Three fonts of morality

[Ron_Conte]

Catechism of the Catholic Church: “The morality of human acts depends on: the object chosen; the end in view or the intention; the circumstances of the action. The object, the intention, and the circumstances make up the ‘sources,’ or constitutive elements, of the morality of human acts.” (CCC, n. 1750.)

Compendium of the Catechism: “The morality of human acts depends on three sources: the object chosen, either a true or apparent good; the intention of the subject who acts, that is, the purpose for which the subject performs the act; and the circumstances of the act, which include its consequences.” (Compendium, n. 367.)

USCCB Catechism: “Every moral act consists of three elements: the objective act (what we do), the subjective goal or intention (why we do the act), and the concrete situation or circumstances in which we perform the act… All three aspects must be good – the objective act, the subjective intention, and the circumstances – in order to have a morally good act.” (United States Catholic Catechism for Adults, p. 311-312.)

 

[Ron_Conte]

Is direct abortion always immoral?

Is every act which tends directly to destroy human life in the womb direct abortion?

Is abortion willed as an end intrinsically evil and always gravely immoral?
Is abortion willed as a means intrinsically evil and always gravely immoral?

How can we apply the three fonts of morality to answer these questions?

 

[Ron_Conte]

Is direct abortion always immoral?
Direct abortion is intrinsically evil; all intrinsically evil acts are always immoral.

Is every act which tends directly to destroy human life in the womb direct abortion?
Yes. Abortion is direct when the deliberately chosen act is inherently directed toward destroying human life in the womb. The term ‘direct’ refers to the intrinsic ordering of an act toward its moral object, not to the intention of the person.

Is abortion willed as an end intrinsically evil and always gravely immoral?
Yes.

Is abortion willed as a means intrinsically evil and always gravely immoral?
Yes. The intentionally chosen act of direct abortion is intrinsically evil and always gravely immoral, even when chosen with the intention of achieving a good end, such as to save the life of the mother. The intention to save the life of the mother does not cause the act to become indirect abortion. Indirect abortion is a medical treatment directed at the health of the mother, such as a cancer treatment, which has the unintended consequence of the death of the prenatal. But direct abortion is not moral, and remains intrinsically evil, even with the intention to save the life of the mother.

How can we apply the three fonts of morality to answer these questions?
Intention is in the first fonts, moral object is in the second font. A change in intention can never change the moral object of an act. Direct abortion does not become indirect by being done with a good intention.

 

[Ron_Conte]

There is a crisis in the Catholic Church today, a crisis of ignorance of the Church’s teaching on morality.

In fact, a new situation has come about within the Christian community itself, which has experienced the spread of numerous doubts and objections of a human and psychological, social and cultural, religious and even properly theological nature, with regard to the Church’s moral teachings. It is no longer a matter of limited and occasional dissent, but of an overall and systematic calling into question of traditional moral doctrine, on the basis of certain anthropological and ethical presuppositions.

the traditional doctrine regarding the natural law, and the universality and the permanent validity of its precepts, is rejected; certain of the Church’s moral teachings are found simply unacceptable;

In particular, note should be taken of the lack of harmony between the traditional response of the Church and certain theological positions, encountered even in Seminaries and in Faculties of Theology, with regard to questions of the greatest importance for the Church and for the life of faith of Christians, as well as for the life of society itself. – Veritatis Splendor, n. 4ff.

What is the solution to this crisis? The three fonts of morality.

There are three fonts of morality: intention, moral object, circumstances. All three fonts must be good for any act to be moral. If one or more fonts are bad, the act is immoral. There are no exceptions to this basic principle of morality.