Moral Theology
Teologia Morale · 314 articles · Principal contributors · All subjects-
Occupation (OCCUPAZIONE)
OCCUPATION. - It is one of the modes of original acquisition of property, indeed the first of them even historically and the most important… -
Odium (ODIO)
ODIUM. - It is generally the state of aversion, of persistent enmity toward any object whatsoever. It is to be considered either as a… -
Ojetti, Benedetto
OJETTI, BENEDETTO. - Canonist, b. in Rome on 5 April 1862, d. there on 30 September 1932. Having entered the Society of Jesus in 1878 and… -
Ordeal (ORDALIA)
ORDEAL. - From the Anglo-Saxon ordeal, German Urtheil "sentence", "judgment", the ordeal is a judgment that the divinity or a supernatural… -
Ozio
LEISURE. - From Latin otium, in a generic sense it is abstention from work (for the Romans, abstention from public affairs or from the… -
Palmieri, Domenico
PALMIERI, DOMENICO. - Jesuit, philosopher and theologian, b. at Piacenza on 4 July 1829, d. at Rome on 28 May 1909. He taught philosophy,… -
Partiality (ACCETTAZIONE DI PERSONA)
PARTIALITY. - An expression proper to ecclesiastical language, roughly synonymous with partiality. It is in fact used to designate a… -
Pasqualigo, Zaccaria
PASQUALIGO, ZACCARIA. - Theatine religious, canonist and one of the classic authors in moral theology. Born in Verona in 1600, he taught… -
Passerini, Pietro
PASSERINI, PIETRO. - Dominican canonist, b. at Sestola (Modena) on 18 June 1597, d. at Rome on 21 June 1677. A religious at Cremona (1612),… -
Pastoral Visit (VISITA PASTORALE)
PASTORAL VISIT. - It is the direct knowledge that, by means of inspection, the pastor acquires of the conditions of the territory entrusted… -
Patience (PAZIENZA)
PATIENCE. - A moral virtue, which aims at making one endure present evils in such a way as not to let oneself be inordinately dominated by… -
Peace (PACE)
PEACE. - According to the well-known definition of St. Augustine, peace consists in the tranquillity of order, tranquillitas ordinis (De… -
Peculation (PECULATO)
PECULATION. - Qualified theft by one who, being a public official or entrusted with a public service and having by reason of his office or… -
Peculium (PECULIO)
PECULIUM. - A legal institution of great importance in Roman law, intimately connected with the unitary conception, in civil and economic… -
Perjury (SPERGIURO)
PERJURY. - 1. Notion and morality. - In the specific sense, perjury is only the sinful oath defective in truth as to its object, that is,… -
Perseverance (PERSEVERANZA)
PERSEVERANCE. - The virtue that disposes a person to continue in good, according to the dictates of reason, despite the prolonging of… -
Pertinacity (PERTINACIA)
PERTINACITY. - Insofar as it is constancy in any operation, or insofar as it manifests itself in one who does not allow himself to be moved… -
Perversion (PERVERSIONE)
PERVERSION. - It is the action or the effect of perverting, that is, of corrupting, of inducing someone to do what is not fitting.… -
Pharmacist (FARMACISTA)
PHARMACIST. - The pharmacist, the natural collaborator of the physician (v.), shares with him, albeit in a subordinate role, the nobility… -
Physician (MEDICO)
PHYSICIAN. - The profession of the physician occupies, by excellence and importance, the first place after that of the priest. Ancient… -
Piety (Theology) (PIETÀ (TEOLOGIA))
PIETY (Theology). - In biblical, theological and common language the term p. can have a broader sense, including one of the gifts of the… -
Pighi, Giovanni Battista
PIGHI, GIOVANNI BATTISTA. - Moral theologian and historian, b. at Parona in 1847, d. at Verona on 23 February 1926. Having earned a… -
Piscetta, Luigi
PISCETTA, LUIGI. - Theologian, b. at Comignano (Novara) on 12 Feb. 1858, d. at Turin on 25 Oct. 1925. He professed in the Society of St.… -
