Reply #43: Fixed morality in a changing society [View All]

[Az]

The claim of the Church is that Morality comes directly from god. As soon as you disconnect this claim from god you get moral relativity (bad phrase in certain circles). Humans are not supposed to be able to figure out right and wrong. Thats why they need god to define it. Morality is not supposed to come from our collective efforts to work out a moral and ethical code. It is for god alone to determine.

The Catholic church sits as the supposed arbiter for god. Their strength of claim depends on their being able to correctly fullfill this roll. The pope when speaking on official matters or from the seat of Peter is supposed to be infallible. Even on matters where the pronouncement is not supposed to be infallible it is expected to be correct. As soon as you introduce doubt concerning the position of the Vatican you begin dismantling the Church.

So the Church is very cautious about issuing any specific claims of morality on issues it has not already defined itself on. A changing society creates a dangerous environment for them to draw a line in stone. Unfortunately a pronouncement called the Humana Vitae declared the official position of the Church was opposed to birth control and abortion. All subsequent popes have had to deal with this position in an increasingly changing society.