What is Justly Mine?

Catechism Readings:  Paragraphs 2401 - 2463

The Seventh Commandment:  You shall not steal.

This section of the catechism explains six key points regarding ownership of material goods:  Private Ownership of Goods, Respect for Persons and Their Goods, The Social Doctrine of the Church, Economic Activity and Social Justice, Justice and Solidarity Among Nations, and Love For the Poor.   I admit that more than once I found myself saying “What!??” to some of the words of this section, as it seems presented from a certain point of view.  But, to summarize:

“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.  2403   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.  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.  2404   Goods of production … oblige their possessors to employ them in ways that will benefit the greatest number.”  2405  

“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. 2408  Promises must be kept and contracts strictly observed to the extent that the commitments made in them are morally just.  2410  Reparation for injustice committed requires the restitution of stolen goods to their owner.  2412   The seventh commandment forbids acts or enterprises that for any reason lead to the enslavement of human beings.  2414   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.  2415  It is legitimate to use animals for food and clothing.  Medical and scientific experimentation on animals, if it remains within reasonable limits, is morally acceptable.  It is contrary to human dignity to cause animals to suffer or die needlessly.”  2417-8

 “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.  2420   The Church’s social teaching proposes principles for reflection, criteria for judgment, and guidelines for action:  (i.) Any system in which social relationships are determined entirely by economic factors is contrary to the nature of the human person and his acts.  (read: prostitution); (ii.) a theory that makes profit the exclusive norm and ultimate end of economic activity is morally unacceptable; (iii.) a system that subordinates the basic rights of individuals and of groups to the collective organization of production is contrary to human dignity; and (iv.) the Church has rejected the totalitarian and atheistic ideologies associated in modern 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.  Reasonable regulation of the marketplace and economic initiatives in keeping with the just hierarchy of values and a view to the common good is to be commended.” 2423-5

“Human work proceeds directly from persons created in the image of God … hence work is a duty.  He shows himself to be a disciple of Christ by carrying the cross, daily, in the work he is called to accomplish.  2427   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.  2429   Economic activity presupposes sure guarantees of individual freedom and private property, as well as a stable currency and efficient public services. (efficient public services??? You can presume that??)  Hence, the principal task of the state is to guarantee this security.  (Principal??)  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.”  2431   (You can see from my comments in this section, that I was coughing loudly at these statements which put the government into private enterprise, making it a government’s responsibility.  The footnote for these words in paragraph 2431 referenced the 1991 encyclical Centesimus annus.   To try and understand this further, I went to that document and saw that these particular words were excised from much more detail, which was ignored, including the paragraphs noting the “malfunctions and defects in the Social Assistance (Welfare) State, and the need for “the principle of subsidiarity to be respected.”  Those words are a far cry from talk about the supposed efficient public services.)

“Those responsible for business enterprises are responsible to society for the economic and ecological effects of their operations.  Profits are necessary; they make possible the investments that ensure the future of a business and they guarantee employment.  2432  A just wage is the legitimate fruit of work.  To refuse or withhold it can be a grave injustice.  In determining fair pay both the needs and the contributions of each person must be taken into account.”   (I had a problems with these words, also, although I did not research their related papal document source.  I can accept that need and contribution are one of a number of things which must be taken into account, but not that they are the sole factor, as could be read into the CCC words.  If needs had to be taken into account, then the line worker who had a family of 4 would be paid more than the single line worker for the same job, and there would be no such thing as “sacrifice” in starting a company to enable it to grow to higher paying jobs --- not even by one self-employed.  I don’t accept those words in isolation.)  

“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.  2435  It is unjust not to pay the social security contributions required by legitimate authority.  2436   (Here again I had some issues of wording.  Is a coercive contract by a labor union to pay no social security/pension contributions a “legitimate authority?”  Is a government which gives anything and everything to people to get their votes, and then taxes to get those monies a “contribution” required by a “legitimate authority?”  I think there is much open to discussion here beyond the simple words.)

