One may not do evil so that good may result from it

“One may not do evil so that good may result from it.” (CCC 1761)

Unequivocal, and yet so often contradicted by people of good will, this simple statement is a beacon of light in the darkness of our moral confusion.  As Catholics, we are blessed to have such clear guidance when it comes to the thorny issues of the day.

The problem is that desiring good doesn’t always result in good acts.  We see suffering and wish to relieve it, and we hear a dangerously seductive voice in our ears suggesting that there’s something we can do.  That voice transforms into our own thoughts, thoughts that seem so good and sensible if we don’t examine the implications:

“This woman’s going to have an abortion whether I assist or not – at least I can make sure she gets good medical care, even if I can’t save the baby.”
“They’re going to shoot up regardless, so it’s better we give them clean syringes.”
“He’s going to die anyway, why prolong his suffering?  Someone else will do it if I don’t.”
“If newborn babies are going to be abandoned, let’s give the mothers somewhere safe to leave them!”

Abetting in a crime is a crime in itself, though, and the same goes for sins.  If you assist someone to sin, you yourself commit a sin.  It is only our pride – another sin that lies at the root of so many others – that makes us think we can do something that others can’t, that our actions are justified by our lofty goal.  But the end never justifies the means.

When we start to think that we can be involved in wrongdoing so as to ameliorate the situation, we are indulging in pride, in a thought process that seeks to rationalize lying, compromise, and all manner of sins.

The nurse who assists in an abortion, the social worker who hands out clean syringes, the doctor who assists a terminally ill patient to die, and the politician who initiates a ‘baby drop box’ scheme are all complicit in evil.  Abortion, drug use, assisted suicide, and willful abandonment of babies are all morally wrong and cannot ever be justified.  When we seek to lessen suffering, or even do something good (like save a babies life) in these situations, we are attempting to justify evil.

That voice in our ears saying “you could save a baby’s life” is the voice of pride.  It is not for us to play God and speculate that the baby we save might grow up to be someone who changes the world and save even more lives.  Our first responsibility is to our own souls, and doing something wrong “so that good may result from it” is clearly and unequivocally condemned by the Church.  And for that we are truly blessed, for they are wise words indeed.