Polygyny (POLIGINIA)
POLYGYNY. - From the Greek πολύς = much and γυνή = wife, it is the simultaneous marital cohabitation of one man with several women. I.… -
Possession (POSSESSO)
POSSESSION. - It is a state of fact protected by law - which attaches particular legal consequences to it - by virtue of which a material… -
Prayer (PREGHIERA)
PRAYER. - Language of praise, or invocation, or petition, addressed by man to God. SUMMARY: I. Nature and definition. - II. Psychology. -… -
Prebend (PREBENDA)
PREBEND. - From Lat. praebere (to furnish) it is the revenue of an ecclesiastical benefice. The term belongs to ecclesiastical literature… -
Prescription (PRESCRIZIONE)
PRESCRIPTION. - It is a means by which, through the passage of time and the concurrence of determinate conditions and circumstances,… -
Presumption (PRESUNZIONE)
PRESUMPTION. - The term p. can be understood in several senses: in the order of feeling, it indicates exaggerated confidence in one's own… -
Price (PREZZO)
PRICE. - I. NOTION. - P. is the value of a unit of goods or service, expressed in money. In free and voluntary exchanges, the p. generally… -
Pride (SUPERBIA)
PRIDE. - It is the disordered love of one's own excellence (Sum. theol., 2a-2ae, q. 84, a. 2). By excellence must be understood everything… -
Probabiliorism (PROBABILIORISMO)
PROBABILIORISM. - From the Latin comparative probabilior (more probable); it denotes the moral system which, in doubt about the lawfulness… -
Probabilism (PROBABILISMO)
PROBABILISM. - I. MORAL THEOLOGY. - The term is used in theology to designate the moral system that admits as a legitimate norm of conduct,… -
Prohibited Societies (Secret Societies) (SOCIETÀ PROIBITE (SÈTTE))
PROHIBITED SOCIETIES (SECRET SOCIETIES). - By their very nature, those societies are forbidden which propose an unlawful end to themselves,… -
Prohibited Time (TEMPO PROIBITO)
FORBIDDEN TIME. - Canon 1108 § 1 of the CIC establishes the principle of freedom to contract marriage at any time, abolishing the local… -
Prudence (PRUDENZA)
PRUDENCE. - I. NATURE. - It was defined by Aristotle (Ethics, I, VI, ch. 5; Sum. Theol., 2ᵃ-2ᵃ, q. 47, a. 2, arg. Sed contra) as right… -
Prümmer, Dominikus
PRÜMMER, DOMINIKUS. - Dominican moral theologian, b. at Kalterherberg on 3 Sept. 1866, d. at Fribourg (Switzerland) on 9 June 1931. A… -
Pruner, Johann Evangelist
PRUNER, JOHANN EVANGELIST. - Moral theologian, b. in Nuremberg on 25 February 1827, d. in Eichstätt on 11 July 1907. Having completed his… -
Public Honesty (PUBBLICA ONESTÀ)
PUBLIC HONESTY. - It is a bond, analogous to affinity (v.), which, however, unlike the latter, does not derive from a valid marriage, but… -
Public Sinners (PECCATORI PUBBLICI)
PUBLIC SINNERS. - These are those who gravely and publicly offend the moral order; or more precisely those who by an act, known to the… -
Purpose (PROPOSITO)
PURPOSE. - Here it is to be understood as an act of the penitent, and it is the will not to sin in the future. It must not, therefore, be a… -
Pusillanimity (PUSILLANIMITÀ)
PUSILLANIMITY. - Etymologically (animus pusillus) it denotes a weak mind, a small spirit; it is used at times in a good moral sense (Is.… -
Rassler, Christoph
RASSLER, CHRISTOPH. - Jesuit moralist, b. at Constance on 12 Aug. 1654, d. at Rome on 16 July 1723. After many years of teaching… -
Recidivism (Recidivity) (RECIDIVA (RECIDIVITÀ))
RECIDIVISM (RECIDIVITY). - In the language of moralists and jurists, it indicates the condition of one who falls back into the same sin or… -
Reflected Principles (PRINCIPI RIFLESSI)
REFLECTED PRINCIPLES. - They are rules of a moral and general nature, supplementary to the direct principles for forming a certain… -
Religion (In Moral Theology) (RELIGIONE (NELLA TEOLOGIA MORALE))
