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§2400
Adultery, divorce,
polygamy, and free union are grave offenses against the dignity of marriage.
THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT
You shall not steal.185
§2401
The seventh commandment forbids unjustly taking or keeping the goods of one's neighbor
and wronging him in any way with respect to his goods. It commands justice and
charity in the care of earthly goods and the fruits of men's labor. For the
sake of the common good, it requires respect for the universal destination of
goods and respect for the right to private property. Christian life strives to
order this world's goods to God and to fraternal charity.
I. The Universal Destination and the Private Ownership of Goods
§2402
In the beginning God entrusted the earth and its resources to the common
stewardship of mankind to take care of them, master them by labor, and enjoy
their fruits.186 The goods of creation are destined for the whole human
race. However, the earth is divided up among men to assure the security of
their lives, endangered by poverty and threatened by violence. the
appropriation of property is legitimate for guaranteeing the freedom and
dignity of persons and for helping each of them to meet his basic needs and the
needs of those in his charge. It should allow for a natural solidarity to
develop between men.
§2403
The right to private property, acquired by work or received from others by
inheritance or gift, does not do away with the original gift of the earth to
the whole of mankind. the universal destination of goods remains primordial,
even if the promotion of the common good requires respect for the right to
private property and its exercise.
§2404
«In his use of things man should regard the external goods he legitimately
owns not merely as exclusive to himself but common to others also, in the sense
that they can benefit others as well as himself.» 187 The ownership
of any property makes its holder a steward of Providence, with the task of
making it fruitful and communicating its benefits to others, first of all his
family.
§2405
Goods
of production - material or immaterial - such as land, factories, practical or
artistic skills, oblige their possessors to employ them in ways that will
benefit the greatest number. Those who hold goods for use and consumption
should use them with moderation, reserving the better part for guests, for the
sick and the poor.
§2406
Political authority has the right and duty to regulate the legitimate exercise
of the right to ownership for the sake of the common good.188
II. Respect for Persons and Their Goods
§2407
In economic matters, respect for human dignity requires the practice of the
virtue of temperance, so as to moderate attachment to this world's goods; the
practice of the virtue of justice, to preserve our neighbor's rights and render
him what is his due; and the practice of solidarity, in accordance with the golden
rule and in keeping with the generosity of the Lord, who «though he was
rich, yet for your sake . . . became poor so that by his poverty, you might
become rich.» 189
Respect for the goods of others
§2408
The seventh commandment forbids theft, that is, usurping another's property
against the reasonable will of the owner. There is no theft if consent can be
presumed or if refusal is contrary to reason and the universal destination of
goods. This is the case in obvious and urgent necessity when the only way to
provide for immediate, essential needs (food, shelter, clothing . . .) is to
put at one's disposal and use the property of others.190
§2409
Even if it does not contradict the provisions of civil law, any form of
unjustly taking and keeping the property of others is against the seventh
commandment: thus, deliberate retention of goods lent or of objects lost;
business fraud; paying unjust wages; forcing up prices by taking advantage of
the ignorance or hardship of another.191
The following are also morally illicit: speculation in which one contrives to manipulate the price of goods artificially in order to gain an advantage to the detriment of others; corruption in which one influences the judgment of those who must make decisions according to law; appropriation and use for private purposes of the common goods of an enterprise; work poorly done; tax evasion; forgery of checks and invoices; excessive expenses and waste. Willfully damaging private or public property is contrary to the moral law and requires reparation.
§2410
Promises must be kept and contracts strictly observed to the extent that the
commitments made in them are morally just. A significant part of economic and
social life depends on the honoring of contracts between physical or moral
persons - commercial contracts of purchase or sale, rental or labor contracts.
All contracts must be agreed to and executed in good faith.
§2411
Contracts are subject to commutative justice which regulates exchanges between
persons in accordance with a strict respect for their rights. Commutative
justice obliges strictly; it requires safeguarding property rights, paying
debts, and fulfilling obligations freely contracted. Without commutative
justice, no other form of justice is possible.
One distinguishes commutative justice from legal justice which concerns what the citizen owes in fairness to the community, and from distributive justice which regulates what the community owes its citizens in proportion to their contributions and needs.
