Are some things morally neutral?

[Catholictrain]

This situation was described to me:

Student at a university does not have a (free) parking sticker because they started in the middle of the school year. They can’t find a visitor parking space so they park in a “student” spot to attend Mass on campus even though they don’t have the sticker. The local “hired” security forces give this person a $25 parking ticket. The student tells me they are not going to pay it.

I say it would be a sin not to pay it, they tell me this is a morally neutral issue. Who is correct?

 

[crystal_waters]

This situation was described to me:

Student at a university does not have a (free) parking sticker because they started in the middle of the school year. They can’t find a visitor parking space so they park in a “student” spot to attend Mass on campus even though they don’t have the sticker. The local “hired” security forces give this person a $25 parking ticket. The student tells me they are not going to pay it.

I say it would be a sin not to pay it, they tell me this is a morally neutral issue. Who is correct?

YOU are right…just because they arrived on campus in the middle of the year and didnt get a parking sticker doesnt give them the right to break the rules…if they wanted a parking sticker im sure they could get one if they put in some effort and went through the proper channels…

as for not paying the £25 fine, im sure if they dont pay it further action will probably be taken against them

 

[Barbkw]

Let the university handle it.

If he/she has a ticket, I bet that the university will not release the graduation diploma or class credits until ALL fines are paid.

 

[Brendan_McCabe]

It is not morally neutral, you are in the right.

The laws of rightful authorities are to be followed as long as the law itself does not command something immoral, even if the law seems unfair to us as long as it does not command us to sin it should be followed.

This is part of the virtue of obedience.

This does not mean that we cannot appeal against a law we disagree with by the way, just that while it remains the law it should be followed.

The correct and mature action would be either to pay the fine or appeal to whoever has the authority in this matter and explain the situation to them, been always willing to accept their judgment.

 

[Garyjohn2]

I think the above posters are correct. To address the title of the thread, some things are morally neutral though.

If you hear a strange sound behind you, and you want to turn around to see what it was, you can turn left or right. The way you turn is a morally neutral choice. Things like this are morally neutral. When you get into situations that involve breaking rules, bending the truth, or getting out of responsibilities, it’s much harder to find neutral ground.

 

[PatrickSebast]

If they had accepted and paid the fine I could have seen it possible to view the situation as morally neutral. After all it is essentially the same thing as paying for a really expensive temporary parking spot and most universities get the majority of their funding for parking lot maintenance through fines. Not paying the fine takes it well outside of any possibility of being a neutral situation though.