Moral Theology

Moral Theology
Rev.Bonifacio G. Solis, O.P. helps us to get more understand on the principle of Moral theology. We have done the paper on Voluntary Act. For the final examination we have to submit the general idea about the whole course in Moral theology.

VOLUNTARY ACT
How will you explain to a catholic if his action is voluntary act or not?
In order to explain about the so called voluntary acts, we need to have its definition as; an act that is done by knowledge and consent of will of a man.
There are also many ways to distinguish the divisions of voluntary act as following;
1. Necessarily and freely voluntary act.
Necessarily voluntary act is an act that an agent will to do it because the effect of his act leads him to a necessary end. For instance, a man desires for happiness end is a necessary voluntary act.
2. Perfectly and imperfectly voluntary act.
Perfectly voluntary act is an act that is performed with full attention and full consent of the will. An imperfectly voluntary act is an act which is performed with imperfect attention or imperfect will. E.g. a person who acts under the influence of fear he may act with full attention but with imperfect consent.
3. Directly and indirectly voluntary act.
The directly voluntary act has the effect that is intended in it as an end or it is intended as means for another end.
4. Positively and negatively voluntary act.
The will effects something positively by exercising active influence on the causation of an object and it will be negatively voluntary act if it is not performed as it should be done.

Moreover there are also the obstacles to the voluntary act which basically they prevent the consent of free will of the agent. These are some kinds of the obstacles to the voluntary acts, such as ignorance, fear, passion, violence, habits pathologic nature etc.
After having some information about the voluntary acts and its obstacles we now can come to the answer of the question mentioned above that we could simply tell that catholic that his action will be a voluntary act if he himself aware that the thing he has done is done with his full knowledge and full consent.
For a man he would never even think about his action that will it be a voluntary act or not. It would have happened only if he really wants to know it and we need to clarify for him. Therefore we need first to give him its definition and some of essential examples. After giving these kinds of information we then should let him make his own decision.

FINAL EXAM.
1.The end of the action and its implications in moral theology
The end of the action is that to which the agent’s activity is directed. It is also called an intrinsic end or an objective end. This rises up the question like who is God? And by giving the answer to this question it brought us the theological doctrine that God is the creator of the universe who has arranged everything according to his purpose, and man is his creature who has received a task from him to be fulfilled. As humans we have a responsibility to give the appropriate answer to the calling by God.
Therefore the moral character of human actions is essentially determined by their relation to God’s will. Man’s actions are morally good if they agree with God’s will, and they are morally bad if they disagree with it. We have to act in accordance with the conscience in a particular way under the human circumstances and by our free will.

2.The problem of voluntary act and involuntary act
A voluntary act is that which proceeds from an internal source of action accompanied by knowledge of the end sought. We have now therefore, from the definition of the voluntary act which consists of full knowledge and free will. We can also make a divisions of the voluntary act and effect as following;
1. Necessarily and freely voluntary act.
Necessarily voluntary act is an act that an agent will to do it because the effect of his act leads him to a necessary end.
2. Perfectly and imperfectly voluntary act.
Perfectly voluntary act is an act that is performed with full attention and full consent of the will. An imperfectly voluntary act is an act which is performed with imperfect attention or imperfect will.
3. Directly and indirectly voluntary act.
The directly voluntary act has the effect that is intended in it as an end or it is intended as means for another end.
4. Positively and negatively voluntary act.
The Will effects something positively by exercising active influence on the causation of an object and it will be negatively voluntary act if it is not performed as it should be done.
Apart from these there are the obstacles of the voluntary acts like fear, ignorance, error, inattention, passion, pathological situation etc. these impairs have affected to the essence of voluntary act which are the knowledge and free will.
We have to make a clear distinction between involuntary acts which occur contrary to one’s intention and those acts which are not voluntary because they occur without the agent willing them. Actions which are done in concomitant ignorance are not voluntary and yet they are not involuntary.

3.The standards of morality
The standards of morality have their roots in the Ultimate end as it is an absolute end for humanity and the proximate objective standard human reason and the individual conscience. We can therefore explain the standards of morality as following.
1.Divine Law
1.1. The Eternal Law
For St. Augustine “The eternal law is the divine reason or (and) the will of God”. Eternal law embraces both the physical and the moral orders of the universe, but mainly with the moral order.
1.2. Natural Law
For St. Thomas “Natural law is the rational creature's participation in the eternal law”. All men are subject to it from the moment of his birth. It contains only precepts derived from the nature of man. It can be grasped by the natural light of man's reason without the aid of divine or human authority. Object of the Natural law is the moral order as known by human reason and which has to be observed by man.
1.3. Divine positive laws is the revealed laws of the scriptures

2.Human Law
The definition law has been given by St.Thomas Aquinas as “an ordinance of reason for the common good, promulgated by him who has the care of the community” Therefore the law must be based on the insights of reason into what is good for the community. The properties of human law will help us to clarify its concept as they are; 1.enforceable 2.concerned with external conduct only 3.limited to particular groups 4.historically conditioned.
For human law we can also make a distinction between the ecclesiastical law and civil law. The first one implies to the Church and the latter one implies to the state.
3. Conscience of the Individual
This is a practical way of the morality. Because as a norm we can only speak about an objective morality but in an existential way we have to switch to the subjective morality of the object. This is a reality in human life (existence).

