Principle Of Double Effect

[greekatholic]

As I understand when the principle of double effect applies then the act as a whole can be morally righteous even though it may involve an unintended component which by itself would be sinful. Pondering the mystery of the rosary related to the finding of Jesus in the Temple it always appears to me that this exactly applies there. Just leaving the parents behind (or forward...) and letting them get anxious would have been sinful. However, this outcome was in no way intended by Jesus and the intended good end (engaging in His Father's business at the Temple) abundantly "offset the balance". Is this a valid understanding of what happened?

[CatherineM]

[quote name='greekatholic' timestamp='1297960226' post='2213299']
As I understand when the principle of double effect applies then the act as a whole can be morally righteous even though it may involve an unintended component which by itself would be sinful. Pondering the mystery of the rosary related to the finding of Jesus in the Temple it always appears to me that this exactly applies there. Just leaving the parents behind (or forward...) and letting them get anxious would have been sinful. However, this outcome was in no way intended by Jesus and the intended good end (engaging in His Father's business at the Temple) abundantly "offset the balance". Is this a valid understanding of what happened?
[/quote]
Losing track of time isn't necessarily a sin (unless you're supposed to be picking your kids up after soccer practice). I don't think he purposely tried to cause them distress. You have to remember that Jesus was truly human. That means he was a truly human teenager, who got absorbed in what he was doing, lost track of the time, and then couldn't figure out why everyone was upset.