Page 55 - Vaccines

Key principles of Catholic moral theology

of the moralists of the past is equally incontrovertible.
Perhaps the fact that many of the spiritual directors of
the powerful in centuries gone by were perhaps reluctant
to be too strict with those whom they were directing,
explains in part the tendency of some of them to be laxist,
but the danger today is that of the Church not wishing
to appear “out of touch”, “out-dated”, hostile to scientific
and technological innovation or simply unpopular in a
democratic age, in which the media image counts for
some people far too much.
While it is not to be doubted that this picture is
basically correct, it must be emphasised further that the
fact that some people misunderstand or misuse some-
thing does not make it immoral or unsuitable of itself
(abusus non tollit usum). Even a relatively cursory glance
at St. Thomas’ treatment of scandal or of those sins
against justice which attack human life show that he used
casuistry to understand the relevant facts or circum-
stances, to distinguish one type of case from another, to
be able to apply the moral truth expressed in revelation
and in many of its aspects attainable through natural
moral law, when human reason is operating correctly, to
those different aspects of the questions he posed, to
identify what was intrinsically immoral and hence never
permissible, but also to indicate what was not intrinsi-
cally immoral and, through the application of principles
of moral truth, to specify our moral responsibilities in
their regard. Even the tortuous history of casuistry and
of probabilism aimed at the same goals and the fact that
the Magisterium condemned rigorism and laxism, but
not probabilism, means that this task must be continued
in our own time. No-one would deny the need to be
accessible pastorally to those in need and in great moral
difficulties in their lives; neither the law of graduality nor

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