TRUE LAW A c o l u m n b y M AT T H E W M C C U S K E R
lessons from history
What St.Thomas teaches us about
SCENE OF ST. THOMAS AQUINAS REFUTING THE HERETICS, FROM THE WAY OF SALVATION (1367). FRESCO BY ANDREA DI BONAIUTO. SANTA MARIA NOVELLA, FLORENCE.
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n response to the Covid-19 outbreak governments worldwide have enforced draconian regulations, restricting some of the most fundamental liberties of free societies – the right of free association, the right to earn one’s daily bread by honest labour, and even the right to leave one’s own home. They have also used the crisis to further violate fundamental rights – such as violating the right-to-life by expanding provision of “home abortion”. In the face of these violations of the most basic rights, there has been a high level of compliance, often on the grounds that “it is the law” and must be obeyed. It will therefore be useful to consider the traditional teaching of the Church on the nature of law.
AU T UMN 2 0 2 0
WHAT IS LAW?
St. Thomas Aquinas teaches that the following is a complete definition of law: Law is “an ordinance of reason for the common good, made by him who has care of the community, and promulgated”.1 Everything that conforms to this definition is a law. Nothing that fails to conform to this definition can ever be a true law, no matter what the purported lawgiver may claim. We will examine each element of the above definition in more detail, but first we will briefly describe the four kinds of laws. 53
