Moral Choices Require Prayer and Discernment

When faced with difficult moral choices, where there seems to be only sinful options, prayer and discernment will see you through. Take for example, a relative dying from cancer. Everything that could be done to save this relative’s life has been done. Death is immanent. A decision needs to be made as to whether to give a heavy dose of morphine to the relative. If you allow the doctor to give the morphine to your dying relative, death will surely hasten. If you do not allow the doctor to give the morphine to your relative, death will eventually come, but the patient will die in excruciating pain. What do you do?

Making Difficult Moral Choices

We can apply the Principle of Double Effect to the decision-making process. If you can answer yes to all four of the following questions, then the Principle of Double Effect applies, and the resulting decision does not create a sin. Let us use the example above to explore this concept:

Question #1:... Read more...