RELIGION (IN MORAL THEOLOGY). - I. DEFINITION. - From the Latin religio, whose meaning varies according to whether it is derived from… -
Restitution (RESTITUZIONE)
RESTITUTION. - It is the reinstatement into the state (above all patrimonial) in which one would be, had certain unjust acts or attitudes… -
Reuter, Johann
REUTER, JOHANN. - Jesuit, moralist, b. in Luxembourg on 13 Oct. 1680, d. in Trier on 21 Jan. 1761. He taught successively letters,… -
Rigorism (RIGORISMO)
RIGORISM. - Excessive severity, immoderate adherence, tenacity and fidelity in establishing, interpreting and applying constitutions,… -
Roncaglia, Costantino
RONCAGLIA, COSTANTINO. - Moral theologian, b. at Lucca on 5 Nov. 1677, d. there on 24 March 1737. He entered the Congregation of the… -
Sabeti, Luigi (SABETTI, LUIGI)
SABETI, LUIGI. - Moral theologian, b. at Roseto-Valfortore (Foggia) on 3 Jan. 1839, d. at Baltimore on 28 Nov. 1898. Having entered the… -
Sacramental Satisfaction (SODDISFAZIONE SACRAMENTALE)
SACRAMENTAL SATISFACTION. - In the language of the Catholic Church the expression indicates the prayers, good works or various practices of… -
Sacrilege (SACRILEGIO)
SACRILEGE. - It is the irreverent treatment or the profanation of a sacred thing. I. NOTIONS. - Already among the pagans and primitive… -
Sasserath, Rainer
SASSERATH, RAINER. - Conventual, moral theologian, b. at Holtzheim near Reuss on 20 Aug. 1696, d. at Cologne between 1771 and 1775. He… -
Scandal (SCANDALO)
SCANDAL. - Here it means everything that can constitute a difficulty in the exercise of good or be a direct incentive to sin, that is, to… -
Scavini, Pietro
SCAVINI, PIETRO. - Moral theologian, b. at Intra on 22 Oct. 1791, d. at Novara on 17 Nov. 1869. Still a young priest, he held the office of… -
Scruple (SCRUPOLO)
SCRUPLE. - It is the vain apprehension that there is sin where there is no sin. Hence a person is called scrupulous who finds himself… -
Secret (SEGRETO)
SECRET. - A secret materially understood is the same hidden thing; formally understood it is the knowledge of that same thing with the… -
Sedition (SEDIZIONE)
SEDITION. - S. (from seorsum ire) is the violent collective uprising against the public authorities or against specific persons invested… -
Seduction (SEDUZIONE)
SEDUCTION. - In biblical language the term has various meanings. Sometimes it denotes any action directed at inducing others to error or to… -
Simony (SIMONIA)
SIMONY. - The term and the concept of s. derive their origin from the sacrilegious market proposed to the Apostles by Simon Magus, with the… -
Simulation (SIMULAZIONE)
SIMULATION. - In general it is any attitude whose purpose is to create a false judgment in others. In legal language, simulation consists… -
Sin (PECCATO)
SIN. - Here it means the moral fall or ruin, the evil human act, indicated in the Greek of the New Testament by various other expressions:… -
Slater, Thomas
SLATER, THOMAS. - Moral theologian, b. at Dinckley (Lancashire) on 16 Sept. 1855, d. at Liverpool on 3 Dec. 1928. Having entered the… -
Slavery (SCHIAVITÙ)
SLAVERY. - From the ancient German slav, a word applied by the Germans to the Slavic peoples whom they took captive, and it may be defined… -
Sloth (ACCIDIA)
SLOTH. - (From the Greek ἀκῆδία = carelessness, from α privative and κῆδομα). Commonly the term a. is used to indicate that vice by which… -
Sloth (IGNAVIA)
SLOTH. - "It is a tendency to idleness or at least to negligence and torpor in acting" (A. Tanquerey, Compendio di teologia ascetica e… -
Snare (INSIDIA)
SNARE. - The ambush (from the Latin insidiae and insideo) is the deceit secretly prepared against someone, and it takes different names… -
Solicitation (SOLLECITAZIONE)
