THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
Taken from the “Catechism Of The Catholic Church”
Latin text copyright © Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Citta del
Vaticano 1993
Edited, abridged, and rewritten in places by DSB
THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT
You shall not kill (Exodus 20:13; Deut. 5:17).
You have heard that the ancients were told, 'You shall not commit
murder' and 'Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.' But
I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be
guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, 'You
good-for-nothing,' shall be guilty before the supreme court; and
whoever says, 'You fool,' shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery
hell (Matthew 5:21-22).
Human life is sacred because from its beginning it involves the
creative action of God and it remains for ever in a special
relationship with the Creator, who is its sole end. 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 (CDF, instruction, Donum vitae, intro. 5).
I. Respect for Human Life
– The witness of sacred history
In the account of Abel's murder by his brother Cain (Gen 4:8-12),
Scripture reveals the presence of anger and envy in man –
consequences of original sin – from the earliest days of
human
history. And because of sin, man has become the enemy of his fellow
man. God declares the wickedness of this fratricide: "What have you
done? the voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the
ground, and now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its
mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand" (Gen 4:10-11).
The covenant between God and mankind is interwoven with reminders of
God's gift of human life and man's murderous violence:
“Surely I
will require your lifeblood; from every beast [that sheds your blood] I
will require it. And from every man, from every man's brother I will
require the life of man. Whoever sheds man's blood, by man his blood
shall be shed, for in the image of God He made man (Genesis 9:5-6).
The Old Testament always considered blood a sacred sign of life (Lev.
17:14).
Scripture specifies the prohibition contained in the fifth commandment:
“Do not slay the innocent and the righteous” (Ex
23:7). The
deliberate murder of an innocent person is gravely contrary to the
dignity of the human being, to the second great commandment, and to the
holiness of the Creator. The law forbidding it is universally valid: it
obliges each and everyone, always and everywhere.
In the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord recalls the commandment, "You
shall not kill" (Matt 5:21), and adds to it the prohibition of anger,
hatred, and vengeance – which in God’s sight are
forms of
murder. Going further, Christ asks his disciples to turn the other
cheek, to love their enemies (Matt 5:22-39, 44). As an example of not
murdering through anger, hatred, or vengeance, when being reviled and
tortured, Jesus did not revile in return or utter threats, He told
Peter to leave his sword in its sheath, and He sought God’s
forgiveness for His tormentors (1 Pet 2:21-23; Matt 26:52; Luke 23:34).
Legitimate defense
The legitimate defense of persons and societies is not an exception to
the prohibition against the intentional murder of the innocent. Proper
care for oneself and those under one’s care remains a
fundamental
principle of morality. Therefore, someone who defends his life or the
well-being of the community is not guilty of murder even if he is
forced to deal his aggressor a lethal blow.
“If a man in self-defense uses more than necessary violence,
it
will be unlawful: whereas if he repels force with moderation, his
defense will be lawful.... Nor is it necessary for salvation that a man
omit the act of moderate self-defense to avoid killing the other man,
since taking care of oneself is important to the well-being of the
larger community. Therefore, legitimate defense can be a grave duty for
someone responsible for the life or lives of others. Preserving the
common good requires rendering the unjust aggressor unable to inflict
harm. To this end, those holding legitimate authority have the right to
repel by armed force aggressors against the civil community entrusted
to their charge” (Thomas Aquinas).
Capital Punishment
The State's effort to contain the spread of behaviors injurious to
human rights and the fundamental rules of civil coexistence corresponds
to the requirement of watching over the common good. Legitimate public
authority has the right and duty to inflict penalties commensurate with
the gravity of the crime. The primary scope of the penalty is to
redress the disorder caused by the offense. When his punishment is
voluntarily accepted by the offender, it takes on the value of
expiation (to atone or make amends for one’s wrong).
