Soul at conception

[Jerok]

Hey, I was wondering when the Catholic Church says the soul enters the body; is it at conception? I thought I heard something about Thomas Aquinas saying the soul enters around 40 days. Since St. Thomas isn’t infallible, did the pope ever declare anything infallible on this doctrine?

Also, if the soul isn’t in the body, is the fetus human, or does the fetus only become human when the soul enters?

Thanks

 

[Benadam]

The soul is the principle of life of the body. If there is a body of living matter a soul exists. The soul is also called the final cause of the body. God caused the soul but the soul causes the body.

On the other hand what is bound on earth is bound in heaven when it comes to human procreation.

So, it is the extraordinary combination of physical and material events that unfold and culminate in the production of living tissue into which God infuses a human soul.

It’s my opinion that the moment the contribution of living tissue from father and mother lose their distinctions and become an entity in of it’self a soul is created and infused and becomes the cause of a distinct human being.

 

[SunnaB16]

It’s my opinion that the moment the contribution of living tissue from father and mother lose their distinctions and become an entity in of it’self a soul is created and infused and becomes the cause of a distinct human being.

Yep.
Life begins at conception.
Marys "Immaculate Conception" is a reminder. In St. Thomass time, there was still uncertainity, so it was legit to speculate. Not now though!

 

[GodLovesTheSpek]

Red lights start blinking for me when I see the word “ensoulment”. In my experiences the word is used to argue for abortion, as if there was some “wiggle room” to justify abortion, even if it means a few seconds, minutes, days, or months.

No “wiggle room”.

 

[Newbie2]

Yep.
Life begins at conception.
Marys "Immaculate Conception" is a reminder. In St. Thomass time, there was still uncertainity, so it was legit to speculate. Not now though!

I don’t think even many abortionists can deny that life begins at conception, as a fetus or embryo of any age is alive, however, when human life begins is the question. Catholic theology says at conception. St. Thomas and his peers had a very limited understanding of biology.

Good point, S, that there isn’t any need nowadays to speculate. When ensoulment occurs is a theological matter; when life begins is a biological matter.

 

[Tantum_ergo]

I think we should also point out that St. Thomas wasn’t saying that abortion was ‘all right’ until there was ‘quickening’ or ‘ensoulment’. (He wasn’t.) Abortion was wrong at ANY stage from conception on. However, the later the gestional age of the child in utero, the more serious it would be to abort that child, as the child would be that much closer to being born and/or able to survive outside the womb.

So the point was trying to establish where abortion became MORE serious and merited more ‘punishment’ if you will. Not a question of saying, “before this event it isn’t really killing”.

 

[Trishie]

and you were going to be you from the instant of conception.