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Fundamental Moral Theology

Intrinsic Evil

Source: Veritatis Splendor (The Splendor of Truth), Boston: Pauline Books

and Media, 1995 (No. 80)

Notion of Intrinsic Evil:

 Reason attests that there are objects of the human act which are by their nature "incapable
of being ordered" to God because they radically contradict the good of the person made
in his image.

 These are the acts which, in the Church's moral tradition, have been termed "intrinsically
evil" (intrinsece malum): they are such always and per se, in other words, on account of
their very object, and quite apart from the ulterior intentions of the one acting and the
circumstances.

 Consequently, without in the least denying the influence on morality exercised by

circumstances and especially by intentions, the Church teaches that "there exist acts
which per se and in themselves, independently of circumstances, are always seriously
wrong by reason of their object."

 The Second Vatican Council itself, in discussing the respect due to the human person,
gives a number of examples of such acts: "Whatever is hostile to life itself, such as any
kind of homicide, genocide, abortion, euthanasia and voluntary suicide; whatever
violates the integrity of the human person, such as mutilation, physical and mental
torture and attempts to coerce the spirit; whatever is offensive to human dignity, such as
subhuman living conditions, arbitrary imprisonment, deportation, slavery, prostitution
and trafficking in women and children; degrading conditions of work which treat
labourers as mere instruments of profit, and not as free responsible persons: all these and
the like are a disgrace, and so long as they infect human civilization they contaminate
those who inflict them more than those who suffer injustice, and they are a negation of
the honour due to the Creator."

 The Church teaches that there are certain actions which are evil regardless of intention or
circumstance. These are what the Church calls intrinsically evil acts. This means that the
object of such an act as always and universally wrong, regardless of circumstances and
intentions (which means intention and circumstances cannot change the object from evil
to good). These are acts that the Church considers to be so seriously disordered and
harmful that they should never be directly intended.

Controversy:
 A number of moral theologians have objections about the use of the concept of intrinsic evil.
These theologians believe intention and circumstance do not just diminish or increase the
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seriousness of an evil action but they can alter the meaning of the action to make it morally
allowable.

Who is correct?

Answer: Both are correct.

 One root of the controversy over intrinsic evil is the meaning of “intention” and
“circumstances” as used by the magisterium and by the dissenting theologians. There are two
sets of intentions and circumstances present in an act:
o The immediate intention and the defining circumstances, which are parts of the
object.
o The immediate intention and the qualifying circumstances of the act that can vary
the goodness or evil of the act.
 In saying that intrinsically evil actions are evil by their object regardless of intention and
circumstances, the “intention” that the magisterium is referring to is the immediate intention
and the “circumstances” referred to are the qualifying circumstances. That is why the
magisterium insists that ends can never justify the means. The gravity of the evil action may
be lessened by a good end or purpose but it cannot be made into a good action if the object of
the action is already evil.
o E.g. To torture a terrorist in order to obtain information to prevent an impending
terrorist attack and save lives. Although the end of saving innocent lives is a good
end, it does not make the act of the physical and psychological torture of a human
being into a good act, even if such an act can save many lives. Torture, regardless of
the end of the agent, is still regarded as a violation of human rights of the tortured
person and an evil action. Even if the eventual result of the torture of this particular
person resulted in saving lives, it does not make the practice of torture an act that is
morally neutral or good.
 When theologians say that intention and circumstances can alter the meaning of an action,
the “intention” what they are speaking of is the immediate intention and the “circumstances”
that refer to the defining circumstances that shape the object of the action and gives the
action its identity.
o E.g. A direct abortion is different from an indirect abortion. A direct abortion is an
intrinsic evil because the death of the embryo or fetus it was directly intended while
an indirect abortion is not an intrinsic evil because, though it is foreseen, the death of
the embryo or fetus was not directly intended (e.g. an indirect abortion resulting from
the removal of a life-threatening cancerous uterus). The different moral evaluation of
a direct and indirect abortion shows the significance of “intention” (in the sense of the
immediate reason for the action) in determining the specie of abortion involved.
o E.g. An abortion procured freely is morally different from an abortion procured in the
presence of coercion. The death of the fetus remains objectively evil but the person
coerced to have an abortion did not commit a grave act of direct abortion but can be
said to have suffered a form of assault. While the person who exerted the coercion so
that the abortion may be procured is guilty of direct abortion.
 The more precise an intrinsically evil act is described, the better one can understand why
these actions can never be justified (e.g. torture, direct abortion, genocide, rape, prostitution,
slavery, child abuse, child pornography, etc).
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 The Church is understandably concerned that persons should not make the mistake of
thinking that good intentions (the immediate intention of the agent) can justify any action and
that ends can justify the means. However, the church is being reminded by theologians not to
minimize the significance of intentions and circumstances in the evaluation of moral acts.
The fact that the church recognizes exceptions to its own moral teachings on birth control is
evidence that, aside from the object of the action, circumstances and intentions are crucial in
determining the over-all morality of an action.

Caution:
The concept of intrinsic evil should not be used loosely. Careful delineation of the relevant
intentions and circumstances must be spelled out before a concrete moral action is declared an
intrinsically evil act.