The Morality of the

Human Act and Sin

MLC: Chapter 3;
CCC1749-1775; 1846-1876
Introduction: Three Rational
Principles of the Moral Life
Freedom: Makes a person a moral agent
(actor)
Conscience: Gives us the capacity to
discover Gods will as written in our souls
Law: Does not limit freedom, but allows it
to function properly
The Drama of the Moral Life
Right moral conduct perfects the human
being, and wrong moral conduct degrades
him.
Man, unlike lowers beings, is responsible
for his actions because he possesses an
intellect and a will. He can think and
choose deliberately.
The responsibility makes sin possible; but
it also makes holiness possible.
The human act vs.
the acts of a human
An act carries with it moral consequences
when the agent exercises his intellect and
will in performing the act. These are
human acts.
An act is not moral (amoral) when it is
accomplished without knowledge or
deliberation. These are the acts of a
human.
Determining whether an act
is good or evil.
Human acts can be morally evaluated.
An act is human if it is freely chosen in
consequence of a judgment of conscience.
They are judged to be good or evil.
There is a distinction, although it is slight,
between the morality of an act and the
culpability of the actor.
The morality of human acts
depends on:
The object chosen;
The end in view or the intention;
The circumstance.
These are the sources of the morality of
human acts.
The object chosen
It is a good toward which the will deliberately
directs itself.
Called the finis operis, literally the end of the
work.
The goal of the action, not the physical activity of
the act.
When the will chooses an object toward which
the act is directed, the intellect has made a
judgment about whether this act is in conformity
with the true good.
There are objective norms of morality that
express the rational order of good and evil.
The what of an act.
The intention or end
Resides in the acting subject. Also called the
finis operantis (the end of the worker).
The end (object) is the first goal of the intention
and indicates the purpose pursued in the action.
The intention is the movement of the will towards
the end.
The intention aims at the good anticipated from
the action undertaken.
The Why of an act.
Object and Intention in relationship
In determining the morality of an action it
is the object of the action, not the intention
of the agent that is of primary importance.
A good intention does not make behavior
that is intrinsically disordered (in its
object), good.
However, a bad intention makes a good
act evil.
Circumstances
These are secondary elements of the moral
act which contribute to increasing or
diminishing the moral goodness of evil of
human acts.
Circumstances can also diminish or
increase the actors responsibility for an act.
***Circumstances cannot change the moral
quality of an act in itself.***
Good acts and Evil acts
A morally good act necessitates that all
three elements (object, intention,
circumstance) be good.
An evil end can corrupt a good object.
Act whose object is evil can never be a
good even if the intention and
circumstances are good. This is because
choosing an evil object entails a disorder
of the will.
Situation Ethics
It is therefore wrong to judge the morality of an
act by simply considering the intention which
inspire the act or the circumstances which
supply the context of the act.
There are acts which in and of themselves are
intrinsically evil by reason of their object and can
never be justified by intention or circumstance.
One may not do evil so that a good can result.
This type of moral thinking is called Situation
Ethics and has been condemned by Pope John
Paul II in Veritatis Splendor.

Proportionalism
According to proportionalism no act can be
judged intrinsically evil simply by reason of the
wrong moral object.
Basically, proportionalism seeks to justify an act
by weighing the good that an act does against
the evil that it produces. If the act is determined
that it will produce more good than evil,
justification for the act can be found in the
circumstances and motive.
Therefore, proportionalists will excuse an
intrinsically moral evil if they can justify that good
will come from it.
Sin
Sin is an offense against reason, truth, and right
conscience; it is failure in genuine love for God
and neighbor caused by perverse attachment to
certain goods.
It is any utterance, deed, or desire against the
eternal law. It is an offense against God.
At the heart of sin is disobedience, a revolt
against God through the will.
Sin is diametrically opposed to the obedience of
Jesus.
The root of sin is in the free will. Sin wounds
charity in the heart.
Kinds of Sin
Distinguished according to their objects, or
according to the virtues they oppose, or
according to the commandments they violate.
They can be classified according to whom they
offend: God, neighbor, oneself.
They can be divided into spiritual and carnal.
They can also be divided into sins of thought,
word, deed, or omission.
Gravity of Sin
All sin is serious!
There are two main distinctions according to
gravity: Mortal and Venial.
Mortal sin destroys charity in the heart and
necessitates sacramental reconciliation with
God.
Venial sin offends and wounds charity, but
allows it to subsist. Venial Sins weaken charity
and manifest a disordered affection for created
goods.
Deliberate and unrepentant venial sins disposes
us to committing mortal sin.
Conditions for a mortal sin
Three conditions must be met.
1. Grave Matter: specified by the 10
Commandments
2. Full Knowledge of the sinful character of
the act.
3. Full Consent sufficiently deliberate of a
personal choice
Mitigating Culpability
Unintentional ignorance can diminish or even
remove the culpability for a grave offense.
(invincible ignorance)
No one should be ignorant of the principles of
the moral law which are written into the heart of
man. (vincible ignorance)
Feelings and passions can diminish the
voluntary and free character of the offense;
external pressures or pathological disorders can
also mitigate culpability for an action.
Sin committed through malice (deliberate choice
of an evil) is the gravest sin.
Mercy and Forgiveness
There are no limits to the mercy of God,
but anyone who deliberately refuses to
accept his mercy by repenting, rejects the
forgiveness of his sins and the salvation
offered by the Holy Spirit.
Such hardness of heart can lead to final
impenitence and eternal loss.
Where sin increased, Grace overflowed
all the more. Rom 5:20
The Proliferation of Sin
Sin creates a proclivity to sin.
Sin engenders vice by repetition of the same
acts.
Vices are called capital sins because they
engender other sins and other vices.
The seven deadly sins are: pride, avarice, envy,
wrath, lust, gluttony, sloth.
Sin gives rise to social situations and institutions
that are contrary to the divine goodness.
Structures of sin are the expression and effect
of personal sins. The constitute social sin
because they lead their victims to do evil in their
turn.
Cooperation in Sin
Sin is a personal act, but we do have
responsibility for sins committed by other when
we cooperate with them by:
A. participating directly and voluntarily in them;
B. ordering, advising, praising, or approving
them;
C. not disclosing or not hindering then when we
have an obligation to do so;
D. protecting evil-doers.

Fortifying oneself against Sin
The practice of Virtue.
Prayer, in particular asking for the grace to
overcome temptation (Our Father).
The Eucharist, which has as one of its
effects the protection against committing
Mortal sin.
Removing from ones life those things or
persons that lead one into sin.