Antics With Semantics

Our fellow-blogger "jCecil" is undaunted. The following is an excerpt from our exchange:

What you are saying is not the teaching of the Church. This is not merely my opinion - as you can see from Father Tucker's affirmation of my post, and from the anonymous theology professor who also affirmed it. But you can also consult the CCC or your local bishop or the writings of Pope Benedict if you don't get it.

You wrote:

That one is forced against one's will to participate in a sinful act (as in the bank teller) does not make the act itself (as in the one willfully committing the act) any less sinful on the objective level.

That is incorrect according to the Vatican.

The wording should be as follows, according to the Vatican:

That one is forced against one's will to participate in a evil act (as in the bank teller) does not make the act itself (as in the one willfully committing the act) any less evil on the objective level. However, it does reduce culabability for sin such that there may be no sin whatsover involved.

You wrote:

Abortion, for example, is the killing of an innocent human life. That is always a mortal sin.

Again, this is incorrect according to the Vatican. What you should have written according to the Vatican is something like the following:

Abortion, for example, is the killing of an innocent human life. That is always a grave and intrinsic evil. When knowingly chosen with free consent, it is a mortal sin.

He's right about one thing; I don't get it. The difference in our statements would appear to be in the degree of elaboration. (Note to Jack: Can you look at the transcript of our discourse and get back to me?) A case in point is elsewhere in his response, where he says: "And though many priests say things like 'Masturbation is a mortal sin,' the Vatican, itself, would say that the correct terminology is 'Masturbation is an intrinsically and gravely disordered act and therefore can be a mortal sin when knowingly engaged in with free consent.'" In fact, the former statement is not incorrect, given the proper understanding of the term "mortal sin," which implies the condition of "knowingly engaged in with free consent."

My original question remains unanswered: "Thomas Aquinas would say that every action in life is either a plus or a minus. When is sodomy or abortion a plus?"

Take your time.