§2412
In virtue of commutative justice, reparation for injustice committed requires
the restitution of stolen goods to their owner:
Jesus blesses Zacchaeus for his pledge: «If I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.» 192 Those who, directly or indirectly, have taken possession of the goods of another, are obliged to make restitution of them, or to return the equivalent in kind or in money, if the goods have disappeared, as well as the profit or advantages their owner would have legitimately obtained from them. Likewise, all who in some manner have taken part in a theft or who have knowingly benefited from it - for example, those who ordered it, assisted in it, or received the stolen goods - are obliged to make restitution in proportion to their responsibility and to their share of what was stolen.
§2413
Games
of chance (card games, etc.) or wagers are not in themselves contrary to justice.
They become morally unacceptable when they deprive someone of what is necessary
to provide for his needs and those of others. the passion for gambling risks
becoming an enslavement. Unfair wagers and cheating at games constitute grave
matter, unless the damage inflicted is so slight that the one who suffers it
cannot reasonably consider it significant.
§2414
The seventh commandment forbids acts or enterprises that for any reason -
selfish or ideological, commercial, or totalitarian - lead to the enslavement
of human beings, to their being bought, sold and exchanged like merchandise, in
disregard for their personal dignity. It is a sin against the dignity of
persons and their fundamental rights to reduce them by violence to their productive
value or to a source of profit. St. Paul directed a Christian master to treat
his Christian slave «no longer as a slave but more than a slave, as a
beloved brother, . . . both in the flesh and in the Lord.» 193
Respect for the integrity of creation
§2415
The seventh commandment enjoins respect for the integrity of creation. Animals,
like plants and inanimate beings, are by nature destined for the common good of
past, present, and future humanity.194 Use of the mineral, vegetable,
and animal resources of the universe cannot be divorced from respect for moral
imperatives. Man's dominion over inanimate and other living beings granted by
the Creator is not absolute; it is limited by concern for the quality of life
of his neighbor, including generations to come; it requires a religious respect
for the integrity of creation.195
§2416
Animals are God's creatures. He surrounds them with his providential care. By
their mere existence they bless him and give him glory.196 Thus men owe
them kindness. We should recall the gentleness with which saints like St.
Francis of Assisi or St. Philip Neri treated animals.
§2417
God entrusted animals to the stewardship of those whom he created in his own
image.197 Hence it is legitimate to use animals for food and clothing.
They may be domesticated to help man in his work and leisure. Medical and
scientific experimentation on animals is a morally acceptable practice, if it
remains within reasonable limits and contributes to caring for or saving human
lives.
§2418
It is contrary to human dignity to cause animals to suffer or die needlessly.
It is likewise unworthy to spend money on them that should as a priority go to
the relief of human misery. One can love animals; one should not direct to them
the affection due only to persons.
III. The Social Doctrine of the Church
§2419
«Christian revelation . . . promotes deeper understanding of the laws of
social living.» 198 The Church receives from the Gospel the full
revelation of the truth about man. When she fulfills her mission of proclaiming
the Gospel, she bears witness to man, in the name of Christ, to his dignity and
his vocation to the communion of persons. She teaches him the demands of
justice and peace in conformity with divine wisdom.
§2420
The Church makes a moral judgment about economic and social matters, «when
the fundamental rights of the person or the salvation of souls requires
it.» 199 In the moral order she bears a mission distinct from that
of political authorities: the Church is concerned with the temporal aspects of
the common good because they are ordered to the sovereign Good, our ultimate
end. She strives to inspire right attitudes with respect to earthly goods and
in socio-economic relationships.
§2421
The
social doctrine of the Church developed in the nineteenth century when the
Gospel encountered modern industrial society with its new structures for the
production of consumer goods, its new concept of society, the state and
authority, and its new forms of labor and ownership. the development of the
doctrine of the Church on economic and social matters attests the permanent
value of the Church's teaching at the same time as it attests the true meaning
of her Tradition, always living and active.200
§2422
The Church's social teaching comprises a body of doctrine, which is articulated
as the Church interprets events in the course of history, with the assistance
of the Holy Spirit, in the light of the whole of what has been revealed by
Jesus Christ.201 This teaching can be more easily accepted by men of
good will, the more the faithful let themselves be guided by it.
