Category Archives: ethics

Errors in the moral theology of Fr. Martin Rhonheimer

Posted on 4 May 2011 by Ron Conte

In his article, The truth about condoms, Fr. Martin Rhonheimer confuses the intention of an act and the moral object of an act. This is a common misunderstanding in Catholic ethics, and a frequent source of error in the moral … Continue reading →

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Catholic commentary on the death of Bin Laden

Posted on 2 May 2011 by Ron Conte

In this post, I review some of the comments that Catholics are expressing about the death of Usama Bin Laden, and I add my own. 1. Father Federico Lombardi, S.J., head of the Press Office of the Holy See, says: … Continue reading →

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The Dogma of Intrinsically Evil Acts

Posted on 29 April 2011 by Ron Conte

Dogma versus heresy — The teachings of the Magisterium are called doctrines. The infallible doctrines of the Magisterium are called dogmas. The Magisterium teaches either infallibly or non-infallibly. All infallible teachings require the full assent of faith (also called theological … Continue reading →

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What is Conscience?

Posted on 12 April 2011 by Ron Conte

“Conscience itself is the ability of free will and reason to seek and to understand moral truth. The exercise of conscience is an act of will and intellect by which the human person seeks knowledge of moral truth. The fruit … Continue reading →

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What makes one mortal sin worse than another mortal sin?

Posted on 5 April 2011 by Ron Conte

There are three fonts of morality: (1) intention, (2) moral object, (3) circumstances. Whenever any one font is gravely disordered, the act is objectively a mortal sin; it is a gravely immoral act. Any moral disorder in any font makes … Continue reading →

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Catholic teaching on homosexuality 3: Saint Thomas Aquinas

Posted on 2 April 2011 by Ron Conte

In accord with Scripture and Tradition, St. Thomas condemns homosexual acts as a type of unnatural sexual act termed ‘the unnatural vice’. This terminology, referring to homosexual acts as unnatural, is in accord with Sacred Scripture: [Romans] {1:26} Because of … Continue reading →

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non-marital sexual acts

Posted on 23 March 2011 by Ron Conte

What might a (future hypothetical) papal encyclical on sexual ethics teach concerning non-marital sexual acts? This teaching would certainly be based on and continuous with current teaching. Current Teaching Certainly the various types of non-marital sexual acts are individually condemned … Continue reading →

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Roman Catholic Ethics and Infallible Dogma

Posted on 22 March 2011 by Ron Conte

There is a very common HERESY among Catholic moral theologians today, not on any particular point of ethics, but on the field itself in its entirety. The heresy is to treat all of ethics as a speculative field. Many moral … Continue reading →

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A case of euthanasia

Posted on 14 March 2011 by Ron Conte

This discussion at the facebook page called ‘Ask a Catholic Priest‘ is very disturbing. The same case is also discussed at ‘Ask a Catholic‘. Both discussions show that many Catholics, including some priests, do not understand the basic teachings of … Continue reading →

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The principle of cooperation with evil: formal cooperation

Posted on 13 March 2011 by Ron Conte

Let’s continue our application of the three fonts of morality to the principle of cooperation with evil. Implicit cooperation concerns the font of intention (first font). Formal cooperation concerns the font called the moral object (second font). If your act … Continue reading →

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When is it moral to use Natural Family Planning?

Posted on 10 March 2011 by Ron Conte

Some Catholics reject NFP altogether, since they view it as essentially no different than contraception. But the Magisterium definitively teaches that contraception is intrinsically evil, and that NFP is not. Natural family planning uses periodic abstinence to reduce the likelihood … Continue reading →

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The principle of cooperation with evil: implicit cooperation

Posted on 8 March 2011 by Ron Conte

In the previous article, we discussed explicit cooperation with evil. Explicit cooperation is always also either formal cooperation, or material cooperation. These three types of cooperation (explicit, formal, material) depend upon the three fonts of morality (intention, moral object, circumstances). … Continue reading →

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