“There must be solidarity among nations which are already politically independent.  It is even more essential when it is a question of dismantling the ‘perverse mechanisms’ that impede the development of the less advanced countries.”  2438  (Here again I take issue with the wording of this paragraph.  This sentence references the 1987 encyclical Sollicitudo rei socialis, paragraph 9.  Reading that paragraph it notes that there are more rich countries than poor, there needs to be a solidarity among nations and peoples to distribute the goods of the earth, and “True development cannot consist in the simple accumulation of wealth and in the greater availability of goods and services, if this is gained at the expense of the development of the masses, and without due consideration for the social, cultural and spiritual dimensions of the human being.”  Nowhere in that paragraph does it mention dismantling anything, nor any perverse mechanisms impeding the development of any nation.  This wording is done with an agenda ---- this guy could be a U.S. news reporter.)   “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.  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.” 2442

“Love for the poor is one of the motives for the duty of working so as to be able to give to those in need.  Love for the poor is incompatible with the immoderate love of riches or their selfish use.  2444-5   The works of mercy are charitable actions by which we come to the aid of our neighbor in his spiritual and bodily necessities.  2447  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.”  2448

“The Church contradicts those who conclude from the social obligation associated with property that there should be no private property and that everything should belong to everybody, or to the state.” YOUCAT Q427  Q. What does the Church say about democracy?  A. … True democracy is possible only in a State ruled by law that recognizes the fundamental God given rights of all and defends them, if necessary, even against the will of the majority.”  Q441   “In a market, products and services are exchanged for goods having the same value.  In many regions of this world, however, the people are so poor that they cannot offer anything in exchange and therefore continue to be left behind.  So there is a need for economic initiatives that are defined, not by the “logic of exchange,” but rather by the “logic of unconditional gift.”  Q447

And with that simple and clear explanation of things we’ll this summary of the CCC on the seventh commandment.  Next week is the eighth commandment, about bearing false witness.  “Truth?  What is truth?”  We’ll find out.

Marriage Is Not A Game

Catechism Readings:  Paragraphs 2331 - 2400

The Sixth Commandment:  You shall not commit adultery.

This chapter explores the broad topics of nature of male and female and their innate value, chastity, fidelity, fecundity (fruitfulness) and children, and the offenses against the dignity of marriage: adultery and divorce.   “The tradition of the Church has understood the sixth commandment as encompassing the whole of human sexuality.” 2336   The chapter defines love, a strange thing for most people, I suspect, who think they already know the definition.  They are likely mistaken. 

“Love is the free self-giving of the heart. The most beautiful form of love on earth is the love between man and woman, in which two people give themselves to each other forever.  All human love is an image of divine love, in which all love is at home.  Love is the inmost being of the Triune God.  The more a person loves, the more he resembles God.  Love should influence the whole life of a person, but it is realized with particular depth and symbolism when man and woman love one another in marriage and become ‘one flesh’” YOUCAT Q402

“Chastity means the successful integration of sexuality within the person, an inner unity of body and spirit.  2337   The alternative is clear: either man governs his passions and finds peace, or he lets himself be dominated by them and becomes unhappy. 2339   The virtue of chastity comes under the cardinal virtue of temperance, which seeks to permeate the passions and appetites of the senses with reason.  Self-mastery is a long and exacting work.  One can never consider it acquired once and for all.  It presupposed renewed effort at all stages of life. 2341-2   Sexual pleasure is morally disordered when sought for itself, isolated from its procreative and unitive purposes.  The deliberate use of the sexual faculty, for whatever reason, outside of marriage is essentially contrary to its purposes. 2351-2    

Fornication is carnal union between an unmarried man and an unmarried woman.  It is gravely contrary to the dignity of persons and is a grave scandal when there is corruption of the young.  2353   Rape is always an intrinsically evil act.  Graver still is the rape of children committed by parents (incest) or those responsible for the education of children entrusted to them. 2356   Based on Sacred Scripture which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity, tradition has always declared that ‘homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered.’  Under no circumstances can they be approved.  The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible.  They do not choose their homosexual condition; for most of them it is a trial.  They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity.  (They) are called to chastity.”  2357-9

“The acts in marriage by which the intimate and chaste union of the spouses takes place are noble and honorable; the truly human performance of these acts fosters the self-giving they signify and enriches the spouses in joy and gratitude.  The spouses’ union achieves the twofold end of marriage: the good of the spouses themselves and the transmission of life.  These two meanings or values of marriage cannot be separated.  2362-3   Fidelity expresses constancy in keeping one’s given word.  St. John Chrysostom suggests that young husbands should say to their wives: I place your love above all things, and nothing would be more bitter or painful to me than to be of a different mind than you. “ 2365