§2423
The Church's social teaching proposes principles for reflection; it provides
criteria for judgment; it gives guidelines for action:
Any system in which social relationships are determined entirely by economic factors is contrary to the nature of the human person and his acts.202
§2424
A
theory that makes profit the exclusive norm and ultimate end of economic
activity is morally unacceptable. the disordered desire for money cannot but
produce perverse effects. It is one of the causes of the many conflicts which
disturb the social order.203
A system that «subordinates the basic rights of individuals and of groups
to the collective organization of production» is contrary to human
dignity.204 Every practice that reduces persons to nothing more than a
means of profit enslaves man, leads to idolizing money, and contributes to the
spread of atheism. «You cannot serve God and mammon.» 205
§2425
The
Church has rejected the totalitarian and atheistic ideologies associated in
modem times with «communism» or «socialism.» She has
likewise refused to accept, in the practice of «capitalism,"
individualism and the absolute primacy of the law of the marketplace over human
labor.206 Regulating the economy solely by centralized planning
perverts the basis of social bonds; regulating it solely by the law of the
marketplace fails social justice, for «there are many human needs which
cannot be satisfied by the market.» 207 Reasonable regulation of
the marketplace and economic initiatives, in keeping with a just hierarchy of
values and a view to the common good, is to be commended.
IV. Economic Activity and Social Justice
§2426
The development of economic activity and growth in production are meant to
provide for the needs of human beings. Economic life is not meant solely to
multiply goods produced and increase profit or power; it is ordered first of
all to the service of persons, of the whole man, and of the entire human
community. Economic activity, conducted according to its own proper methods, is
to be exercised within the limits of the moral order, in keeping with social
justice so as to correspond to God's plan for man.208
§2427
Human work proceeds directly from persons created in the image of God and
called to prolong the work of creation by subduing the earth, both with and for
one another.209 Hence work is a duty: «If any one will not work,
let him not eat.» 210 Work honors the Creator's gifts and the
talents received from him. It can also be redemptive. By enduring the hardship
of work211 in union with Jesus, the carpenter of Nazareth and the one
crucified on Calvary, man collaborates in a certain fashion with the Son of God
in his redemptive work. He shows himself to be a disciple of Christ by carrying
the cross, daily, in the work he is called to accomplish.212 Work can
be a means of sanctification and a way of animating earthly realities with the
Spirit of Christ.
§2428
In work, the person exercises and fulfills in part the potential inscribed in
his nature. the primordial value of labor stems from man himself, its author
and its beneficiary. Work is for man, not man for work.213
Everyone should be able to draw from work the means of providing for his life
and that of his family, and of serving the human community.
§2429
Everyone has the right of economic initiative; everyone should make legitimate
use of his talents to contribute to the abundance that will benefit all and to
harvest the just fruits of his labor. He should seek to observe regulations issued
by legitimate authority for the sake of the common good.214
§2430
Economic life brings into play different interests, often opposed to one
another. This explains why the conflicts that characterize it arise.215
Efforts should be made to reduce these conflicts by negotiation that respects
the rights and duties of each social partner: those responsible for business
enterprises, representatives of wage - earners (for example, trade unions), and
public authorities when appropriate.
§2431
The responsibility of the state. «Economic activity, especially the
activity of a market economy, cannot be conducted in an institutional,
juridical, or political vacuum. On the contrary, it presupposes sure guarantees
of individual freedom and private property, as well as a stable currency and
efficient public services. Hence the principal task of the state is to
guarantee this security, so that those who work and produce can enjoy the
fruits of their labors and thus feel encouraged to work efficiently and
honestly.... Another task of the state is that of overseeing and directing the
exercise of human rights in the economic sector. However, primary
responsibility in this area belongs not to the state but to individuals and to
the various groups and associations which make up society.» 216
§2432
Those responsible for business enterprises are responsible to society for the
economic and ecological effects of their operations.217 They have an
obligation to consider the good of persons and not only the increase of
profits. Profits are necessary, however. They make possible the investments
that ensure the future of a business and they guarantee employment.
