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" An obligation to be vigilant and critical " , which requires citizens to criticize that which harms human dignity and the community .
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" A duty to disobey " civil authorities and directives that are contrary to the moral order .
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" To practice charity " , which is a " necessity for any working family or society " ; it is the " greatest social commandment " and requires people to love God and neighbor .
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" To welcome the foreigner " who is in need of security and livelihood that cannot be found in his own country .
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" An obligation for rich nations to help poor nations " , especially in times of " immediate need " .
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" An expectation for families to help other families " .
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= = Fifth commandment = =
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This commandment demands respect for human life and is more accurately translated as " thou shalt not murder . " Indeed , killing may , under limited circumstances , be justified within Catholicism . Jesus expanded it to prohibit unjust anger , hatred and vengeance , and to require Christians to love their enemies . T... |
= = = Abortion = = =
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The Catechism states : " Human life is sacred because from its beginning it involves the creative action of God and it remains forever in a special relationship with the Creator , who is its sole end . ... no one can under any circumstance claim for himself the right directly to destroy an innocent human being . " Dir... |
The Catechism states that the embryo " must be treated from conception as a person " . The Latin original of as is tamquam , meaning " like " or " just as " . " Although the Church has not determined officially when human life actually begins , it has taken the course of maintaining that human life is present from the... |
Abortion has been specifically and persistently condemned by the Church since the first century . " Formal cooperation " in abortion incurs the penalty of excommunication " by the very commission of the offense " ( Lat. latae sententiae , " sentence [ already , i.e. automatically ] passed " ) . The Catechism emphasize... |
Official Church teaching allows for medical procedures and treatments intended to protect or restore the mother 's health if she would be in mortal danger without them , even when such procedures carry some risk of death to the fetus . Examples include the removal of a fallopian tube in the case of an ectopic pregnanc... |
= = = = Use of embryos for research or fertilization = = = =
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The United States Catechism for Adults devotes a section to in vitro fertilization , stem @-@ cell research and cloning in its explanation of the fifth commandment , because these often involve the destruction of human embryos , considered to be a gravely sinful form of murder . Embryonic stem cell research is called ... |
= = = Suicide , euthanasia = = =
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The fifth commandment forbids suicide and the mercy killing of those who are dying , even to eliminate suffering . The ordinary care of those facing an imminent death may not morally be withheld , according to the Church . " Ordinary care " refers to food , water and pain relief , and does not include " extraordinary ... |
= = = Capital punishment = = =
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For the first two hundred years , Christians " refused to kill in the military , in self @-@ defense , or in the judicial system " , but there was no official Church position on the death penalty . When the Church was first officially recognized as a public institution in 313 , its attitude toward capital punishment b... |
The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that the death penalty is permissible in cases of extreme gravity . It is allowed if the " guilty party 's identity and responsibility have been fully determined " and if the death penalty is the only way to defend others against the guilty party . However , if there are oth... |
= = = Personal health , dead bodies , burial = = =
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According to Church teaching , respect for human life requires respect for one 's own body , precluding unhealthy behavior , the abuse of food , alcohol , medicines , illegal drugs , tattoos and piercings . The Church also warns against the opposite behavior of " excessive preoccupation with the health and welfare of ... |
Kidnapping , terrorism , and torture are forbidden , as well as sterilizations , amputations , mutilations that are not for therapeutic medical reasons . According to the Catechism , societies have a moral obligation to strive to provide healthy living conditions for all people .
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Church belief in the resurrection of the body led to a prohibition against cremation that was pastorally modified at the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s under limited circumstances , but those conditions have been largely ignored even by the clergy . According to the Catechism , burial of the dead is a corporal wo... |
= = = War and self @-@ defense = = =
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In the Sermon on the Mount , Jesus recalls the commandment , " You shall not kill " and then adds to it the proscriptions against anger , hatred and vengeance . Going further , Christ asks his disciples to love their enemies . The Catechism asserts that " it is legitimate to insist on respect for one 's own right to l... |
The Church requires all to pray and work to prevent unjust wars , but allows for just wars if certain conditions are met :
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The reasons for going to war are defensive .
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" The damage inflicted by the aggressor ... must be lasting , grave , and certain . "
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It is a last resort taken only after all other means of putting an end to the " grave damage " have been ineffective .
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The ultimate aim is peace and there is a serious chance of success .
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No graver evils are produced that overshadow the evil to be eliminated . This forbids the use of arms to eliminate whole cities and areas with their inhabitants .
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Respect and care is required for non @-@ combatants , wounded soldiers and prisoners . Soldiers are required to disobey commands to commit genocide and ones that violate universal principles .