Moreover,
punishment, in addition to preserving public order and the safety of
persons, has a medicinal scope: as far as possible it should contribute
to the correction of the offender (Lk 23:40-43.).
The traditional teaching of the Church does not exclude –
presupposing full ascertainment of the identity and responsibility of
the offender – recourse to the death penalty, when this is
the
only practicable way to defend the lives of community members against
the aggressor. “If, instead, bloodless means are sufficient
to
defend against the aggressor and to protect the safety of persons,
public authority should limit itself to such means, because they better
correspond to the concrete conditions of the common good and conform
more to the dignity of the human person. Today, given the means at the
State's disposal to effectively repress crime by rendering harmless the
one who has committed it, without depriving him of the possibility of
redeeming himself, it is rare, if not practically non-existent that an
offender must be put to death” (John Paul II, Evangelium
vitae
56).
Intentional homicide
The fifth commandment forbids direct and intentional killing. The
murderer and those who cooperate voluntarily in murder commit a sin
that cries out to heaven for vengeance (Gen 4:10).
Infanticide (murdering children), fratricide (siblings), parricide
(parents), and the murder of a spouse are especially grave crimes by
reason of the natural bonds which they break. Concern for eugenics (the
science of using controlled breeding to increase the occurrence of
desirable heritable characteristics in a population) or
public
health cannot justify any murder, even if commanded by public
authority.
The fifth commandment forbids doing anything with the intention of
indirectly bringing about a person's death. The moral law prohibits
exposing someone to mortal danger without grave reason, as well as
prohibits refusing assistance to a person in mortal danger.
The acceptance by human society of murderous food shortages, without
efforts to remedy them, is a scandalous injustice and a grave offense.
Those whose usurious and avaricious dealings lead to the hunger and
death of their brethren in the human family indirectly commit homicide,
which is imputable to them (Amos 8:4-10).
Unintentional killing is not morally imputable (manslaughter that is
truly unintentional and possibly unavoidable). 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.
Abortion
Human life must be respected and protected absolutely 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 - among which is
the inviolable right of every innocent being to life.
Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I
consecrated you (Jer 1:5; Job 10:8-12; Ps 22:10-11). My frame was not
hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately wrought
in the depths of the earth (Ps 139:15).
Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every
intentional abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains
unchangeable. Direct abortion, that is to say, abortion willed either
as an end or a means, is contrary to the moral law: “You
shall
not kill the embryo by abortion and shall not cause the newborn to
perish” (Didache 2, 2: SCh 248, 148; cf. Ep. Barnabae 19, 5:
PG
2, 777; Ad Diognetum 5, 6: PG 2, 1173; Tertullian, Apol. 9: PL 1,
319-320).
Formal cooperation in an abortion constitutes a grave offense. The
Church attaches the canonical penalty of excommunication to this crime
against human life. In doing this, the Church does not thereby intend
to restrict the scope of mercy. Rather, she makes clear the gravity of
the crime committed, the irreparable harm done to the innocent who is
put to death, as well as to the parents and the whole of society.
The inalienable right to life of every innocent human individual is a
constitutive element of a civil society and its legislation. The moment
a law deprives a category of human beings of the protection which civil
legislation ought to accord them, the state is denying the equality of
all before the law. When the state does not place its power at the
service of the rights of each citizen, and in particular of the more
vulnerable, the very foundations of a state based on law are undermined.
It is immoral to produce human embryos intended for exploitation as
disposable biological material. Certain attempts to influence
chromosomic or genetic inheritance are not therapeutic but are aimed at
producing human beings selected according to sex or other predetermined
qualities. Such manipulations are contrary to the dignity of the human
being who has been created in the image of God.
Euthanasia
Those whose lives are diminished or weakened deserve special respect.
Sick or handicapped persons should be helped to lead lives as normal as
possible. Whatever its motives and means, it is morally unacceptable to
put an end to the lives of handicapped, sick, or dying persons.