§2433
Access to employment and to professions must be open to all without unjust
discrimination: men and women, healthy and disabled, natives and
immigrants.218 For its part society should, according to circumstances,
help citizens find work and employment.219
§2434
A just wage is the legitimate fruit of work. To refuse or withhold it can be a
grave injustice.220 In determining fair pay both the needs and the
contributions of each person must be taken into account. «Remuneration for
work should guarantee man the opportunity to provide a dignified livelihood for
himself and his family on the material, social, cultural and spiritual level,
taking into account the role and the productivity of each, the state of the
business, and the common good.» 221 Agreement between the parties
is not sufficient to justify morally the amount to be received in wages.
§2435
Recourse to a strike is morally legitimate when it cannot be avoided, or at
least when it is necessary to obtain a proportionate benefit. It becomes
morally unacceptable when accompanied by violence, or when objectives are
included that are not directly linked to working conditions or are contrary to
the common good.
2436 Unemployment almost always wounds its victim's dignity
and threatens the equilibrium of his life. Besides the harm done to him
personally, it entails many risks for his family.222
V. Justice and Solidarity Among Nations
§2437
On the international level, inequality of resources and economic capability is
such that it creates a real «gap» between nations.223 On the
one side there are those nations possessing and developing the means of growth
and, on the other, those accumulating debts.
§2438
Various causes of a religious, political, economic, and financial nature today
give «the social question a worldwide dimension.» 224 There
must be solidarity among nations which are already politically interdependent.
It is even more essential when it is a question of dismantling the
«perverse mechanisms» that impede the development of the less
advanced countries.225 In place of abusive if not usurious financial
systems, iniquitous commercial relations among nations, and the arms race,
there must be substituted a common effort to mobilize resources toward
objectives of moral, cultural, and economic development, «redefining the
priorities and hierarchies of values.» 226
§2439
Rich nations have a grave moral responsibility toward those which are unable to
ensure the means of their development by themselves or have been prevented from
doing so by tragic historical events. It is a duty in solidarity and charity;
it is also an obligation in justice if the prosperity of the rich nations has
come from resources that have not been paid for fairly.
§2440
Direct aid is an appropriate response to immediate, extraordinary needs caused
by natural catastrophes, epidemics, and the like. But it does not suffice to
repair the grave damage resulting from destitution or to provide a lasting
solution to a country's needs. It is also necessary to reform international
economic and financial institutions so that they will better promote equitable
relationships with less advanced countries.227 The efforts of poor
countries working for growth and liberation must be supported.228 This
doctrine must be applied especially in the area of agricultural labor.
Peasants, especially in the Third World, form the overwhelming majority of the
poor.
§2441
An increased sense of God and increased self-awareness are fundamental to any
full development of human society. This development multiplies material goods
and puts them at the service of the person and his freedom. It reduces dire
poverty and economic exploitation. It makes for growth in respect for cultural
identities and openness to the transcendent.229
§2442
It is not the role of the Pastors of the Church to intervene directly in the
political structuring and organization of social life. This task is part of the
vocation of the lay faithful, acting on their own initiative with their fellow
citizens. Social action can assume various concrete forms. It should always
have the common good in view and be in conformity with the message of the
Gospel and the teaching of the Church. It is the role of the laity «to
animate temporal realities with Christian commitment, by which they show that
they are witnesses and agents of peace and justice.» 230
VI. Love For the Poor
§2443
God blesses those who come to the aid of the poor and rebukes those who turn
away from them: «Give to him who begs from you, do not refuse him who would
borrow from you»; «you received without pay, give without
pay.» 231 It is by what they have done for the poor that Jesus
Christ will recognize his chosen ones.232 When «the poor have the
good news preached to them,» it is the sign of Christ's
presence.233
§2444
«The Church's love for the poor . . . is a part of her constant
tradition.» This love is inspired by the Gospel of the Beatitudes, of the
poverty of Jesus, and of his concern for the poor.234 Love for the poor
is even one of the motives for the duty of working so as to «be able to
give to those in need.» 235 It extends not only to material poverty
but also to the many forms of cultural and religious poverty.236
§2445
Love for the poor is incompatible with immoderate love of riches or their
selfish use:
Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have rusted, and their rust will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure for the last days. Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You have lived on the earth in luxury and in pleasure; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. You have condemned, you have killed the righteous man; he does not resist you.237
