpose of this series.

P^3

Tags: Series - Church Teaching,Series - Mental Reservations,Collection - Moral Theology,

The Truth about Mental Reservations Part 1: Introduction and Reference

The Truth about Mental Reservations Part 2: Defining Mental Reservations

The Truth about Mental Reservations Part 3: Employing Mental Reservations

The Truth about Mental Reservations Part 4: Conclusion

Reference

For this series, I used the following reference:

MORAL THEOLOGY - A Complete Course Based on St. Thomas Aquinas and the Best Modern Authorities

BY JOHN A. MCHUGH, O.P. and CHARLES J. CALLAN, O.P.
REVISED AND ENLARGED BY EDWARD P. FARRELL, O.P.

Publisher

NEW YORK CITY JOSEPH F. WAGNER, INC.
LONDON: B. HERDER
All Rights Reserved by Joseph F. Wagner, Inc., New York
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Approvals

Nihil Obstat: ELWOOD FERRER SMITH, O.P., S.T.M. and BENJAMIN URBAN FAY, O.P., S.T.LR.
Imprimi Potest: VERY REV. WILLIAM D. MARRIN, O.P., P.G., S.T.M., Provincial
Nihil Obstat: JOHN A. GOODWINE, J.C.D., Censor Librorum
Imprimatur: + FRANCIS CARDINAL SPELLMAN
The nihil obstat and imprimatur are official declarations that a book or pamphlet is free of doctrinal or moral error. No implication is contained therein that those who have granted the nihil obstat and imprimatur agree with the contents, opinions or statements expressed.

[Transcriber's note: References to the Code of Canon Law in this work are to the 1917 version of the Code, later superseded by the 1983 version.]

Comments

SSPX: Why Is the SSPX So Criticized?

+ JMJ As long as you are ok with what happens in other Catholic Churches, Traditional Catholics will be left 'alone'. This is a paraphrase of words spoken by an Archbishop to Traditional Catholics (with a sprinkling of SSPX) who had requested the Traditional Latin Mass under Summorum Pontificum. This reflects that attitude of the Church towards anyone who takes issue with some of the ambiguities of Vatican II and the post-conciliar magisterium. If you reject the papacy but are ok with V2, the New Mass, and what Rome has stated since 1965 - then you are welcome. Question some of the more abiguous statements and ask for Rome to realise that a circle is not a square - then you are in for a world of hurt. This is where the SSPX exists and has existed from almost its very first moments. Pointing out contradictions with previous magisterium is not acceptable - under any condition. Why? Because it will cause the whole V2 house of cards to fall. I guess only when the contradic...

If Pope Francis is bad - what about Pope St. John Paul II et al?

+ JMJ So here we are on the apparent cusp of yet another post conciliar Papal canonization. This time we have Pope's John-Paul I and Paul VI canonizations to 'look forward' to. This follows, obviously, on the heels of Pope St. John Paul II's canonization? So the first question that I usually encounter is: How is it possible, keeping in mind the doctrine on infallibility of canonizations (note doctrine not dogma), that Pope St. John Paul II is a Saint? First, what does it mean??? According to the doctrine of dogmatic facts - it is the universal opinion of Theologians that canonizations are infallible. It means that they enjoy the beatific vision. ... that's it. That is the doctrine and it is at the level of universal opinion of theologians. It is called a 'dogmatic fact'. That they made mistakes is obvious. That the miracles seem to not be very miraculous is also a bit of an issue. Here's something to consider: The rush that surrou...

Correcting Caricatures of the SSPX

+ JMJ Introduction First, a little background on the FSSP St. John Vianney Chapel in Mission Hill Kansas. After the 1988 consecrations and the foundation of the FSSP there was a consistent trend of Dioceses allowing the SSPX to run chapels and churches near SSPX locations. As with any 'organizational change' there were those who didn't agree with the change and no longer sought the sacraments from the SSPX. I heard from friends that in that era there was a lot of anger and tension (on both sides) between the St. Mary's SSPX and Mission Hill FSSP. Second, there have been caricatures of the SSPX position (some are evident below) in which personal opinions of SSPX priests and laity are taken as the official position or conflated with those of sedevacantists or 'resistance'. Recent Perspectives of the SSPX Position In the shadow of the consecrations a fever pitch accusations and opinions how surfaced - many of which include caricatures of the SSPX positions, of w...

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

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 l...

Tradicat

Search This Blog