| A | B |
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| Circumstances | The condition or state of affairs surrounding a moral decision; these include the consequences of an action. Circumstances can increase or diminish the responsibility of a person, but they cannot change the moral quality of the acts themselves; they never make good an act which is in itself evil |
| Civil Government | The proper authority for governing and enforcing laws at the local, municipal, state, or national level. |
| Civil Law | A rule of conduct imposed by civil authority; the body of suchj rules binding on members under control of the authority whether from formal enactment or custom. |
| Common Good | The total of social conditions that will allow both individuals and groups to reach their human and spiritual fulfillment more easily. |
| Consequentialism | An ethicical system that ddetermines the level of goodness or evil from the effect or result of an act. |
| Ecclesiastical Government | The Church's own governing body, such as a diocese, national bishops' conferences, or the Holy See. |
| End (of an action) | The primary goal of the intention and the purpose pursued in an action. |
| Eternal Law | God's wisdom as manifested in the nature of acts and movements |
| Fundamental Option | The free and responsible choice a person makes to orient, in a radical manner, his whole existence in a moral direction toward good or evil. |
| Human Law | Law promulgated by human authority, either civil or ecclesiastical. In order to be legitimate, human law must be consistent with laws of God, conform tot he natural law, and promote the good society. |
| Intention (of an action) | A movement of the will toward an end |
| Just Law | An ordinance of reason that exists for the common good, having been made by legitimate authority and legislated through an apprpriate and recognized process. |
| Law | An ordinance of reason that exists for the common good, having been made by legitimate authority and legislated through and appropriate and recognized process. |
| Law of Grace | The New Law ushered in by Christ |
| Laws of Nature | Descriptions of the behavior of the material universe. |
| Legitimate Authority | A recognized ad official authority in civil or ecclesiastical law. |
| Object (of an action) | That toward which the will directs itself. This is distinct from the intention that a person has when performing the act. |