Thus an act or omission which, of itself is intended to cause death in
order to eliminate suffering constitutes a murder contrary to this
commandment. The error of judgment into which one can fall in good
faith does not change the nature of this murderous act, which must
always be forbidden and excluded.
Discontinuing medical procedures that are burdensome, dangerous,
extraordinary, or disproportionate to the expected outcome can be
legitimate, in as much as it is the refusal of "over-zealous"
treatment. Here one does not will to cause death; one's inability to
impede it is merely accepted. The decisions should be made by the
patient if he is competent and able or, if not, by those legally
entitled to act for the patient.
Even if death is thought imminent, the ordinary care owed to a sick
person cannot be legitimately interrupted. The use of painkillers to
alleviate the sufferings of the dying, even at the risk of shortening
their days, can be morally in conformity with human dignity if death is
not willed as either an end or a means, but only foreseen and tolerated
as inevitable.
Suicide
Everyone is responsible for his life before God who has given it to
him. It is God who remains the sovereign Master of life. We are obliged
to accept life gratefully and preserve it for his honor and the
salvation of our souls. We are stewards, not owners, of the life God
has entrusted to us. It is not ours to dispose of.
Suicide contradicts the majesty of being made in God’s image.
It
offends love of neighbor because it unjustly breaks the ties of
solidarity with family, community, church, and other human societies to
which we continue to have obligations. Suicide is contrary to love for
the living God.
Voluntary co-operation in suicide is contrary to the moral law.
However, grave psychological disturbances, anguish, or grave fear of
hardship, suffering, or torture can diminish the responsibility of the
one committing suicide.
II. Respect for the
Dignity of Being Made in the Image of God
Respect for the souls of
others: scandal
“Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks! For it is
inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to that man through whom
the stumbling block comes!” (Matt 18:7) “The wages
of sin
is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our
Lord” (Rom 6:23).
Scandal is an attitude or behavior which leads another to do evil. The
person who causes scandal becomes his neighbor's tempter. He damages
virtue and integrity; he promotes the practice of sin; he may even draw
his brother into spiritual death.
Scandal takes on a particular gravity by reason of the position of
authority of those who cause it or the weakness of those who are
scandalized. It prompted our Lord to utter this curse: "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 his neck and to be
drowned in the depth of the sea" (Matt 18:6; 1 Cor 8:10-13). Scandal is
grave when caused by those who by nature or office are obliged to teach
and educate others. This is especially true when scandal takes place in
the church. Peter addresses this in the second chapter of his second
letter.
Scandal can be provoked by laws or institutions, by fashion or opinion.
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 true of business leaders who make rules
encouraging fraud, parents and teachers who provoke their children to
anger (Eph 6:4; Col. 3:21), or manipulators of public opinion who turn
it away from moral values.
Therefore, anyone who uses the power at his disposal in such a way that
it leads others to do wrong becomes guilty of scandal and responsible
for the evil that he has directly or indirectly encouraged.
Respect for the human body
Life and physical health are precious gifts entrusted to us by God. We
must take reasonable care of them, taking into account the needs of
others and the common good.
The virtue of temperance disposes us to avoid every kind of excess: the
abuse of food, alcohol, tobacco, or medicine. Those incur grave guilt
who, by drunkenness or a love of speed, endanger their own and others'
safety on the road, at sea, or in the air.
The use of drugs inflicts very grave damage on human health and life.
Their use, except on strictly therapeutic grounds, is a grave offense.
The production of and trafficking in illegal drugs are scandalous
practices. They constitute direct co-operation in evil, since they
encourage people to practices contrary to God’s law.
Science and technology are precious resources when placed at the
service of man and promote his integral development for the benefit of
all. However, it is an illusion to claim moral neutrality in scientific
research and its applications. Therefore, science and technology by
their very nature require unconditional respect for fundamental moral
criteria. They must be at the service of the human person, of his
inalienable rights, of his true and integral good, in conformity with
the plan and the will of God.