SOLICITATION. - In its generic meaning, in the ethical field, it is synonymous with seduction (v.) or with instigation (v.), for which the… -
Sources of Morality (FONTI DELLA MORALITÀ)
SOURCES OF MORALITY. - In a generic sense, the remote and universal causes on which the character and the moral evaluation of human acts… -
Spiritism (SPIRITISMO)
SPIRITISM. - In the attempt to give an explanation to the phenomena that are the object of metapsychics (v.), notable and particularly… -
Sporer, Patritius
SPORER, PATRITIUS. - Franciscan moralist, b. at Passau around the first decade of the 17th century, d. there on 29 May 1683. Having entered… -
State, Duties of the Individual (STATO, OBBLIGHI DEL PROPRIO)
STATE, OBLIGATIONS OF ONE'S OWN. - By "state" here is meant not only the unchangeable conditions of life by which we are bound toward… -
State of Grace (STATO DI GRAZIA)
STATE OF GRACE. - I. DOCTRINE. - S. of G. means the permanent and supernatural condition or mode of being of the soul, cleansed of every… -
Sterilization (STERILIZZAZIONE)
STERILIZATION. - It is a surgical intervention on the reproductive apparatus, both male and female, aimed at preventing the formation or… -
Stockjobbing (AGGIOTAGGIO)
STOCKJOBBING. - Speculation consisting in publishing or otherwise divulging false, exaggerated or tendentious news, or employing other… -
Strike (SCIOPERO)
STRIKE. - It is the concerted abstention from work. The phenomenon is quite complex and can be studied from several points of view. Of… -
Suárez, Francisco
SUÁREZ, FRANCISCO. - Jesuit theologian and philosopher, called the Doctor Eximius, b. at Granada on 5 Jan. 1548, d. at Lisbon on 25 Sept.… -
Subornation (SUBORNAZIONE)
SUBORNATION. - It is the crime that consists in inducing witnesses or experts, by gifts, promises, or in any other manner, to give false… -
Suffering (SOFFERENZA)
SUFFERING. - A philosophical-moral problem, psychologically arduous, is posed by the fact that suffering accompanies everyone's life.… -
Suicide (SUICIDIO)
SUICIDE. - In the etymological sense, it indicates the act by which a man, on his own authority, voluntarily gives himself death. However,… -
Sunday Precept (PRECETTO FESTIVO)
SUNDAY PRECEPT. - By p. f. is meant the obligation to sanctify Sundays and holy days of obligation by attending Mass and abstaining from… -
Superfluous Goods (BENI SUPERFLUI)
SUPERFLUOUS GOODS. - Those temporal goods that are necessary neither for life nor for a person's station are called s. g. By life is meant… -
Superstition (SUPERSTIZIONE)
SUPERSTITION. - From Lat. superstitio (cf. Gk. ἐκαταχύς) "to stand outside or above," in religious ethnology it designates the state of… -
Suspension (SOSPENSIONE)
SUSPENSION. - It is a strictly ecclesiastical penalty by which clerics are deprived of the exercise of certain rights inherent in their… -
Suspicion and Rash Judgment (SOSPETTO E GIUDIZIO TEMERARIO)
SUSPICION AND RASH JUDGMENT. - When one speaks of malevolent thoughts concerning the honesty of one's neighbor, the terms rash judgment,… -
Synderesis (SINDERESI)
SYNDERESIS. - A medieval term equivalent to the "moral sense" of the moderns, understood as "the spiritual quality by which we know the… -
Tamburini, Tommaso
TAMBURINI, TOMMASO. - Jesuit, moralist, b. at Caltanissetta on 6 March 1591, d. at Palermo on 10 Oct. 1675. He first taught rhetoric,… -
Temerarious Judgment (GIUDIZIO TEMERARIO)
TEMERARIOUS JUDGMENT. - It is thinking evil of others without sufficient reason. It therefore includes two elements: a) the firm adherence… -
Temperance (TEMPERANZA)
TEMPERANCE. - A moral and cardinal virtue that moderates, according to the order of nature, the tendencies, motions and actions; in a word,… -
Theft (FURTO)
THEFT. - Any unjust taking of another's property, done for the purpose of gain, against the reasonable opposition of the owner. SUMMARY: I.… -