4.The determinants of morality
The object of morality has its purpose to the ultimate end as it is the will of God. The norm which determines the morality of a human act is objectively the moral law and subjectively man’s conscience. These are three sources of the morality of human acts;
4.1.The Object
Object of the human act is that effect which an action primarily and directly causes. It is always and necessarily the result of the act, independent of any circumstances or of the intention of the agent. The object is generally regarded as the primary source for the judgment on the morality of an act.
The moral object considered in itself is good if it is in accord with reason and the eternal law; it is evil if it diverges from these standards; it is indifferent if it is neither in agreement with nor divergent from these standards, e.g., putting on a white or black garment.
The moral object may be considered in one of two ways: materially, when its own relationship to the eternal law is considered; formally, in so far as its morality is recognised by the conscience of the agent. An object that is materially evil constitutes material sin; an object that is formally evil constitutes formal sin.
4.2. The circumstances
The circumstances are particulars of the concrete human act which are not necessarily connected with its object. From the earliest times it has been customary to list seven circumstances contained in the following verse; who (quis), what (quid), where (ubi), with what means (quibus auxilirs), why (cur), how (quomodo) when (quando). The circumstances can alter the morality of human acts for better or for worse.
4.3 The end of the agent (Intention)
The end is the reason for which the agent undertakes an act. The end can therefore also be defined as that effect which the agent subjectively aims at in his action. The end modifies the morality of an act in similar way as circumstances do. A good end can make better an act good in its object; it can make good an act indifferent object; and it can make less evil an act evil in its object. Yet if the good or evil end intended by the agent is identical with the good or evil object of the act, no further goodness or badness is added to the act. The intention of the agent never make an evil act good.

5.The principle of double effect
There is a possibility that the action performed which has two effects. Then we have a principle of double effect. This principle spells out the conditions when an indirectly willed evil effect is not imputed to the agent and therefore can be permitted. These are the conditions:
5.1. The act must be good in itself or at least indifferent
5.2. The intention must be centered in the good effect.
5.3. The good effect should not be the consequence of the evil.
5.4. The good should be higher (proportionate to the good). A proportionately grave reason must be had in order to justify the admission of the evil effect.

6.The problem of law and natural law
Law is an ordinance of reason for the common good promulgated by the person who has care of the community.
Natural law is the rational creature's participation in the eternal law. It has already imprinted in humanity. It is called Natural Law because 1.Each man is subject to it from the moment of his birth. 2. It contains only precepts derived from the nature of man. 3. It can be grasped by the natural light of man's reason without the aid of divine or human authority.
Natural law is denied by all atheists and those who refuse to admit the existence of arty supreme objective norm of morality. Many modern jurists who regard positive law as the only form of law also deny the natural law.
We have to prove that the existence of Natural law is absolutely certain by these following reasons;
1.From Sacred Scripture: In the Gospel according to Matthew Jesus said that “from the beginning it was not so” (Mt 19:8)
St. Paul wrote “As for the Gentiles find in their own natures a rule to guide them in default of any other rule; and this shows that the obligations of the law are written in their hearts” (Rom. 2, 14-15);
2.From the Magisterium of Leo XIII and other social documents of the Church e.g. Humani Generis, Summi Pontificatus, (Pius XII), Mater et Magistra (John XXIII), Humanae Vitae (Paul VI), Gaudium et Spes, Lumen Gentium, Dignitatis Humanae (Vatican II).
3.From the inner testimony of one's own conscience;
4.From the testimony of all races or peoples.

Subject of Natural Law is to all men, children and the insane.
Object of the Natural law is the moral order as known by human reason and which has to be observed by man.

The properties of the Natural law are:
1. Universality, it binds all men without exception;
2. Immutability, it cannot be changed within itself;
3. Indispensability, since it does not allow either dispensation in the strict sense or epikeia (equity).

The Precepts in the Natural law are as following;
1.Primary precept which is the most universal precepts such as good must be done and evil should be avoided.
2.Secondary precepts which are easily recognized by all men such as the precepts of the Decalogue.
3.Remote conclusions which are deduced by the reason of man with varying degree of difficulty from the primary and secondary precepts.

However the ignorance of the Natural law can be possible only in repect of the romote conclusions and in respect of the secondary precepts (possible for a time) but it is impossible in the respect of the primary precept.

