But since we live in an increasingly interdependent world, we must take the entire human family into consideration. A private morality and a public morality complement one another. You cannot have the one without the other. The Church cannot restrict her attention to a sexual ethic, or to a business ethic, a medical ethic, a political ethic, or a military ethic. They all come together in the societies in which we live.
Moral teaching takes the shape of principles and norms.
These principles and norms point to moral truths which are universal, objective, and timeless. They apply to everyone and everywhere, for all times. They help us understand God s design for His human universe. This great design exists, and we can know it. Once we understand it, we can freely choose to abide by it in the decisions we make, and in the ways we give direction to our lives.