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= = = Scandal = = =
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The Catechism classifies scandal under the fifth commandment and defines it as " an attitude or behavior which leads another to do evil " . In the Gospel of Matthew , Jesus stated , " Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin , it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened round ... |
= = Sixth commandment = =
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According to the Church , humans are sexual beings whose sexual identity should be accepted in the unity of body and soul . The sexes are meant by divine design to be different and complementary , each having equal dignity and made in the image of God . Sexual acts are sacred within the context of the marital relation... |
After all , young people are always searching for the beauty in love . They want their love to be beautiful . If they give in to weakness , following the models of behavior that can rightly be considered a ' scandal in the contemporary world ' ( and these are , unfortunately , widely diffused models ) , in the depths ... |
Like Orthodox Judaism and Islam , the Catholic Church considers all sexual acts outside of marriage to be grave sins . The gravity of the sin " ' excludes one from sacramental communion ' until repented of and forgiven in sacramental confession . "
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= = = Vocation to chastity = = =
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Church teaching on the sixth commandment includes a discussion on chastity . The Catechism describes chastity as a " moral virtue ... a gift from God , a grace , a fruit of spiritual effort . " The Church sees sex as more than a physical act ; it also affects body and soul , so the Church teaches that chastity is a vi... |
= = = = Offenses against chastity = = = =
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The Catechism lists the following " offenses against chastity " in increasing order of gravity :
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Lust : the Church teaches that sexual pleasure is good and created by God , who meant for spouses to " experience pleasure and enjoyment of body and spirit " . Kreeft says , " Lust does not mean sexual pleasure as such , nor the delight in it , nor the desire for it in its right context . " Lust is the desire for sexu... |
Masturbation is considered sinful for the same reasons as lust , but is a step above lust in that it involves a physical act instead of a mental one .
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Fornication is the sexual union of an unmarried man and an unmarried woman . This is considered contrary to " the dignity of persons and of human sexuality " because it is not ordered to the " good of spouses " or the " generation and education of children . "
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Pornography ranks higher because it is considered a perversion of the sexual act that is intended for distribution to third parties for viewing .
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Prostitution is considered sinful for both the prostitute and the customer ; it reduces a person to an instrument of sexual pleasure , violating human dignity and harming society . The gravity of the sinfulness is less for prostitutes who are forced into the act by destitution , blackmail or social pressure .
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Rape is an intrinsically evil act that can cause grave damage to the victim for life .
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Incest , or " rape of children by parents or other adult relatives " or " those responsible for the education of the children entrusted to them " is considered the most heinous of sexual sins .
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= = = = Homosexuality = = = =
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The Catechism devotes a separate section to homosexuality within its explanation of the sixth commandment . Like heterosexual acts outside of marriage , homosexual acts are considered sins . The Church distinguishes between homosexual attractions , which are not considered sinful , and homosexual acts , which are . Th... |
Homosexuals are , according to the Church , " called to chastity " . They are instructed to practice the virtues of " self @-@ mastery " that teaches " inner freedom " using the support of friends , prayer and grace found in the sacraments of the Church . These tools are meant to help homosexuals " gradually and resol... |
( Two lay movements represent opposing philosophies regarding homosexuality : DignityUSA seeks to change the Church 's teachings to justify homosexual acts ; Courage International is an organization of homosexuals who " support each other in the sincere effort to live in chastity and in fidelity to Christ and his Chur... |
= = = Love of husband and wife = = =
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According to Church teaching , spousal love is intended to form an unbroken , two @-@ fold end : the union of husband and wife and the transmission of life . The unitive aspect includes the transference of each partner 's being " so that they are no longer two but one flesh . " The sacrament of matrimony is viewed as ... |
= = = = Fecundity of marriage , sexual pleasure , birth control = = = =
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The Church position on sexual activity can be summarized as : " sexual activity belongs only in marriage as an expression of total self @-@ giving and union , and always open to the possibility of new life . " Sexual acts in marriage are considered " noble and honorable " and are meant to be enjoyed with " joy and gra... |
Artificial birth control predates Christianity ; the Catholic Church has condemned these methods throughout its history . In response to the Church of England accepting the practice of artificial contraception in 1930 , the Catholic Church issued the papal encyclical Casti connubii on 31 December 1930 . The 1968 papal... |
The Church seeing large families as a sign of God 's blessing . " By its very nature the institution of marriage and married love is ordered to the procreation and education of the offspring and it is in them that it finds its crowning glory . " ( Gaudium et spes ) Children are the supreme gift of marriage and contrib... |
Many Western Catholics and non @-@ Catholics have voiced disagreement on the Church 's support for natural family planning , and contend it contributes to overpopulation and poverty . The Church 's rejection of condom use is widely criticized , in particular with regard to countries where the incidence of AIDS and HIV... |
= = = = Offenses against the dignity of marriage = = = =
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According to the Church , adultery and divorce are considered offenses against the dignity of marriage and are defined as follows :
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Adultery is the sexual union of a man and woman where at least one is married to someone else . It is for this reason that the Church considers it a greater sin than fornication . Kreeft states , " The adulterer sins against his spouse , his society , and his children as well as his own body and soul . "
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Divorce : According to the Catholic New American Bible translation , Jesus taught , " whoever divorces his wife ( unless the marriage is unlawful ) causes her to commit adultery , and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery . " Explaining Church interpretation of this teaching , Kreeft says Jesus considered ... |
The Compendium of the Catechism 502 lists other offenses against the dignity of marriage : " polygamy , incest , free unions ( cohabitation , concubinage ) , and sexual acts before or outside of marriage " .
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= = = = Separation , civil divorce , annulments = = = =
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According to the Church , there are situations that do not equate to divorce :
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