Cooperation with Evil to What Degree?

[janengland]

In completing my first week and a half of training for my new job as an Eligibility Specialist for Public Assistance (Welfare) I’ve learned two things about my job responsibilities which I didn’t know about before accepting the job.

(1) I will be expected to study, explain, screen and enroll people who are eligible, in the “Affordable Care Act”, aka Obamacare.

(2) Every client who requests an application packet for Public Assistance in the county in which I live is now sent, along with many other materials, a brochure encouraging them to investigate “family planning”, including abortifacient drugs, for the “good of their loved ones”. I will also be required individually to give my clients these brochures and document that I have done so on their case files.

On the brochure is an 800 number listed for the clients to find free or low cost “family planning providers” in their area. I called the number, and as I suspected, Planned Parenthood offices, along with other local abortion centers are listed, along with medical clinics who provide “service” to the poor.

Would these two activities be classified under “non-material cooperation with evil”, or do they cross the boundary into “direct participation with evil”? Should I immediately resign from the job?

Thanking you in advance for your responses… and

Sincerely in Christ,

Jan

 

[JRTJ]

In a period in which employment is scarce, if I were you I’d take this job as a blessing and go for it, however:

1. Be sure to know what your CONSCIENCE says. I like to see the conscience as a temperature reader. We usually instinctively know when something is morally wrong. What does your gut say about this?
2. I’d consult a priest before you go ahead with your decision, whatever that may be. You cannot rely on advice from Catholics such as myself and others here who do not have the qualifications to advise you on such important moral matters. If the priest says that it’s fine, I’d go for it.

 

[Blue_Horizon]

In completing my first week and a half of training for my new job as an Eligibility Specialist for Public Assistance (Welfare) I’ve learned two things about my job responsibilities which I didn’t know about before accepting the job.

(1) I will be expected to study, explain, screen and enroll people who are eligible, in the “Affordable Care Act”, aka Obamacare.

(2) Every client who requests an application packet for Public Assistance in the county in which I live is now sent, along with many other materials, a brochure encouraging them to investigate “family planning”, including abortifacient drugs, for the “good of their loved ones”. I will also be required individually to give my clients these brochures and document that I have done so on their case files.

On the brochure is an 800 number listed for the clients to find free or low cost “family planning providers” in their area. I called the number, and as I suspected, Planned Parenthood offices, along with other local abortion centers are listed, along with medical clinics who provide “service” to the poor.

Would these two activities be classified under “non-material cooperation with evil”, or do they cross the boundary into “direct participation with evil”? Should I immediately resign from the job?

Thanking you in advance for your responses… and

Sincerely in Christ,

Jan

Hi Jan, OK you are asking if those two activities constitute “formal cooperation in evil.”
Basically, if you are opposed to the principles involved (which you clearly are), then you’ve already given the big NO to that.

The next question is, what sort of “material cooperation” do those two actions involve.
There are different kinds and degrees of material cooperation.
Clearly some are acceptable before God (presuming they do not constitute surriptitious formal cooperation or are likely to “suck us into” formal cooperation) otherwise no good person could earn a living.

So in the end it becomes a prudential judgement based on circumstances (and not “intrinsically evil”) and degree of closeness and “visibility.”

That gets technical but some rules of thumb are:

• would the things you do easily happen anyway if you refused?
• are you at least two or three degrees removed from carrying out the actual evil act?
• would large groups of people have visibility of your behaviour and clearly conclude from external observation that you wholeheartedly support those grave matters you are only materially cooperating in?
• do these disordered matters constitute a high percentage of your time/job-description?

Unless one of the above is clearly ringing alarm bells (and I do not see that from my seat) then your material cooperation is called “remote” and not sinful.