“Fecundity:  The Church, which is on the side of life, teaches that each and every marriage act must remain open to the transmission of life.  Called to give life, spouses share in the creative power and fatherhood of God.  Married couples should regard it as their proper mission to transmit human life and to educate their children, thereby cooperating with the love of God the Creator.  2366-7  Methods of birth regulation based on self-observation and the use of infertile periods, is in conformity with the objective criteria of morality.  In contrast, every action which, whether in anticipation of the conjugal act or in its accomplishment, or in the development of its natural consequences, proposes, whether as an end or as a means, to render procreation impossible is intrinsically evil.  2370   Techniques that entail the dissociation of husband and wife, donation of sperm or ovum, surrogate uterus, are gravely immoral.  2376   Techniques only involving the married couple (homologous artificial insemination and fertilization) are perhaps less reprehensible, yet remain morally unacceptable.  They dissociate the sexual act from the procreative act.”  2377  

“A child is not something owed to one, but is a gift.  The ‘supreme gift of marriage’ is a human person.  A child may not be considered a piece of property, an idea to which an alleged ‘right to a child’ would lead.”  2378  

“Adultery is an injustice.  He who commits adultery fails in his commitment.  He compromises the good of human generation and the welfare of children who need their parents stable union.  2381   Divorce is a consented, to live with each other till death.  Contracting a new union, even if it is recognized by civil of a divorce decreed by civil law; this spouse therefore has not contravened the moral law.”  2386

“The sexual act must take place exclusively within marriage.  Outside of marriage it always constitutes a grave sin and excludes one from sacramental communion.  2390   Carnal union is morally legitimate only when a definitive community of life between a man and woman has been established.  Hum love does not tolerate ‘trial marriages.’  It demand a total and definitive gift of persons to one another.” 2391

“A person who lives chastely is not the plaything of his lusts but, rather, lives his sexuality deliberately, motivated by love, and as an expression of that love.  … Now if a man has one woman for sexual pleasure, a second to whom he writes love poetry, and a third with whom to have children, then he is exploiting all three and really loves none of them. Q404   Everyone is called to love.  We are destined to give our lives away; many do so in the form of marriage, others in the form of voluntary celibacy for the sake of the kingdom, others by living alone and yet being there for others.  All human life finds its meaning in love. Q406   Masturbation is an offense against love because it makes the excitement of sexual pleasure an end in itself.  The Church does not demonize masturbation, but she warns against trivializing it.  In fact many young people and adults are in danger of becoming isolated in their consumption of lewd pictures, films, and internet services instead of finding love in a personal relationship.”  Q409 

Q416: What are the essential elements of Christian marriage?  A: (1) Unity: Marriage is a covenant that by its very nature brings about bodily, intellectual, and spiritual union between a man and a woman; (2) Indissolubility: Marriage lasts ‘until death do us part;’ (3) Openness to offspring: Every marriage must be open to children; (4) Commitment to the spouse’s welfare.  If one of the two spouses deliberately excludes one of the four points listed above at the time of their wedding, the sacrament of Matrimony does not take place.  For Catholics there is no marriage without a church wedding.  In that ceremony Christ enters into a covenant with the husband and the wife and generously endows the couple with graces and gifts.  A Christian marriage is not a game, however, but rather the greatest gift God has devised for a man and a woman who love each other.” Q425    

Human Life is Sacred

CCC Paragraphs 2258 – 2330

The Fifth Commandment:  You shall not kill.

You have heard that it was said to the men of old, “You shall not kill: and whoever kills shall be liable to judgment.”  But I say to you that every one who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment. Mt 5:21-2

“Human life is sacred.  God alone is the Lord of life from its beginning until its end: no one can under any circumstance claim for himself the right directly to destroy an innocent human being. 2258  He is the only creature on earth that God has willed for its own sake.” 356

This chapter of the catechism speaks to Respect For Human Life --- legitimate defense, intentional homicide, abortion, and euthanasia.  It also speaks to Respect For The Dignity of Persons --- scandal and respect for souls, for health, scientific research, bodily integrity, and for the dead.  Finally, this chapter addresses the need to Safeguard Peace --- avoiding war.  As we have found with other chapters of the CCC, we see that the CCC provides depth of doctrine, but the YOUCAT edition often provides needed simplicity, and so I will reference it also.

