Scandal

In Catholic theological usage, a wrongful or seemingly wrongful word, action, or omission that tends to incite or tempt another to commit a morally wrongful act. As delineated in the Catechism of the Catholic Church scandal is, ". . . an attitude or behavior which leads another to do evil . . . . Scandal is a grave offense if by deed or omission another is deliberately led into a grave offense" (cf. Catechism, Part Three, Section Two, Chapter Two, Article 5, n. 2284). In the context of health care, the provision or omission of some services might be scandalous in so far as they generate confusion about Catholic moral teaching. Such scandal is of particular concern for sponsors of Catholic health care services. [Sources: Healy, EF, Medical Ethics (Chicago: Loyola University Press, 1956); Ethical and Religious Directives, Part Six, n. 70.]

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