The Error of Intentionalism

What is it about?

Some Catholic theologians are redefining the meaning of “direct” and “indirect” by including only the agent’s intention in defining the moral object, while simultaneously excluding the physical actions that the agent consciously and deliberately chooses. The net effect is that these theologians now approve of many kinds of abortions traditionally understood to be morally evil in situations of maternal–fetal vital conflict. Such an error has grave implications for Catholic bioethics and health care. When the intentionalist method is applied to other disputed questions in bioethics, however, it becomes clear that its ideology is fundamentally erroneous.

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Why is it important?

In this article I demonstrate where the logic of a pure first person perspective of the moral object leads--to conclusions in bioethics that the Catholic moral tradition has deemed untenable and intrinsically immoral. Catholic moral theologians who seek to be faithful to the Magisterium need to begin to recognize this subtle error and the disastrous results it will have for Catholic bioethics.