Tolerance (TOLLERANZA)
TOLERANCE. - In common usage it indicates a disposition of the soul and a consequent practical attitude of indulgence and longanimity… -
Tonsure (TONSURA)
TONSURE. - A sacred rite instituted by the Church, by which a baptized and confirmed believer, through the cutting of the hair and the… -
Tributes (TRIBUTI)
TRIBUTES. - Taxes (Latin tributum, from tribuo) in the broad sense are the imposts that the State requires of the citizen to cover its own… -
Turpiloquy (TURPILOQUIO)
TURPILOQUY. - It is speech about base things, which supply the intellect and the will with matter for dishonest thoughts and actions.… -
Tuziorism (TUZIORISMO)
TUZIORISM. - From opinio tutior (= "safer opinion"), it is one of the moral systems (v.) that arose to resolve problems relating to… -
Unbelief (INCREDULITÀ)
UNBELIEF. - Term used in theology to indicate the absence or the repudiation of the supernatural virtue of faith: it is therefore a form of… -
Urgent Case (CASO URGENTE)
URGENT CASE. - Under this name (as under that of extraordinary case, perplexed case) are understood in moral theology and in canon law the… -
Use and Habitation (USO E ABITAZIONE)
USE AND HABITATION. - Use is a limited form of usufruct (v.) and the right of habitation is a particularity of use that has as its object a… -
Vainglory (VANA GLORIA)
VAINGLORY. - While desiring glory is willing the manifestation of one's own good or one's own excellence (a thing not in itself evil, as… -
Van Observance (VANA OSSERVANZA)
VAN OBSERVANCE. - It is one of the forms of non-cultic superstition, whereby practices unsuited to the purpose one wishes to achieve are… -
Verecondia
VERECONDIA. - From the Latin vereor, from which the other Italian noun "vergogna" (shame) also derives; but between the two derivatives… -
Vermersch, Arthur (VERMEERSCH, ARTHUR)
VERMERSCH, ARTHUR. - Moral theologian of the Society of Jesus, b. at Ertvelde (province of East Flanders, Belgium), on 26 Aug. 1858, d. at… -
Viaticum (VIATICO)
VIATICUM. - From the liturgical point of view, the term was first adopted to indicate all the religious aids or comforts provided to the… -
Violence (VIOLENZA)
VIOLENCE. - In theological-canonical language, by violence, force or coercion is meant a motion that comes from an external principle,… -
Virginity (VERGINITÀ)
VIRGINITY. - Virginity, insofar as it is a virtue, consists of two elements: material and formal. Understood in the material sense, it is… -
Virtue (VIRTÙ)
VIRTUE. - I. GENERAL NOTIONS. - Virtue is a quality that perfects an operative faculty, disposing it well in relation to its activity and… -
Vocation (VOCAZIONE)
VOCATION. - From the Latin vocatio = call. The divine v. implies, on the efficient line, the divine will or election of a human creature… -
Volunteer (VOLONTARIO)
VOLUNTEER. - It is the act that proceeds from the will enlightened by the prior knowledge of the intellect (cuius principium est intra cum… -
Vow (VOTO)
VOW. - From voveo, with the meaning of a promise, the object promised, a sacrifice made to fulfill a promise, and also a gratuitous… -
Waffelaert, Gustavus Josephus
WAFFELAERT, GUSTAVUS JOSEPHUS. - Moral and ascetical theologian, 22nd bishop of Bruges, b. at Rollegem on 27 Aug. 1847, d. at Bruges on 16… -
Wernz, Franz Xaver
WERNZ, FRANZ XAVER. - Canonist, 25th general of the Society of Jesus, b. at Rottweil (Württemberg) on 4 Dec. 1842, d. at Rome on 19 Aug.… -
Widowhood (VEDOVANZA)
WIDOWHOOD. - It is the condition of a woman who has lost her husband. Among the Hebrews, widowhood was a state of desolation and entailed… -
Wrath (IRA)
WRATH. - From the Latin ira, also called wrath, it is a deviation of the instinct that leads one to defend oneself, when attacked, by…