What is the Roman Catholic Church's official stance on cosmetic surgery?

-- Vincent Carreon (ccarreon@i-manila.com.ph), January 22, 2001

Answers

Jmj

Hello, Vincent.
I assume that you are asking about elective surgery, procedures that are not truly necessary -- as opposed to necessary plastic surgery that is done to correct damage caused by accident or illness. Necessary, truly therapeutic surgery is morally licit. Unnecessary surgery may not be.

I don't believe that the Vatican has spoken about "cosmetic surgery" directly and officially. However, cosmetic surgery has been discussed unofficially in theological circles.

Last year, a Catholic moral theologian, Father Stephen F. Torraco, gave the following answer to a question almost exactly like yours: "In the latter part of the twentieth century there were dramatic increases in what might be called aesthetic plastic surgery. Cultural changes increasingly emphasize one's physical appearance as a qualification in many sectors of the business world. There is greater availability of more refined surgical techniques. Thus, more men and women are being prompted to undergo surgery for merely aesthetically improved personal appearance. However, because such surgery is not without some risk, questions arise about their necessity and moral legitimacy. The answers are found in the application of the [theological] 'principle of totality' and in the examination of the motives involved. As for applying the principle of totality, a reasonable proportion between the risk involved and the personal advantages anticipated in a particular cosmetic surgical procedure would have to be recognized for the procedure to be morally acceptable. As for the motives, an otherwise acceptable plastic surgery could become morally wrong if undertaken for a morally wrong intention or motive, such as to feed one's personal vanity inordinately, to facilitate some immoral activity, or for a criminal to evade justice or make easier the commission of further crimes."

If there is a specific kind of surgery about which you are concerned, feel free to mention it. Maybe we could discuss its propriety.
God bless you.
John

-- J. F. Gecik (jgecik@desc.dla.mil), January 22, 2001.