[St.Chuck]

Since this brings up ghosts from Arguments Past, I am curious about the state of necessity. If I, for example, were to participate in an abortion would my citation of the existing state of necessity make null and void my excommunication? If not, under what circumstances would I be able to trump canon law with the state of necessity loophole?

[ultima ratio]

Abortion is inherently evil. Disobedience to the Pope is not. That is to say, abortion is never a good thing, it is always and everywhere evil and not even a state of necessity would ever justify such an act, though it might mitigate it.

Disobedience to a pope, on the other hand, is not inherently evil. It would be possible, for instance, for a pope to command somebody to do something morally wrong, in which case such a command should be disobeyed. Therefore the act of disobedience itself is not always and everywhere evil.