Formal cooperation with evil

[AndyF]

Ron Conte:

Good post!.

Andy

 

[Ron_Conte]

Not all evil acts are intrinsically evil.

Yes, that is true. I’ve studied Veritatis Splendor closely. I’m glad to see that I’m not the only one. The teaching of the Church on ethics cannot be learned solely by studying the CCC.

There are three fonts of morality. If any one font is bad, the act is a sin.

1. intention
2. moral object
3. circumstances

If the second font, the moral object, is bad, then the act is intrinsically evil.
But if the first or third fonts are bad, the act is evil, but not intrinsically evil.

However, formal cooperation only concerns intrinsically evil acts. A sin of formal cooperation helps an intrinsically evil act by another person to attain its evil moral object. If the act of the other person is not intrinsically evil, then it has a good moral object. It is not a sin to help the act of the other person to attain a good end, so formal cooperation only concerns cooperation with intrinsically evil acts.

 

[Ron_Conte]

I think it goes beyond that. Her Bishop, his predecessor and even Pope Benedict have made clear to her what the De Fide Teaching of the Catholic Church is to her, and yet she has remained willfully recalcitrant and has adamently refused correction.

Let’s pray for her to have a change of heart before she is called to final judgment.

Formal cooperation with a grave sin is itself a grave sin. However, the Canon that gives the penalty of automatic excommunication for procuring a completed direct abortion does not extend to formal cooperation with abortion.

However, the Canon giving the penalty of automatic excommunication for formal heresy would apply to any Catholic who knowingly rejects the teaching of the Church that direct abortion is always gravely immoral.

 

[Ignatius]

Formal cooperation with a grave sin is itself a grave sin. However, the Canon that gives the penalty of automatic excommunication for procuring a completed direct abortion does not extend to formal cooperation with abortion.

However, the Canon giving the penalty of automatic excommunication for formal heresy would apply to any Catholic who knowingly rejects the teaching of the Church that direct abortion is always gravely immoral.

You expressed it much better than I. Thanks.