Category Archives: ethics

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) teaches that all sexual acts outside of marriage are gravely immoral, and that within marriage each and every sexual act must be unitive and procreative (open to life). The official Catechism of the … Continue reading →

Many moralists claim that ‘passionate’ kissing is always an objective mortal sin for any unmarried man and woman, regardless of intention or circumstances, even if the couple is engaged. But they allow that non-passionate kissing is moral. There are several … Continue reading →

In Catholic moral theology, an act is a knowing choice of the human person. Some acts are interior; they are confined to the mind and will. Other acts are exterior, then involve some bodily action. But exterior acts are always … Continue reading →

The assertion in the title — If lying isn’t always wrong, then nothing is always wrong — is predicated on two truths, two teachings of the Church. 1. Lying is intrinsically evil. Lying is in the category of intrinsically disordered … Continue reading →

One of the most common issues in Catholic ethics is the conflict between what seems moral and what the Church teaches on morality. The problem arises because we are fallen sinners. We were conceived with original sin, and after baptism … Continue reading →

The ordinary and universal Magisterium infallibly teaches that certain human acts are intrinsically evil; they are immoral due to the object of the act, apart from intention and circumstances. Intrinsically evil acts are irremediably evil; nothing can justify the knowing … Continue reading →

The Catechism of the Catholic Church clearly teaches, just as Pope Saint John Paul II taught in Veritatis Splendor: 1. intrinsically evil acts are always immoral, regardless of intention or circumstances 2. an intrinsically evil act is an act with … Continue reading →

When another person is sinning, when is your related act (cooperative act) sinful? Explicit cooperation occurs when your intention (intended end, purpose) is to assist the other person precisely in what is sinful. Explicit cooperation is always immoral because it … Continue reading →