Thursday, May 18, 2017
Youcat commented through CCC – Question n. 291 – Part III.
(Youcat
answer - repeated) A person is capable of distinguishing good actions from bad
ones because he possesses reason and a conscience, which enable him to make
clear judgments.
A deepening through CCC
(CCC 1753) A good
intention (for example, that of helping one's neighbor) does not make behavior
that is intrinsically disordered, such as lying and calumny, good or just. The
end does not justify the means. Thus the condemnation of an innocent person
cannot be justified as a legitimate means of saving the nation. On the other
hand, an added bad intention (such as vainglory) makes an act evil that, in and
of itself, can be good (such as almsgiving) (Cf. Mt 6:24).
Reflecting and meditating
(Youcat comment) The following guidelines make it easier to
distinguish good actions from bad ones: (1) What I do must be good; a good
intention alone is not enough. Bank robbery is always bad, even if I commit
that crime with the good intention of giving the money to poor people. (2) Even
when what I do is truly good, if I perform the good action with a bad
intention, it makes the whole action bad. If I walk an elderly woman home and
help her around the house, that is good. But if I do it while planning a later
break-in, that makes the whole action something bad. (3) The circumstances in
which someone acts can diminish his responsibility, but they cannot change at
all the good or bad character of an action. Hitting one’s mother is always bad,
even if the mother has previously shown little love to the child.
(CCC Comment)
(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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