Some Catholics claim that the “Catechism of the Catholic Church Article 6 On Moral Conscience” permit them to take exception to the Catholic Church official stand on the abortion and Papacy apostolic exhortation disapproving abortion.
Do you believe you can invoke Article 6 of Catechism to support abortion?
2007-12-14 11:28:44 · 20 answers · asked by Steve 4 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Article 6 of Catholic Catechism states that man has the right to act in conscience and in freedom so as personally to make moral decisions. He must not be forced to act contrary to his conscience. Nor must he be prevented from acting according to his conscience, especially in religious matters.
2007-12-14 11:31:41 · update #1
Catholics might with equal reason invoke Article 6 of the Catechism to support any number of things expressly forbidden by God, and these Catholics would be sadly mistaken in doing so.
The article in its entirety must be read for a full understanding of the Church's teaching on conscience.
The first portion of the article discusses the respect and autonomy that is to be accorded to the individual conscience, on the one hand . . .
. . . . and the second part of the article discusses the fact that an individual conscience is not infallible. People can make mistakes in judgement in matters of conscience, and they are culpable for any harm that may ensue from such mistakes.
The most egregious of these mistakes, if unchecked by lawful authority, may trample upon the fundamental human rights and dignity of innocent third parties.
A civilized society must balance the right of the autonomy of individual conscience against society's duty to protect the vulnerable.
Contrary to recent propaganda by supporters of abortion, the Catholic Church has from time immemorial reiterated that a direct assault upon the unborn infant in the womb constitutes a sin of homicide, one of the "Sins that Cry out to Heaven for Vengeance". (Others include "oppressing the poor" and "defrauding the laborer of his wages.")
No appeal to freedom of conscience can justify the commission of such sins, and no civilized society stands by and allows the innocent to be harmed in these ways.
It is to inflate the authority of conscience far beyond all reason to propose that the an appeal to the free exercise of conscience would trump the right of innocent persons to be protected from willful murder and other similar serious transgressions against their human rights, or that it should trump the obligation of a civilized society to protect the rights of the most vulnerable.
2007-12-14 14:31:20 · answer #1 · answered by Catherine V. 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You don't even know what your talking about.
The Catechism statement is on having abortion.
You quotes Ariticle 6
you left out section three, article 6, moral conscience. AND YOU DON"T INVOKE. MORON!
Father K do not answer YOU ARE NOT ROMAN CATHOLIC AND DO NOT FOLLOW THE CATECHISM. YOU ARE A PROTESTANT BREAK OFF OF THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. THe Catechism still talks about unmarried clergy. WANNA FOLLOW AND THAT THE POPE IS THE PRIMATE AND YOU MUST BE IN COMMUNION WITH HIM WANT TO FOLLOW THOSE FATHER K!
EVERYBODY READ A LITTLE CHARLES CURRAN?HANS KUNG AND CARINAL BEHR?
NOABORTION TEACHING IS NOT NOT NOT INFALLIABLE. DEAL WITH IT STEVE! AND AN EXHORTION CARRIES NO AUTHORITY DEAL WITH IT!
I can support it, I just cannot have one. That is all the Vatican says I cannot have one.
Actually read the Catechism 2270-2275 that is the entire section covering on abortion. IT ONLY PROHIBTS ME FROM HAVING ONE!
Steve, I have told you time and time again to stop stalking my answers and harassing me.
AND part 3 ARTICLE 6
is not on dignity of the human person but developing moral conscience open your Catechism.
.
2007-12-15 08:56:08 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
No.
The Church also explains that a well formed conscience can never go against the eternal moral law of God that is written on the hearts of all human beings.
Catholics believe that from the moment of conception until natural death, each human being is endowed by God with dignity and rights.
You shall not kill. (Ex 20:13; cf. Deut 5:17)
Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you. (Jer 1:5; cf. Job 10:8-12; Ps 22:10-11)
My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately wrought in the depths of the earth. (Ps 139:15)
Early Church writings: You shall not kill the embryo by abortion and shall not cause the newborn to perish. (Didache 2, 2: SCh 248, 148; cf. Ep. Barnabae 19, 5: PG 2, 777; Ad Diognetum 5, 6: PG 2, 1173; Tertullian, Apol. 9: PL 1, 319-320)
The one exception of which I know is when a pregnant woman must undergo a medical procedure to save her life and as a regrettable but unavoidable circumstance the unborn baby dies.
For more information, see the Catechism of the Catholic Church, sections 2270 and following: http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/pt3sect2chpt2art5.htm#2270
With love in Christ.
2007-12-15 00:20:10 · answer #3 · answered by imacatholic2 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Article 6 is not a "Believe Whatever You Want" Clause. Rather, it recognizes each person's free will and opinion. We are not obligated, but called to search our own moral conscience to find the Truth that abortion is morally wrong.
The Catholic Church can not prohibit your opinions. We acknowledge everyone's tendency to decide issues for themselves. However, the Catholic Social Teaching is that abortion is a crime of humanity performed by the individual, and we encourage you not to participate in or support abortions.
2007-12-15 14:05:35 · answer #4 · answered by blurrrrrrr 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Ironic that this is Article 6 of an entire chapter on "the dignity of the human person". The part you quoted, which is presumably what's being claimed as justification for supporting abortion, is but a single paragraph (#1782). Using this as a basis for such a decision is little more than cherry-picking it completely out of context. Immediately following #1782 are sections defining the formation of conscience, what choosing in accordance with conscience means, and erroneous judgment:
"A human being must always obey the certain judgment of his conscience. If he were deliberately to act against it, he would condemn himself. Yet it can happen that moral conscience remains in ignorance and makes erroneous judgments about acts to be performed or already committed.
