368. When is an act morally good?
(Comp 368) An act is morally good when it assumes simultaneously the goodness of
the object, of the end, and of the circumstances. A chosen object can by itself
vitiate an act in its entirety, even if the intention is good. It is not licit
to do evil so that good may result from it. An evil end corrupts the action,
even if the object is good in itself. On the other hand, a good end does not
make an act good if the object of that act is evil, since the end does not
justify the means. Circumstances can increase or diminish the responsibility of
the one who is acting but they cannot change the moral quality of the acts
themselves. They never make good an act which is in itself evil.
“In brief”
(CCC 1759)
"An evil action cannot be justified by reference to a good intention"
(cf. St. Thomas Aquinas, Dec. praec.
6). The end does not justify the means. (CCC 1760)
A morally good act requires the goodness of its object, of its end, and of its
circumstances together.
To deepen and
explain
(CCC 1755)
A morally good act requires the goodness
of the object, of the end, and of the circumstances together. An evil end
corrupts the action, even if the object is good in itself (such as praying and
fasting "in order to be seen by men"). The object of the choice can by itself vitiate an act in its entirety.
There are some concrete acts - such as fornication - that it is always wrong to
choose, because choosing them entails a disorder of the will, that is, a moral
evil.
Reflection
(CCC 1756) It is therefore an
error to judge the morality of human acts by considering only the intention
that inspires them or the circumstances (environment, social pressure, duress
or emergency, etc.) which supply their context. There are acts which, in and of
themselves, independently of circumstances and intentions, are always gravely
illicit by reason of their object; such as blasphemy and perjury, murder and
adultery. One may not do evil so that good may result from it.
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