Intrinsic Evil

The reason we follow certain moral teachings is not because this is what the Church says, but rather we follow them and the Church teaches them because they are true.

Morality is universal – what is good for one person to do is good for all people, and what is bad for one person to do is bad for all people. It does not matter who the person is or what the situation is.

Many people have a faulty and populist understanding of what good and evil are. Good is defined as “that which is pleasant” or “that which saves lives”. However, the correct definition of good is “acting in accord with the nature of a thing” or “that which perfects or completes a thing’s being”.

For a human to be morally good is to act in accord with the nature of humanity. We are made in the image and likeness of God and should therefore act as He would have us act. We are made to love and serve God, and to be morally good is to act in accordance with that. Evil is defined as the absence or lacking of a good – thus, a moral evil is to act against the wishes of God.

Intrinsic evil refers to actions that are morally evil in such a way that is essentially opposed to the will of God or proper human fulfillment. The key consideration here is that intrinsically evil actions are judged to be so solely by their object, independently of the intention that inspires them or the circumstances that surround them. “Intrinsic” has nothing to do with how heinous the act is although all heinous acts are intrinsically evil, but rather that the act is wrong no matter what its circumstances.