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Good Law and Morality—Theology 3A, Catholic Morality

Good law is like the foul line in baseball or the boundary lines on a football field.  These lines show where the game should be played.  Once a ball goes outside the lines the ball is dead and play must start over again.

St. Thomas Aquinas taught that good law is
1) Reasonable,
2) Issued by proper authority,
3) Directed at the common good, and
4) Advertised in a way people know about it.

Good law is an objective measure against which we can assess our behavior.  It usually points out the minimum behavior for harmonious human living.  If we violate the law, we are usually “out of bounds” in the moral life, too.

Here is a list of various laws societies have issued over the years.  Decide if the law is good (G) or bad (B) according to St. Thomas Aquinas.

_____ 1. The speed limit for school zones is 20 mph.

_____ 2. All eighteen-year-old males must register for the draft.

_____ 3. Catholics must receive Eucharist at least once a year, during the Easter season.

_____ 4. No alcoholic beverages may be sold or consumed by anyone under the age of 21.

_____ 5. There should be mandatory, random testing for drug use among air traffic controllers.

_____ 6. Everyone earning over $70,000 is liable to a 30 percent income tax.

_____ 7. Smoking in public places is prohibited.

_____ 8. It is illegal to burn the American flag.

•	Pick one of the laws above and describe below how it is reasonable and protective of the common good.

•	Analyze below and on the back ten school rules as good or bad.