Pregledni rad
https://doi.org/10.34075/cs.56.2.2
Moral Principle of Cooperation in Evil. Application to Ethically Questionable Vaccines
Zorica Maros
orcid.org/0000-0003-4908-2900
; Katolički bogoslovni fakultet Univerziteta u Sarajevu, Sarajevo, Bosna i Hercegovina
Sažetak
The issue provoking public debate, especially among the religious population, are vaccines against Covid-19 that first arrived on the market. Since these are vaccines that use foetal cell lines derived from foetal tissue from intentional abortions as biological material, the question of moral integrity in the use of these ethically questionable vaccines arises. The subject of the initiated debate is obviously an absolute novelty to our general public, although in American society the same debate has been going on since the 1960s. Even then, the Church presented its attitude, articulating it in the context of the moral principle of cooperation in evil, which allows the use of controversial vaccines under certain conditions. Since this attitude has caused certain misunderstandings and non-comprehension in the public, the aim of this article is to offer a broader explanation of both the mentioned principle and its corresponding attitude to the moral permissibility of the use of the disputed vaccines. After the introductory part and the discussion of moral principles in general, the article analyses the principle of cooperation in evil in more detail. An analysis of this principle shows that further indirect material cooperation in evil, although forbidden in principle, can still be tolerated if there is a proportional reason for the action, if the action is not evil in itself and if inaction would entail some grave risk or danger. After thematising all the different forms of cooperation in evil, its application in the specific case of the disputed vaccine is presented. In the final reflection, a somewhat wider theological reflection is brought in, which further explains the justification for further indirect material cooperation in evil. Justified when and if inevitable, and in a plural society it is often the only option of Christian commitment to transforming the world.
Ključne riječi
Covid-19; vaccine; moral principles; principle of participation in evil; Christians, society
Hrčak ID:
258346
URI
Datum izdavanja:
21.6.2021.
Posjeta: 1.309 *