§2446
St. John Chrysostom vigorously recalls this: «Not to enable the poor to
share in our goods is to steal from them and deprive them of life. the goods we
possess are not ours, but theirs.» 238 «The demands of justice
must be satisfied first of all; that which is already due in justice is not to
be offered as a gift of charity":239
When we attend to the needs of those in want, we give them what is theirs, not ours. More than performing works of mercy, we are paying a debt of justice.240
§2447
The works of mercy are charitable actions by which we come to the aid of our
neighbor in his spiritual and bodily necessities.241 Instructing,
advising, consoling, comforting are spiritual works of mercy, as are forgiving
and bearing wrongs patiently. the corporal works of mercy consist especially in
feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, clothing the naked, visiting the
sick and imprisoned, and burying the dead.242 Among all these, giving
alms to the poor is one of the chief witnesses to fraternal charity: it is also
a work of justice pleasing to God:243
He who has two coats, let him share with him who has none and he who has food must do likewise.244 But give for alms those things which are within; and behold, everything is clean for you.245 If a brother or sister is ill-clad and in lack of daily food, and one of you says to them, «Go in peace, be warmed and filled,» without giving them the things needed for the body, what does it profit?246
§2448
«In its various forms - material deprivation, unjust oppression, physical
and psychological illness and death - human misery is the obvious sign of the
inherited condition of frailty and need for salvation in which man finds
himself as a consequence of original sin. This misery elicited the compassion
of Christ the Savior, who willingly took it upon himself and identified himself
with the least of his brethren. Hence, those who are oppressed by poverty are
the object of a preferential love on the part of the Church which, since her
origin and in spite of the failings of many of her members, has not ceased to
work for their relief, defense, and liberation through numerous works of
charity which remain indispensable always and everywhere.» 247
§2449
Beginning with the Old Testament, all kinds of juridical measures (the jubilee
year of forgiveness of debts, prohibition of loans at interest and the keeping
of collateral, the obligation to tithe, the daily payment of the day-laborer,
the right to glean vines and fields) answer the exhortation of Deuteronomy:
«For the poor will never cease out of the land; therefore I command you,
'You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor in
the land.'» 248 Jesus makes these words his own: «The poor you
always have with you, but you do not always have me.» 249 In so
doing he does not soften the vehemence of former oracles against «buying
the poor for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals . . .,» but
invites us to recognize his own presence in the poor who are his
brethren:250
When her mother reproached her for caring for the poor and the sick at home, St. Rose of Lima said to her: «When we serve the poor and the sick, we serve Jesus. We must not fail to help our neighbors, because in them we serve Jesus.251
IN BRIEF
§2450
«You shall not
steal» (⇒ Ex 20:15;
⇒ Deut 5:19). «Neither thieves, nor the
greedy, nor robbers will inherit the kingdom of God"
(⇒ 1 Cor 6:10).
§2451
The seventh commandment
enjoins the practice of justice and charity in the administration of earthly
goods and the fruits of men's labor.
§2452
The goods of creation
are destined for the entire human race. the right to private property does not
abolish the universal destination of goods.
§2453
The seventh commandment
forbids theft. Theft is the usurpation of another's goods against the
reasonable will of the owner.
§2454
Every manner of taking
and using another's property unjustly is contrary to the seventh commandment.
the injustice committed requires reparation. Commutative justice requires the
restitution of stolen goods.
§2455
The moral law forbids
acts which, for commercial or totalitarian purposes, lead to the enslavement of
human beings, or to their being bought, sold or exchanged like merchandise.
§2456
The dominion granted by
the Creator over the mineral, vegetable, and animal resources of the universe
cannot be separated from respect for moral obligations, including those toward
generations to come.
§2457
Animals are entrusted to
man's stewardship; he must show them kindness. They may be used to serve the
just satisfaction of man's needs.
§2458
The Church makes a
judgment about economic and social matters when the fundamental rights of the
person or the salvation of souls requires *. She is concerned with the temporal
common good of men because they are ordered to the sovereign Good, their
ultimate end.
§2459
Man is himself the
author, center, and goal of all economic and social life. the decisive point of
the social question is that goods created by God for everyone should in fact
reach everyone in accordance with justice and with the help of charity.
§2460
The primordial value of
labor stems from man himself, its author and beneficiary. By means of his labor
man participates in the work of creation. Work united to Christ can be
redemptive.
§2461
True development
concerns the whole man. It is concerned with increasing each person's ability
to respond to his vocation and hence to God's call (cf CA 29).