"This ignorance can often be imputed to personal responsibility. This is the case when a man 'takes little trouble to find out what is true and good, or when conscience is by degrees almost blinded through the habit of committing sin.' In such cases, the person is culpable for the evil he commits." (para. 1790 and 1791)
Only someone who is bent on rationalizing abortion would use this single paragraph to justify it. In that case, they are mistaking (deliberately or not) either situational ethics or moral relativism for moral conscience and are gravely deceiving themselves.
2007-12-15 02:10:39 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
2271 Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable. Direct abortion, that is to say, abortion willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the moral law:
You shall not kill the embryo by abortion and shall not cause the newborn to perish.75
God, the Lord of life, has entrusted to men the noble mission of safeguarding life, and men must carry it out in a manner worthy of themselves. Life must be protected with the utmost care from the moment of conception: abortion and infanticide are abominable crimes.76
As Fr. K said, there is NO such loophole. These people are butchering the teachings of the church to justify their wrongs.
Case in point:
1786 Faced with a moral choice, conscience can make either a right judgment in accordance with reason and the divine law or, on the contrary, an erroneous judgment that departs from them.
1787 Man is sometimes confronted by situations that make moral judgments less assured and decision difficult. But he must always seriously seek what is right and good and discern the will of God expressed in divine law.
Note both items pertain to conscious as it pertains to Divine Law. If your ideology goes against divine law something is wrong.
It continues on about errors in judgement:
1790 A human being must always obey the certain judgment of his conscience. If he were deliberately to act against it, he would condemn himself. Yet it can happen that moral conscience remains in ignorance and makes erroneous judgments about acts to be performed or already committed.
1791 This ignorance can often be imputed to personal responsibility. This is the case when a man "takes little trouble to find out what is true and good, or when conscience is by degrees almost blinded through the habit of committing sin."59 In such cases, the person is culpable for the evil he commits.
1792 Ignorance of Christ and his Gospel, bad example given by others, enslavement to one's passions, assertion of a mistaken notion of autonomy of conscience, rejection of the Church's authority and her teaching, lack of conversion and of charity: these can be at the source of errors of judgment in moral conduct.
2007-12-14 19:44:13 · answer #6 · answered by Max Marie, OFS 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You asked me to answer, but I must forewarn you that I am not Catholic.
CCD Article 6, section 3, under "The gift of a child" 2378 says:
"2378 A child is not something owed to one, but is a gift. The "supreme gift of marriage" is a human person. A child may not be considered a piece of property, an idea to which an alleged "right to a child" would lead. In this area, only the child possesses genuine rights: the right "to be the fruit of the specific act of the conjugal love of his parents," and "the right to be respected as a person from the moment of his conception."[169] "
It says at the end the fetus has the right to be respected as a person from the moment of his(or her) conception. That would lead me to think if you had abortion it would be murder, and murder is one of the 10 commandments.
So no, it does not excuse abortion.
2007-12-14 23:11:07 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The Catechism of the Catholic Church CLEARLY states that abortions are objectively morally unacceptable under any and all circumstances:
2271 Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable. Direct abortion, that is to say, abortion willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the moral law:
You shall not kill the embryo by abortion and shall not cause the newborn to perish.
God, the Lord of life, has entrusted to men the noble mission of safeguarding life, and men must carry it out in a manner worthy of themselves. Life must be protected with the utmost care from the moment of conception: abortion and infanticide are abominable crimes.
2272 Formal cooperation in an abortion constitutes a grave offense. The Church attaches the canonical penalty of excommunication to this crime against human life. "A person who procures a completed abortion incurs excommunication latae sententiae," "by the very commission of the offense," and subject to the conditions provided by Canon Law. The Church does not thereby intend to restrict the scope of mercy. Rather, she makes clear the gravity of the crime committed, the irreparable harm done to the innocent who is put to death, as well as to the parents and the whole of society.
2322 From its conception, the child has the right to life. Direct abortion, that is, abortion willed as an end or as a means, is a "criminal" practice (GS 27 § 3), gravely contrary to the moral law. The Church imposes the canonical penalty of excommunication for this crime against human life.
2274 Since it must be treated from conception as a person, the embryo must be defended in its integrity, cared for, and healed, as far as possible, like any other human being.
Prenatal diagnosis is morally licit, "if it respects the life and integrity of the embryo and the human fetus and is directed toward its safe guarding or healing as an individual. . . . It is gravely opposed to the moral law when this is done with the thought of possibly inducing an abortion, depending upon the results: a diagnosis must not be the equivalent of a death sentence."
As you can see, Catholicism teaches that abortions are morally unacceptable. Any attempt to make it appear as if Catholicism can and does approve of them is nothing other than a fruitless exercise in fooling one's self into thinking he/she has found a theological loophole (in other words, "smarter" than God Himself).
Word to the not-so-wise, don't play lawyer with God.
2007-12-15 11:28:35 · answer #8 · answered by Daver 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
No I do not.
My recollection of what I was taught when I was a practicing Catholic, is that abortion is a sin. They refer to the commandment, "Thou shall not Kill".
When a couple went to the pre marital counseling , having children was a major topic of discussion. It was made clear we didn't have a choice. Procreation is what God wanted and intended . At least that is how it was when I went, many years ago. Birth control was against the Catholic religion. (as taught in my church). I was told if I practiced birth control I was sinning. I don't think the RCC would make exception for any obortion. But, I am not the RCC, that is just my educated guess.
Sorry I think I went off track a bit.
2007-12-14 20:08:46 · answer #9 · answered by Angelica1951 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
No matter how the difficult the decision may be, abortion is something that is not allowed, the Catechism is clear on this. Article 6? 2271-2279 gives a list of reasons why this immoral.
2007-12-14 19:39:54 · answer #10 · answered by mark b 2 · 5⤊ 0⤋