Principles

Principle of Double Effect

An action that is good in itself that has two effects--an intended and otherwise not reasonably attainable good effect, and an unintended yet foreseen evil effect--is licit, provided there is a due proportion between the intended good and the permitted evil. When there is a clash between the two universal norms of "do good" and "avoid evil," the question arises as to whether the obligation to avoid evil requires one to abstain from a good action in order to prevent a foreseen but merely permitted concomitant evil effect. The answer is that one need not always abstain from a good action that has foreseen bad effects, depending on certain moral criteria identified in the principle of double effect. Though five are listed here, some authors emphasize only four basic moral criteria (the fifth listed here further specifies the third criterion): The object of the act must not be intrinsically contradictory to one's fundamental commitment to God and neighbor (including oneself), that is, it must be a good action judged by its moral object (in other words, the action must not beintrinsically evil); The direct intention of the agent must be to achieve the beneficial effects and to avoid the foreseen harmful effects as far as possible, that is, one must onlyindirectly intend the harm; The foreseen beneficial effects must not be achieved by the means of the foreseen harmful effects, and no other means of achieving those effects are available; The foreseen beneficial effects must be equal to or greater than the foreseen harmful effects (the proportionate judgment); The beneficial effects must follow from the action at least as immediately as do the harmful effects.

Principles of Formal and Material Cooperation

Moralists have long recognized that under many circumstances, it would be impossible for an individual to do good in the world, without being involved to some extent in evil. Along with the principles of double effect and toleration, the principles of cooperation were developed in the Catholic moral tradition as a way of helping individuals discern how to properly avoid, limit, or distance themselves from evil (especially intrinsic evil) in order to avoid a worse evil or to achieve an important good. In more recent years, the principles of cooperation have been applied to organizations or "corporate persons" (the implication being that organizations, like individual persons, are moral agents). Like the principle of double effect and some other moral principles, the principles of cooperation are actually a constellation of moral criteria: Formal Cooperation. Formal cooperation occurs when a person or organization freely participates in the action(s) of a principal agent, or shares in the agents intention, either for its own sake or as a means to some other goal. Implicitformal

cooperation occurs when, even though the cooperator denies intending the object of the principal agent, the cooperating person or organization participates in the action directly and in such a way that the it could not be done without this participation. Formal cooperation in intrinsically evil actions, either explicitly or implicitly, is morally illicit. Immediate Material Cooperation. Immediate material cooperation occurs when the cooperator participates in circumstances that are essential to the commission of an act, such that the act could not occur without this participation. Immediate material cooperation in intrinsically evil actions is morally illicit. There has been in the tradition a debate about the permissibility of immediate cooperation in immoral acts under "duress." When individuals are forced under duress (e.g., at gunpoint) to cooperate in the intrinsically evil action of another, they act with diminished freedom. Following Church teaching, thematter of their action remains objectively evil, but they do not intend this object with true freedom. In such cases, the matter remains objectively evil as such, but the subjective culpability of the cooperator is diminished. Very recently, the Vatican has rejected the arguments of those who would apply this concept of duress to Catholic organizations as a way to justify their immediate material involvement in certain objectionable actions. Mediate Material Cooperation. Mediate material cooperation occurs when the cooperator participates in circumstances that are not essential to the commission of an action, such that the action could occur even without this cooperation. Mediate material cooperation in an immoral act might be justifiable under three basic conditions: If there is a proportionately serious reason for the cooperation (i.e., for

the sake of protecting an important good or for avoiding a worse harm); the graver the evil the more serious a reason required for the cooperation; The importance of the reason for cooperation must be proportionate to the causal proximity of the cooperators action to the action of the principal agent (the distinction between proximate and remote); The danger of scandal (i.e., leading others into doing evil, leading others into error, or spreading confusion) must be avoided.

Principle of Stewardship
Stewardship requires us to appreciate the two great gifts that a wise and loving God has given: the earth, with all its natural resources, and our own human nature, with its biological, psychological, social and spiritual capacities. This principle is grounded in the presupposition that God has absolute Dominion over creation, and that, insofar as human beings are made in Gods image and likeness (Imago Dei), we have been given a limited dominion over creation and are responsible for its care. The principle requires that the gifts

of human life and its natural environment be used with profound respect for their intrinsic ends. The gift of human creativity especially should be used to cultivate nature and the environment, recognizing the limitations of our actual knowledge and the risks of destroying these gifts. Accordingly, simply because something can be done does not necessarily mean that it should be done (the fallacy of the technological imperative). As applied to Catholicsponsored health care, the principle of stewardship includes but is not reducible to concern for scarce resources (see Ethical and Religious Directives, n. 6); rather, it also implies a responsibility to see that the mission of Catholic health care is carried out as a ministry with its particular commitment to human dignity and the common good.