§2462
Giving alms to the poor
is a witness to fraternal charity: it is also a work of justice pleasing to
God.
§2463
How can we not recognize
Lazarus, the hungry beggar in the parable (cf ⇒ Lk
17:19-31), in the multitude of human beings without bread, a roof or
a place to stay? How can we fail to hear Jesus: «As you did it not to one
of the least of these, you did it not to me» (⇒ Mt
25:45)?
THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.252
It was said to the men of old, «You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.» 253
§2464
The eighth commandment forbids misrepresenting the truth in our relations with
others. This moral prescription flows from the vocation of the holy people to
bear witness to their God who is the truth and wills the truth. Offenses
against the truth express by word or deed a refusal to commit oneself to moral
uprightness: they are fundamental infidelities to God and, in this sense, they
undermine the foundations of the covenant.
I. Living in the Truth
§2465
The Old Testament attests that God is the source of all truth. His Word is
truth. His Law is truth. His «faithfulness endures to all
generations.» 254 Since God is «true,» the members of his
people are called to live in the truth.255
§2466
In Jesus Christ, the whole of God's truth has been made manifest. «Full of
grace and truth,» he came as the «light of the world,» he is the
Truth.256 «Whoever believes in me may not remain in
darkness.» 257 The disciple of Jesus continues in his word so as to
know «the truth [that] will make you free» and that sanctifies.258
To follow Jesus is to live in «the Spirit of truth,» whom the Father
sends in his name and who leads «into all the truth.» 259 To
his disciples Jesus teaches the unconditional love of truth: «Let what you
say be simply 'Yes or No.'» 260
§2467
Man tends by nature toward the truth. He is obliged to honor and bear witness
to it: «It is in accordance with their dignity that all men, because they
are persons . . . are both impelled by their nature and bound by a moral
obligation to seek the truth, especially religious truth. They are also bound
to adhere to the truth once they come to know it and direct their whole lives
in accordance with the demands of truth.» 261
§2468
Truth as uprightness in human action and speech is called truthfulness,
sincerity, or candor. Truth or truthfulness is the virtue which consists in
showing oneself true in deeds and truthful in words, and in guarding against
duplicity, dissimulation, and hypocrisy.
§2469
«Men could not live with one another if there were not mutual confidence
that they were being truthful to one another.» 262 The virtue of
truth gives another his just due. Truthfulness keeps to the just mean between
what ought to be expressed and what ought to be kept secret: it entails honesty
and discretion. In justice, «as a matter of honor, one man owes it to
another to manifest the truth.» 263
§2470
The disciple of Christ consents to «live in the truth,» that is, in
the simplicity of a life in conformity with the Lord's example, abiding in his
truth. «If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness,
we lie and do not live according to the truth.» 264
II. To Bear Witness to the Truth
§2471
Before Pilate, Christ proclaims that he «has come into the world, to bear
witness to the truth.» 265 The Christian is not to «be ashamed
then of testifying to our Lord.» 266 In situations that require
witness to the faith, the Christian must profess it without equivocation, after
the example of St. Paul before his judges. We must keep «a clear
conscience toward God and toward men.» 267
§2472
The duty of Christians to take part in the life of the Church impels them to
act as witnesses of the Gospel and of the obligations that flow from it. This
witness is a transmission of the faith in words and deeds. Witness is an act of
justice that establishes the truth or makes it known.268
All Christians by the example of their lives and the witness of their word,
wherever they live, have an obligation to manifest the new man which they have
put on in Baptism and to reveal the power of the Holy Spirit by whom they were
strengthened at Confirmation.
§2473
Martyrdom is the supreme witness given to the truth of the faith: it means
bearing witness even unto death. the martyr bears witness to Christ who died
and rose, to whom he is united by charity. He bears witness to the truth of the
faith and of Christian doctrine. He endures death through an act of fortitude.
«Let me become the food of the beasts, through whom it will be given me to
reach God.» 270
§2474
The Church has painstakingly collected the records of those who persevered to
the end in witnessing to their faith. These are the acts of the Martyrs. They
form the archives of truth written in letters of blood:
Neither the pleasures of the world nor the kingdoms of this age will be of any use to me.
