Moral Theology
Teologia Morale · 74 articles · Principal contributors · All subjectsGeneral Moral Theology (Morale generale)
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Abulia
ABULIA. - From the Greek privative à and βουλὴ "will"; a. is a pathological alteration of the will, consisting in a more or less notable… -
Avarice (AVARIZIA)
AVARICE. - Avarice is an excessive love of riches, that is, a love that goes beyond the rule of reason, which requires that means be… -
Avvertenza
AVVERTENZA. - Generally speaking, it is the act of the mind that pays attention to a thing; in matters of morals, it is the act of the mind… -
Benediction (BENEDIZIONE)
BENEDICTION. - In its liturgical meaning it is a rite performed by a sacred minister, by which, with the invocation of the name of God,… -
Capital Vices (VIZI CAPITALI)
CAPITAL VICES. - Pride, avarice, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath and sloth are called c. v. or capital sins, according as they are considered… -
Casuistry (CASISTICA)
CASUISTRY. - In its verbal meaning this name comes from the Latin "casus" in the sense of a case or particular fact, true or supposed. C.,… -
Communication in Sacred Matters (COMUNICAZIONE NELLE COSE SACRE)
COMMUNICATION IN SACRED MATTERS. - By these terms is meant the participation of Catholics in the sacred ceremonies (prayers, services,… -
Compensationism (COMPENSAZIONISMO)
COMPENSATIONISM. - It is the most recent in time of the moral systems proposed for resolving on the practical ground those doubts that are… -
Concupiscence (CONCUPISCENZA)
CONCUPISCENCE. - From the Latin concupiscere (= to crave), it means etymologically desire, an inclination toward a pleasant object. But the… -
Consent (CONSENSO)
CONSENT. - In its broadest meaning it is the adherence of the will to the idea presented by the intellect: it is a necessary element for… -
Constance (COSTANZA)
CONSTANCE. - A moral virtue that gives the soul continuity in doing good, shielding it against difficulties coming from outside:… -
Continence (CONTINENZA)
CONTINENCE. - Continentia from contineo (cum and teneo) in its first etymological sense means the very act of containing oneself within the… -
Despair (DISPERAZIONE)
DESPAIR. - Psychologically and morally, despair is a positive and direct opposition to supernatural hope. Psychologically, despair retains… -
Egoism (EGOISMO)
EGOISM. - From "ego," I, e. is the false and exaggerated love of self, which leads to a veritable idolatry of the "I," erected as the sole… -
Envy (INVIDIA)
ENVY. - I. NOTION. - Envy (from the Latin invidia) is one of the seven capital sins that originate from the concupiscence kindled in human… -
Epikeia (EPIKÉIA)
EPIKEIA. - From ἐπαβέτα, that is, equity, benignity, moderation. The etymological meaning coincides with that of equity (v.). But the two… -
Equiprobabilism (EQUIPROBABILISMO)
EQUIPROBABILISM. - Called by its supporters moderate probabilism as well, it is one of the so-called moral systems, whose first defender… -
Faith, Good (and Bad) (FEDE, BUONA (E CATTIVA))
FAITH, GOOD (AND BAD). - Among the various meanings of the word faith (Latin fides) there is also that of trust and of its foundation… -
Fear (TIMORE)
FEAR. - From the Latin timor, it is the trepidation or disturbance of the mind because of an impending danger or an imminent evil. It can… -
Fidelity (FEDELTÀ)
FIDELITY. - It derives from fides and has the sense of serving fidem. It is a virtue very akin to truthfulness, of which indeed it may be… -
Fortress (FORTEZZA)
FORTRESS. - In its primary meaning it indicates robustness, vigor, strength, force, whether in the physical or in the moral sense. It can… -
Gola
GOLA. - A capital sin consisting in the disordered appetite for food and drink. It is a vice opposed to the special virtues of abstinence… -
Guilt (COLPA)
GUILT. - The term f. can be considered according to two fairly different concepts, although not in conflict with each other: f. in the… -
Heroic Act (EROICO, ATTO)
HEROIC ACT. - Every human act is called heroic which a person cannot perform except with extraordinary or very great moral difficulty. It… -
Human Act (ATTO UMANO)
HUMAN ACT. - In a broad sense, any activity of man can be called human. In a proper and narrow sense, the term h. a. is reserved to… -
Humility (UMILTÀ)
HUMILITY. - A moral virtue that restrains the soul, so that it does not strive with immoderate impulse toward what is above itself (Sum.… -
Hypocrisy (IPOCRISIA)
HYPOCRISY. - From ὑποκρισία, it means etymologically fiction: in the real sense it indicates the simulation of goodness, humility, holiness… -
Illness (INFERMITÀ)
ILLNESS. - I. is one of the causes for excuse or dispensation from ecclesiastical laws. Sometimes a slight i. is sufficient, at other times… -