Kidnapping and hostage taking bring on a reign of terror; by means of
threats they subject their victims to intolerable pressures. They are
morally wrong. Terrorism threatens, wounds, and kills indiscriminately;
it is gravely against justice and love. Torture which uses physical or
moral violence to extract confessions, punish the guilty, frighten
opponents, or satisfy hatred is contrary to respect for the person and
for human dignity. Except when performed for strictly therapeutic
medical reasons, directly intended amputations, mutilations, and
sterilizations performed on innocent persons are against the moral law.
In times past, cruel practices were commonly used by legitimate
governments to maintain law and order, often without protest from the
Pastors of the Church, who themselves adopted in their own tribunals
the prescriptions of Roman law concerning torture. This is regrettable
for these cruel practices are against the ways of God, deny brotherly
love, devalue the sanctity of life, and are not necessary for public
order. On the contrary, these practices lead to ones even more
degrading. It is necessary to pray and work for their abolition.
III. Safeguarding Peace
By recalling the commandment, "You shall not kill" (Matt 5:21), our
Lord asked for peace of heart and denounced murderous anger and hatred
as immoral. Anger is a desire for revenge. It is right for the safety
of the community to impose discipline, punishment, and restitution to
stop evil and maintain justice. However, when anger reaches the point
of a deliberate desire to kill or seriously wound a neighbor, it is
gravely against God and love; it is a mortal sin. The Lord says,
"Everyone who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment"
(Matt 5:22).
Deliberate hatred is rebellion against God and contrary to love. Hatred
of the neighbor is a sin when one deliberately wishes him evil, or when
one deliberately desires him harm. Jesus said to “Love your
enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons
of your Father who is in heaven” (Matt 5:44-45).
Respect for and development of human life requires peace. Peace is not
merely the absence of war, and it is not limited to maintaining a
balance of powers between adversaries. Peace is "the tranquillity of
order" (St. Augustine). Peace is the work of justice and the effect of
brotherly love (Isa 32:17). Earthly peace is the image and fruit of the
messianic "Prince of Peace." By the blood of his Cross, Christ
reconciled men with God and made his Church the primary example of the
unity of the human race and of its union with God.
Avoiding war
The fifth commandment forbids the intentional destruction of human
life. Because of the evils and injustices that accompany all war, the
Church urges everyone to prayer and to action so that the divine
Goodness may free us from the age old bondage of war. All citizens, and
especially Christian citizens, and all governments are obliged to work
for the avoidance of war. However, as long as the danger of war
persists and there is no international authority with the necessary
competence and power, governments cannot be denied the right of lawful
self-defense, once all peace efforts have failed. And yet, the use of
arms must not produce evils and disorders graver than the evil to be
eliminated. the power of modem means of destruction weighs very heavily
in evaluating this condition.
God’s word and the Church both assert the permanent validity
of
the moral law during armed conflict. The fact that war has broken out
does not mean that everything becomes legal or justifiable between the
warring parties. Non-combatants, wounded soldiers, and prisoners must
be respected and treated humanely. Actions deliberately contrary to the
laws of God and to God’s universal principle of loving your
neighbor as yourself, are crimes, as are the orders that command such
actions. Blind obedience does not suffice to excuse those who carry
them out. Thus the extermination of a people, nation, or ethnic
minority is murder. One is morally bound to resist orders that command
genocide.
A danger of modern warfare is that it provides the opportunity to those
who possess modern weapons – especially atomic, biological,
or
chemical weapons – to commit the crime of the indiscriminate
destruction of large areas of population.
Injustice, excessive economic or social inequalities, envy, distrust,
and pride raging among men and nations constantly threaten peace and
cause wars. The Church and individual Christians ought to do everything
possible to overcome these disorders through evangelism, public
teaching, and growing to spiritual maturity so as to contributes to
building up peace and avoiding war.
"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God" (Mt
5:9).