BITE-SIZE THEOLOGY (178): Which elements of an action should we examine in order to judge its morality?

St John Paul II singles out St Paul VI’s teachings on the intrinsic evil of contraceptive practices: “‘Though it is true that sometimes it is lawful to tolerate a lesser moral evil in order to avoid a greater evil or in order to promote a greater good, it is never lawful, even for the gravest reasons, to do evil that good may come of it…”