Being obedient to Authority IS , after all, a VERY Catholic
thing! However, there are situations wherein obedience can be and
sometimes ʻoughtʻ to be withheld. . .
St. Thomas defines Law as "an ordinance of reason for
the common good, made by him who has care of the community, and
promulgated" (STh., I-II q.90 a.4 resp) From that definition we can
clearly see that a truly BINDING law must be
1) reasonable
2) for the common good
3) come from a legitimate
superior
4) must be properly promulgated
He also addresses the question of "Whether Subjects are Bound to Obey Their Superiors in All Things?"
(STh., II-II q.104 a.5) In that article St. Thomas clearly points out that we
have the right to withhold obedience if the lawful authority is
1) acting outside his sphere of authority
2) acting contrary to the will of a legitimate higher
authority (God included)
3) if his command is unjust
From those two articles we can summarize that we are allowed
to withhold obedience in the following circumstances
1) If the command is contrary to the eternal law of God
2) If it is contrary to the will of some higher human
authority
3) If the superior is acting outside his sphere of authority
4) If the
command is unjust, that is: not conducive to the common good, unreasonable or
not properly promulgated
image from the 'Public domain' via wikimedia commons. St.
Thomas Aquinas. 1476
(My summary post was masterfully presented by the late Mr. Michael
Davies in 1983 in a lecture)
(His lecture and other lectures can be found at www.keepthefaith.org)