It is better for me to die [in order to unite myself] to Christ Jesus than to reign over the ends of the earth. I seek him who died for us; I desire him who rose for us. My birth is approaching. . .271 I bless you for having judged me worthy from this day and this hour to be counted among your martyrs.... You have kept your promise, God of faithfulness and truth. For this reason and for everything, I praise you, I bless you, I glorify you through the eternal and heavenly High Priest, Jesus Christ, your beloved Son. Through him, who is with you and the Holy Spirit, may glory be given to you, now and in the ages to come. Amen.272
III. Offenses Against Truth
§2475
Christ's disciples have «put on the new man, created after the likeness of
God in true righteousness and holiness.» 273 By «putting away
falsehood,» they are to «put away all malice and all guile and
insincerity and envy and all slander.» 274
§2476
False witness and perjury. When it is made publicly, a statement contrary to
the truth takes on a particular gravity. In court it becomes false
witness.275 When it is under oath, it is perjury. Acts such as these
contribute to condemnation of the innocent, exoneration of the guilty, or the
increased punishment of the accused.276 They gravely compromise the
exercise of justice and the fairness of judicial decisions.
§2477
Respect for the reputation of persons forbids every attitude and word likely to
cause them unjust injury.277 He becomes guilty:
- of rash judgment who, even tacitly, assumes as true, without sufficient
foundation, the moral fault of a neighbor;
- of detraction who, without objectively valid reason, discloses another's
faults and failings to persons who did not know them;278
- of calumny who, by remarks contrary to the truth, harms the reputation of
others and gives occasion for false judgments concerning them.
§2478
To avoid rash judgment, everyone should be careful to interpret insofar as
possible his neighbor's thoughts, words, and deeds in a favorable way:
Every good Christian ought to be more ready to give a favorable interpretation to another's statement than to condemn it. But if he cannot do so, let him ask how the other understands it. and if the latter understands it badly, let the former correct him with love. If that does not suffice, let the Christian try all suitable ways to bring the other to a correct interpretation so that he may be saved.279
§2479
Detraction and calumny destroy the reputation and honor of one's neighbor.
Honor is the social witness given to human dignity, and everyone enjoys a
natural right to the honor of his name and reputation and to respect. Thus,
detraction and calumny offend against the virtues of justice and charity.
§2480
Every word or attitude is forbidden which by flattery, adulation, or
complaisance encourages and confirms another in malicious acts and perverse
conduct. Adulation is a grave fault if it makes one an accomplice in another's
vices or grave sins. Neither the desire to be of service nor friendship
justifies duplicitous speech. Adulation is a venial sin when it only seeks to be
agreeable, to avoid evil, to meet a need, or to obtain legitimate advantages.
§2481
Boasting or bragging is an offense against truth. So is irony aimed at
disparaging someone by maliciously caricaturing some aspect of his behavior.
§2482
«A lie consists in speaking a falsehood with the intention of
deceiving.» 280 The Lord denounces lying as the work of the devil:
«You are of your father the devil, . . . there is no truth in him. When he
lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of
lies.» 281
§2483
Lying is the most direct offense against the truth. To lie is to speak or act
against the truth in order to lead into error someone who has the right to know
the truth. By injuring man's relation to truth and to his neighbor, a lie
offends against the fundamental relation of man and of his word to the Lord.
§2484
The gravity of a lie is measured against the nature of the truth it deforms,
the circumstances, the intentions of the one who lies, and the harm suffered by
its victims. If a lie in itself only constitutes a venial sin, it becomes
mortal when it does grave injury to the virtues of justice and charity.
§2485
By its very nature, lying is to be condemned. It is a profanation of speech,
whereas the purpose of speech is to communicate known truth to others. the
deliberate intention of leading a neighbor into error by saying things contrary
to the truth constitutes a failure in justice and charity. the culpability is
greater when the intention of deceiving entails the risk of deadly consequences
for those who are led astray.
§2486
Since it violates the virtue of truthfulness, a lie does real violence to
another. It affects his ability to know, which is a condition of every judgment
and decision. It contains the seed of discord and all consequent evils. Lying
is destructive of society; it undermines trust among men and tears apart the
fabric of social relationships.