Impurity (IMPURITÀ)
IMPURITY. - From Latin impuritas, the state of being impure, it is one of the terms used to indicate the vice against purity (v.). In… -
Imputability (IMPUTABILITÀ)
IMPUTABILITY. - From the Latin noun imputabilitas and the verb imputare, that is, to charge to an account, to ascribe, to attribute, it is… -
Inadvertence (INAVVERTENZA)
INADVERTENCE. - In general, everything that lies outside the field of actual consciousness is called i. I. takes the form and name of… -
Incapacity (INCAPACITÀ)
INCAPACITY. - In moral theology and in law it is the lack of certain conditions necessary for acting, such that a subject finds himself in… -
Inconvenience (INCOMODO)
INCONVENIENCE. - I. (from the Latin incommodum, that is, discomfort, disturbance, harm) in morals and in law denotes that particular… -
Ingratitude (INGRATITUDINE)
INGRATITUDE. - It is the disposition of soul (vice) of one who does not acknowledge and does not appreciate the benefits received. It can… -
Intention (INTENZIONE)
INTENTION. - St. Bonaventure (In IV lib. Sent., D. 6, p. 2, a. 2) defines intention as: "Will reflected (ratiocinata) insofar as it directs… -
Justice (GIUSTIZIA)
JUSTICE. - The Greek word δέμις has the same origin and the same meaning as the Latin word fas and indicates the ius divinum. Νόμος is what… -
Lassismo
LASSISM. - Laxism is less a moral system distinct from the others than a tendency, a laxus opinandi modus, as Alexander VII put it, by… -
Lust (LUSSURIA)
LUST. - I. NOTION. - L. (from luxus, luxuriance, excess), in an improper sense, denotes every excess in food, drink and the like, and is… -
Magnanimity (MAGNANIMITÀ)
MAGNANIMITY. - It usually denotes greatness of soul and nobility of character. Within the framework of the virtues it is the generous… -
Magnificence (MAGNIFICENZA)
MAGNIFICENCE. - Magnificence or munificence indicates splendor in spending and in giving. As a special virtue, magnificence consists in the… -
Mercy (MISERICORDIA)
MERCY. - A moral virtue, a potential part of justice, and it consists in feeling compassion for the misfortune of others and being moved to… -
Modesty and Immodesty (MODESTIA ED IMMODESTIA)
MODESTY AND IMMODESTY. - M. (from the Latin modestia) is a moral virtue, annexed to temperance, which moderates (whence its name) or… -
Morality (MORALITÀ)
MORALITY. - By m. is meant the quality of human actions by virtue of which they are morally good or bad. A fundamental and necessary… -
Moral Systems (SISTEMI MORALI)
MORAL SYSTEMS. - By "moral systems," in a generic sense, is meant a body of principles capable of resolving a doubt of conscience. When,… -
Moral Theology (TEOLOGIA MORALE)
MORAL THEOLOGY. - It is that part of Catholic theology which directly considers specifically human action, directed toward its ultimate… -
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… -
Ozio
LEISURE. - From Latin otium, in a generic sense it is abstention from work (for the Romans, abstention from public affairs or from the… -
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… -
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.… -
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… -
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,… -
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… -
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… -
Reflected Principles (PRINCIPI RIFLESSI)
REFLECTED PRINCIPLES. - They are rules of a moral and general nature, supplementary to the direct principles for forming a certain… -
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… -
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:… -
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… -
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… -
Synderesis (SINDERESI)
SYNDERESIS. - A medieval term equivalent to the "moral sense" of the moderns, understood as "the spiritual quality by which we know the… -
Temperance (TEMPERANZA)
TEMPERANCE. - A moral and cardinal virtue that moderates, according to the order of nature, the tendencies, motions and actions; in a word,… -
Tolerance (TOLLERANZA)
TOLERANCE. - In common usage it indicates a disposition of the soul and a consequent practical attitude of indulgence and longanimity… -
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… -
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… -
Verecondia
VERECONDIA. - From the Latin vereor, from which the other Italian noun "vergogna" (shame) also derives; but between the two derivatives… -
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… -
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… -
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…