Legitimate Defense:  “Love toward oneself remains a fundamental principle of morality.  Therefore it is legitimate to insist on respect for one’s own right to life.  Someone who defends his life is not guilty of murder. 2264   Preserving the common good of society requires rendering the aggressor unable to inflict harm … the right and duty of legitimate public authority to punish malefactors … commensurate with the gravity of the crime, not excluding, in cases of extreme gravity, the death penalty.  2266   Legitimate defense is a grave duty for whoever is responsible for the lives of others or the common good.”  2321

Intentional Homicide:  “Infanticide, fratricide, parricide, and the murder of a spouse are especially grave crimes by reason of the natural bonds which they break.  Concern for eugenics or public health cannot justify any murder, even if commanded by public authority.  2268    Unintentional killing is not morally imputable.  But one is not exonerated from grave offense if, without proportionate reasons, he has acted in a way that brings about someone’s death, even without the intention to do so.”  2269

Abortion:  “From the moment of conception, from the first moment of his existence, a human being must be recognized as having the rights of a person.  Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion.  This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable. 2270-1   A person who procures a completed abortion incurs excommunication latae senteniae, ‘by the very commission of the offense.’ 2272   Certain attempts to influence chromosomic or genetic inheritance are not therapeutic but are aimed a producing human beings selected according to sex or other predetermined qualities.  Such manipulations are contrary to the personal dignity of the human being and his integrity and identity which are unique and unrepeatable.  2275   Because it should be treated as a person from conception, the embryo must be defended in its integrity, cared for, and healed like every other human being.”  2323

Euthanasia:  “Whatever its motives and means, direct euthanasia consists in putting an end to the lives of handicapped, sick, or dying persons.  It is morally unacceptable.  2277   Discontinuing medical procedures that are burdensome, dangerous, extraordinary, or disproportionate to the expected outcome can be legitimate.  The decisions should be made by the patient if he is competent.”  2278

Suicide:  “We are stewards, not owners, of the life God has entrusted to us.  It is not ours to dispose of.  Suicide is gravely contrary to the just love of self.  It likewise offends love of neighbor because it unjustly breaks the ties of solidarity with family, nation, and other human societies to which we continue to have obligations.  2280-1   Voluntary co-operation in suicide is contrary to the moral law.”  2282

Scandal:  “Scandal is an attitude or behavior which leads another to do evil.  Scandal is grave when given by those who by nature or office are obliged to teach and educate others.  2284-5   Therefore, they are guilty of scandal who establish laws or social structures leading to the decline of morals and the corruption of religious practice.  This is also true of manipulators of public opinion who turn it away from moral values.”  2286   (I think many ‘Catholic’ politicians should take a moment to read this section of the CCC.)

Research  “Research or experimentation on the human being cannot legitimate acts that are in themselves or avoidable risks.  2295   Torture which uses physical or moral violence to extract confessions … is contrary to respect for the person and for human dignity.”  2297 

Peace: “Hatred of a neighbor is a sin when one deliberately wishes him evil.  2303   Peace cannot be obtained on earth without safeguarding the goods of persons, free communication among men, respect for the dignity of persons and peoples, and the assiduous practice of fraternity.  2304   Actions deliberately contrary to the law of nations are crimes.  Blind obedience does not suffice to excuse those who carry them out.  2313   The arms race does not ensure peace.  Far from eliminating the causes of war, it risks aggravating them.  Over-armament multiplies reasons for conflict and increases the danger of escalation.  2315    Insofar as men are sinners, the threat of war hangs over them and will so continue until Christ comes again; but insofar as they can vanquish sin by coming together in charity, violence itself will be vanquished.”  2317

YOUCAT Q381:  “Why is the Church opposed to capital punishment?  The pope does not say that the use of the death penalty is in every respect an unacceptable and illegitimate punishment (but) is an extreme measure to which the state should resort only ‘in cases of absolute necessity.’  But in such cases, says Pope John Paul II, ‘are very rare, if not practically non-existent.’   ‘When dying is not understood as part of life,  that is the beginning of the civilization of death.’ Robert Spaemann   Ordinary care of a dying person should never be discontinued; this is commanded by love of neighbor and mercy.  Q282   It is possible to put a person to death spiritually also.  Every seduction and incitement to evil is a serious sin.  Q386   Every time a person loses or forgets himself by becoming intoxicated, which can also include excessive eating and drinking, indulgence in sexual activity, or speeding with an automobile, he loses some of his human dignity and freedom and therefore sins against God.  Q389   How do Christians assist someone who is dying?  Christians do not leave a dying person alone.  They help him so that he can die in faith-filled trust, in dignity and peace.  Q393   When is the use of military force allowed?  The use of military force is possible only in an extreme emergency.  There are several criteria for a ‘just war’:  (1) Authorization by the competent authority; (2) a just cause; (3) a just purpose; (4) war must be the last resort; (5) the methods used must be proportionate; (6) there must be a prospect of success.  Q399

Next week we move on to the Sixth Commandment, You shall not commit adultery.  With 10% of all internet activity on pornography, I’ll give you a hint:  This commandment does not only cover sex by married persons.

