Catholic Dictionary

Find accurate definitions of over 5,000 Catholic terms and phrases (including abbreviations). Based on Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

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EQUITY

The wise application of positive law to particular circumstances, with due consideration for natural or revealed justice and for the spirit and not merely the letter of the law. Too strict an application of a given law, whether civil or ecclesiastical, may turn out to be inhuman although in perfect accord with what the law prescribes. (Etym. Latin aequus, equal, equally great; right, just, fair.)