7.The issue of conscience
Conscience is an act of the practical reason on the morality of a concrete action. It is commanding to do what is good and to avoid what is evil. The judgment of conscience is expressly reflected upon especially in instances of doubt or of resistance and disobedience to the dictates of conscience.
Conscience is the subjective standard of morality therefore an act is subjectively good or bad according to the judgment of conscience. Natural Law embraces the objective principles of morality, whereas conscience uses these principles to decide whether an act should be performed or whether it should be omitted.
Kinds of conscience
1.In regard to the act considered by conscience, conscience is either antecedent if it precedes the act to be performed, or consequent if it passes judgment on acts already performed.
2.In regard to its conformity with the eternal law, conscience is either true when it deduces correctly from true principle that some act is lawful, or false conscience when it decides from false principles considered as true that something is lawful which in fact is unlawful.
An erroneous conscience is further distinguished into:
1. A scrupulous conscience which will not allow you to act properly in a given judgment.
2. A perplexed conscience which give you an impossibility to make a judgment.
3. A lax conscience which brings you an attitude that the sin is not so grave.
4. A pharisaic conscience which magnifies matters of little important thing and minimizes grave sins.
As I have mentioned above that conscience is the subjective standard of morality which acts as the guide for moral life of a man. Here are the means to be used for obtaining true conscience;
1.A careful knowledge of the laws which govern our moral life.
2.Taking wise counsel
3.Prayer to the Father of light. Have a good relationship with God.
4.Remove of obstacles to a true conscience like unconfessed sins.
We should maintain ourselves to obtain a certain conscience so that we can make our own decision whether it is direct or indirect, lawful or unlawful. At this stage we have a concomitant conscience to pass our own judgment in our own freedom. We also have to educate our conscience to be free from error and embrace the truth. For the true conscience bears the best fruit while the false conscience will be against the moral norm.

8.The understanding of sin.
We can give a definition of Sin as it is a prevarication of the divine law by lacking of love towards God.
We can basically divide sin into two kinds as following;
1. Original sin is that privation of original justice inherited at birth.
2. Personal sin is an offence committed by the deliberate will of the individual as expression of freedom.


Personal sins are of these various kinds
1. Sins of commission is that which you do what you should not do. And sin of omission is that which you did not do what you should do.
2. Actual sins are things that you have done according to your thoughts, words and deeds which are committed by the mind, word and some external action.
3. Sins of ignorance which proceed from lacking of evaluative knowledge. E.g. sins of weakness, sins of malice, sin against the Holy Spirit.

Formal sins is a voluntary and free transgression of the law;
Material sin is a NON-voluntary transgression.
Mortal sin is the thing that you have done which totally destroyed sanctifying grace and cause the death of the spiritual life
Venial sin is the lessen in fervor of charity.

THE NATURE OF MORTAL SIN implies:
1. an aversion from God;
2. an adherence to creatures which is seriously inordinate;
3. grave injury to the rational nature of man and to the social order.

When we talk about mortal sin these are three things that should be verified;
1.Grave matter (object) that which is a serious matter that choose to do against God
2.full advertence to the moral nature. This has to pass the judgment in conformity with the standard morality.
3.Consent that the agent has full freedom to perform the act.

The effects of sin
1.loss of Sanctifying grace, lack of charity
2.loss of the infused virtues with the exception of faith and hope which remain in formed without form.
3.loss of all merit.
4.right to eternal punishment.

Internal sins
Internal sins are sins which are consummated in the mind. They are sins of the heart, usually called “bad thought”. There are also three different kinds of internal sins as:
1.Deliberate pleasure which takes pleasure in sinful fantasies and thoughts.
2.Sinful joy in an accomplished evil deed, be it one’s own or another person sin. It consists in some form of approval of a sin already committed.
3.Evil desire to perform a sinful action. The evil desire is inefficacious if one would like to carry out the deed but does not really intend to do so because of some reason. (ashamed, afraid)

The capital sins
The capital sins are called capital because they easily become vices and sources of many other sins. These are the lists of seven capital sins;
1.Pride or vainglory is an inordinate desire of honour, distinction and independence. It is opposed to the virtue of humility.
2.Avarice is the inordinate pursuit of material goods and is contrary to the virtues of liberality and equity.
3.Envy is discontent over the good of one’s neighbor, which is considered as a detriment to one’s own person.
4.Lust is the inordinate craving for sexual gratification and is against the virtue of chastity.
5.Gluttony is excess in the injoyment of food and drink; the opposite virtues are temperance and sobriety.
6.Anger is the intemperate outburst of dislike with the inordinate desire for another’s punishment. It is contrary to patience and meekness.
7.Sloth in the wider sense is laziness and is opposed to diligence.

Apart from these we also have seven main virtues; the three theological virtues faith, hope and charity, and the four cardinal virtues prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance.

For the sins separate us from God, we have reconciliation through the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He established the sacrament of reconciliation which brings us back to God’s love as it is the call for all humanity.


Submitted by Anthony Vorasil RUEKSAWANG (t567124)