Honoring My Father and My Mother

Catechism Paragraphs 2196 – 2257

Chapter Two: You Shall Love Your Neighbor as Yourself

The Fourth Commandment:  Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land which the Lord your God gives you. 

The catechism goes into depths beyond the literal words of this commandment.  It explains the natures and duties of the family and its members, not only to the parents, but to one another.  It goes on to extend similar duties of us to all who are teachers and all who administer legitimate authority over us.  They are all to be respected --- and to respect us.

“The fourth commandment … shows us the order of charity.  God has willed that, after him, we should honor our parents to whom we owe life and who have handed on to us the knowledge of God.  We are obliged to honor and respect all those whom God, for our good, has vested with his authority. 2197   It extends to the duties of pupils to teachers, employees to employers, subordinates to leaders, citizens to their country, and to those who administer or govern it. … and presupposes the duties of parents, instructors, teachers, leaders, magistrates, those who govern, all who exercise authority over others. 2199   Respecting this commandment provides, along with spiritual fruits, temporal fruits of peace and prosperity.  Failure to observe it brings great harm to communities and to individuals.”  2200

“The Christian family … assumes singular importance in the Church, as is evident in the New Testament.  In the procreation and education of children it reflects the Father’s work of creation.  The Christian family has an evangelizing and missionary task.  2204-5  The family should live in such a way that its members learn to care and take responsibility for the young, the old, the sick, the handicapped, and the poor.  There are many families who are at times incapable of providing this help.  It devolves then on other persons, other families, and, in a subsidiary way, society to provide for their needs. (note: it says society, i.e. government, last).  2208   The importance of the family for the life and well-being of society entails a particular responsibility for society to support and strengthen marriage and the family. 2210   The fourth commandment illuminates other relationships in society.  The neighbor is not a “unit” in the human collective; he is “someone” who by his known origins deserves particular attention and respect.” 2212  

“Filial respect is shown by true docility and obedience.  ‘A wise son hears his father’s instruction.’  As long as a child lives at home with his parents, the child should obey his parents in all that they ask of him when it is for his good or that of the family.  ‘Children obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.’  Obedience toward parents ceases with the emancipation of the children; not so respect, which is always owed to them.  This respect has its roots in the fear of God, one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit.  The fourth commandment reminds grown children of their responsibilities toward their parents.  As much as they can, they must give them material and moral support in old age and in times of illness, loneliness, or distress.”  2216-8

“The role of parents in education is of such importance that it is almost impossible to provide an adequate substitute.  Parents must regard their children as children of God and … they educate their children to fulfill God’s law.  Parents should teach their children to subordinate the material and instinctual dimensions to interior and spiritual ones.  2221-3   Children in turn contribute to the growth in holiness of their parents.  Each and everyone should be generous and tireless in forgiving one another for offenses, quarrels, injustices, and neglect.  The charity of Christ demands it.  2227   Family ties are important but not absolute.  The first vocation of the Christian is to follow Jesus: ‘He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.’” 2232

“Those subject to authority should regard those in authority as representatives of God, who has made them stewards of his gifts. 2238   (There was a long pause at this sentence, as we debated its meaning, since we have so many examples of those in authority who seem to in no way represent God.)  Submission to authority and co-responsibility for the common good make it morally obligatory to pay taxes, to exercise the right to vote, and to defend one’s country. 2240   The citizen is obliged in conscience not to follow the directives of civil authorities when they are contrary to the demands of the moral order, to the fundamental rights of persons or the teachings of the Gospel.  ‘We must obey God rather than men.’  2242  

It is a part of the Church’s mission “to pass moral judgments even in matters related to politics, whenever the fundamental rights of man or the salvation of souls requires it.”  2246

YOUCAT defined the limits of government and our obligations more succinctly:  “No state has the right to define the family differently, for the family’s commission comes from the Creator.  No state has the right to deprive the family of its fundamental functions, especially in the area of education.” Q370   “It was Peter who called us to practice only a relative obedience toward the state when he said, ‘We must obey God rather than men.’  If a state should establish laws and procedures that are racist, sexist, or destructive of human life, a Christian is obliged in conscience to refuse to obey, to refrain from participation, and to offer resistance.  Q377

Personally, I found that last sentence most refreshing and supportive to my feelings:  We must refrain from participation (re the mandate to buy insurance including abortion coverage), and to offer resistance.  I wholly agree.

Next week (well, actually tomorrow, based on when I’m typing this), we move on to the fifth commandment:  You shall not kill.  I’m a bit worried what it’ll say about some of the thoughts I’ve had lately relative to our politicians.  Oh well, there’s always confession, if need be.