§2487
Every offense committed against justice and truth entails the duty of
reparation, even if its author has been forgiven. When it is impossible
publicly to make reparation for a wrong, it must be made secretly. If someone
who has suffered harm cannot be directly compensated, he must be given moral
satisfaction in the name of charity. This duty of reparation also concerns
offenses against another's reputation. This reparation, moral and sometimes
material, must be evaluated in terms of the extent of the damage inflicted. It
obliges in conscience.
IV. Respect for the Truth
§2488
The right to the communication of the truth is not unconditional. Everyone must
conform his life to the Gospel precept of fraternal love. This requires us in
concrete situations to judge whether or not it is appropriate to reveal the
truth to someone who asks for it.
§2489
Charity and respect for the truth should dictate the response to every request
for information or communication. the good and safety of others, respect for
privacy, and the common good are sufficient reasons for being silent about what
ought not be known or for making use of a discreet language. the duty to avoid
scandal often commands strict discretion. No one is bound to reveal the truth
to someone who does not have the right to know it.282
§2490
The secret of the sacrament of reconciliation is sacred, and cannot be violated
under any pretext. «The sacramental seal is inviolable; therefore, it is a
crime for a confessor in any way to betray a penitent by word or in any other
manner or for any reason.» 283
§2491
Professional secrets - for example, those of political office holders, soldiers,
physicians, and lawyers - or confidential information given under the seal of
secrecy must be kept, save in exceptional cases where keeping the secret is
bound to cause very grave harm to the one who confided it, to the one who
received it or to a third party, and where the very grave harm can be avoided
only by divulging the truth. Even if not confided under the seal of secrecy,
private information prejudicial to another is not to be divulged without a
grave and proportionate reason.
§2492
Everyone should observe an appropriate reserve concerning persons' private
lives. Those in charge of communications should maintain a fair balance between
the requirements of the common good and respect for individual rights.
Interference by the media in the private lives of persons engaged in political
or public activity is to be condemned to the extent that it infringes upon
their privacy and freedom.
V. The Use of the Social Communications Media
§2493
Within modern society the communications media play a major role in
information, cultural promotion, and formation. This role is increasing, as a
result of technological progress, the extent and diversity of the news
transmitted, and the influence exercised on public opinion.
§2494
The information provided by the media is at the service of the common
good.284 Society has a right to information based on truth, freedom,
justice, and solidarity:
The proper exercise of this right demands that the content of the communication be true and - within the limits set by justice and charity - complete. Further, it should be communicated honestly and properly. This means that in the gathering and in the publication of news, the moral law and the legitimate rights and dignity of man should be upheld.285
§2495
«It
is necessary that all members of society meet the demands of justice and
charity in this domain. They should help, through the means of social
communication, in the formation and diffusion of sound public
opinion.» 286 Solidarity is a consequence of genuine and right
communication and the free circulation of ideas that further knowledge and
respect for others.
§2496
The
means of social communication (especially the mass media) can give rise to a
certain passivity among users, making them less than vigilant consumers of what
is said or shown. Users should practice moderation and discipline in their
approach to the mass media. They will want to form enlightened and correct
consciences the more easily to resist unwholesome influences.
§2497
By the
very nature of their profession, journalists have an obligation to serve the
truth and not offend against charity in disseminating information. They should
strive to respect, with equal care, the nature of the facts and the limits of
critical judgment concerning individuals. They should not stoop to defamation.
§2498
«Civil
authorities have particular responsibilities in this field because of the
common good.... It is for the civil authority ... to defend and safeguard a
true and just freedom of information.» 287 By promulgating laws and
overseeing their application, public authorities should ensure that «public
morality and social progress are not gravely endangered» through misuse of
the media.288 Civil authorities should punish any violation of the
rights of individuals to their reputation and privacy. They should give timely
and reliable reports concerning the general good or respond to the well-founded
concerns of the people. Nothing can justify recourse to disinformation for
manipulating public opinion through the media. Interventions by public
authority should avoid injuring the freedom of individuals or groups.
§2499
Moral
judgment must condemn the plague of totalitarian states which systematically
falsify the truth, exercise political control of opinion through the media,
manipulate defendants and witnesses at public trials, and imagine that they
secure their tyranny by strangling and repressing everything they consider
«thought crimes.»
Catéchisme de l'Église catholique © Libreria Editrice Vaticana 1992.
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