Category Archives: ethics

Divorce and ‘the case of fornication’

Posted on 15 January 2011 by Ron Conte

Fornication is usually defined as sexual relations between two persons who are unmarried (CCC, n. 2353). Using this definition, adultery would be distinct from fornication. Jesus uses the term fornication, in other passages of the Gospels, with this usual definition … Continue reading →

More Galleries

A list of persons who should not be receiving Holy Communion

Posted on 14 January 2011 by Ron Conte

Under the eternal moral law, anyone who is in a state of formal heresy (knowingly and obstinately rejecting a definitive teaching of the Magisterium on a matter of faith or morals) is automatically excommunicated. Heresy excommunicates by the very nature … Continue reading →

More Galleries

What effect do civil unions have on marriage?

Posted on 14 January 2011 by Ron Conte

Civil unions have been proposed as a way to give gays access to similar rights as married persons, but without same-sex marriage. The Magisterium rightly opposes this approach, since it proposes to legalize what is gravely immoral, and to establish … Continue reading →

More Galleries

Explicit Formal Cooperation in Direct Abortion by Catholic Theologians

Posted on 11 January 2011 by Ron Conte

A Quick Review of Cooperation Another person commits a sin. You are considering committing a different but related act. Under what conditions will your act be a sin due to its relationship to the act of the other person? This … Continue reading →

More Galleries

On Direct and Indirect Abortion: the new proportionalism

Posted on 9 January 2011 by Ron Conte

There are three fonts of morality: (1) intention, (2) moral object, (3) circumstances. In order to be moral, each and every knowingly chosen act must have three good fonts. If any one or more fonts is bad, the act is … Continue reading →

More Galleries

Abortion in the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services

Posted on 8 January 2011 by Ron Conte

The ERD, fourth edition prohibits Catholic hospitals from performing, authorizing, or formally cooperating with direct abortions. Direct abortion is prohibited by directives n. 45 and following: “45. Abortion (that is, the directly intended termination of pregnancy before viability or the … Continue reading →

More Galleries

Which matters of faith or morals are open questions?

Posted on 7 January 2011 by Ron Conte

There is an alarming tendency among theologians and the laity in general to treat nearly all matters of faith or morals as open questions. Infallible Teachings Unless there is an infallible magisterial teaching on a particular point, explicitly stated in … Continue reading →

More Galleries

intrinsic evil: theft versus expropriation

Posted on 6 January 2011 by Ron Conte

From The Catechism of Catholic Ethics (n. 207) “Theft is narrowly defined as the direct and voluntary deprivation of goods owned by another person. Love of God and neighbor requires us to respect the right of our neighbor to own … Continue reading →

More Galleries

Intrinsically evil acts: masturbation

Posted on 3 January 2011 by Ron Conte

In order to be moral, each and every sexual act must be marital and unitive and procreative. The good moral object of every moral sexual act is these three meanings intended by God: marital, unitive, procreative. The type of sexual … Continue reading →

More Galleries

implicit perfect contrition

Posted on 3 January 2011 by Ron Conte

Each and every person who dies committing an act of full cooperation with grace, such as choosing to accept death rather than give up the Faith, certainly dies in a state of grace. Any act of full cooperation with grace … Continue reading →

Posted in ethics, salvation | Comments Off on implicit perfect contrition

Marital Sexual Ethics: post-coital unnatural sexual acts

Posted on 3 January 2011 by Ron Conte

After an act of natural intercourse, if the wife has not reached sexual climax, is it moral for her husband to bring her to climax with his hand or mouth? No, it is not moral; it is a grave sin. … Continue reading →

More Galleries

Killing in self-defense: it is moral to intend the death of the aggressor?

Posted on 2 January 2011 by Ron Conte

I’m beginning to see the fittingness of the title ‘Vox Nova’ for the group blog at vox-nova.com. They have new things to say on matters of faith and morals — new because these things are not found in Tradition, Scripture, … Continue reading →

More Galleries