Category Archives: ethics

Ectopic Pregnancy: Removal of the Prenatal

Posted on 23 November 2016 by Ron Conte

ERD: “In case of extra-uterine pregnancy, no intervention is morally licit which constitutes a direct abortion.” [USCCB, Ethical and Religious Directives, n. 48.] An ectopic pregnancy represents a difficult moral situation. But the USCCB is expressing the constant teaching of … Continue reading →

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500 Scholars Pretend To Support Humanae Vitae

Posted on 30 September 2016 by Ron Conte

When I first heard the news, that over 500 Catholic scholars issued a joint statement in support of Catholic teaching on contraception, I was pleased. Then I read the document and was deeply saddened. The statement, issued at the Catholic … Continue reading →

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Free Book on Intrinsic Evil

Posted on 16 September 2016 by Ron Conte

My book Roman Catholic Teaching on Intrinsic Evil is available for FREE in Kindle format for three days: Saturday, Sunday, and Monday of September 17, 18, and 19 (Pacific time). Please take advantage of this free offer. The book discusses … Continue reading →

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When is Adultery only a Venial Sin? Ask Jeff Mirus

Posted on 14 September 2016 by Ron Conte

In a new post here, Jeff Mirus now claims that the sin of having sexual relations within a second non-marital union (a type of adultery) can be only a venial sin, if one partner is “under duress”. The duress is … Continue reading →

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When Non-Catholics fail to live up to Catholic Teaching

Posted on 11 August 2016 by Ron Conte

There is a certain type of Catholic commentary, on the pluralistic and largely secular culture which surrounds us, which evaluates the words and deeds of non-Catholics according to Catholic teaching. Then the commentator rails against these individuals, essentially complaining that … Continue reading →

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Modesty and Chastity in Catholic Teaching

Posted on 7 August 2016 by Ron Conte

Modesty can refer to self-restraint in every area of life. Saint Thomas Aquinas: “Augustine says (De Morib. Eccl. xxi): ‘In both Testaments the temperate man finds confirmation of the rule forbidding him to love the things of this life, or … Continue reading →

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Catholic Ethics and the Concrete Act

Posted on 21 June 2016 by Ron Conte

Overview of Ethics Human persons have the gifts of reason and free will from God. The use of these gifts, in knowing choices, implies moral responsibility. For we are capable of understanding transcendent truths and of distinguishing between good and … Continue reading →

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Human Rights and Gun Control

Posted on 20 June 2016 by Ron Conte

The U.S. Constitution includes a Bill of Rights, and among those enumerated rights is the right to keep and bear arms. But this article is not about the legal and constitutional issues of gun ownership and gun control; it is … Continue reading →

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The Misuse of the Confessional by a Catholic blogger

Posted on 4 June 2016 by Ron Conte

In the article Whose Money Is It, Anyway? (3 June 2016), Kevin T. DiCamillo describes the plight of a retired elderly priest, with declining mental acuity, whose life savings are in dispute. Who should inherit this money, after he passes? … Continue reading →

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Ethics and Salvation: objective sin versus actual sin

Posted on 26 May 2016 by Ron Conte

Objective sin (or material sin) is distinguished from actual sin (or formal sin). The former is objectively a sin. It is immoral under the immutable eternal moral law, by its conflict with the love of God and the love of … Continue reading →

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The Principle of Double Effect and Intrinsically Evil Acts

Posted on 13 May 2016 by Ron Conte

The Principle of Double Effect (PDE) has been badly misunderstood by most teachers of Catholic ethics, and it is often misrepresented. The main problem is that you cannot understand the principle of double effect, unless you first understand the three … Continue reading →

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Is the Magisterium able to teach on the morality of contraception outside of marriage?

Posted on 22 April 2016 by Ron Conte

Now here’s a strange claim making the rounds on the internet. The idea is that the Church is unable to tell us if using contraception in sexual acts outside of marriage is moral or immoral. Why? They claim that to … Continue reading →

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