CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
SECOND EDITION
Paragraphs 1901–2000
- 1901 If authority belongs to the order established by God, "the choice of the political regime and the appointment of rulers are left to the…
- 1902 Authority does not derive its moral legitimacy from itself. It must not behave in a despotic manner, but must act for the common good as a…
- 1903 Authority is exercised legitimately only when it seeks the common good of the group concerned and if it employs morally licit means to…
- 1904 "It is preferable that each power be balanced by other powers and by other spheres of responsibility which keep it within proper bounds.…
- 1905 In keeping with the social nature of man, the good of each individual is necessarily related to the common good, which in turn can be…
- 1906 By common good is to be understood "the sum total of social conditions which allow people, either as groups or as individuals, to reach…
- 1907 First, the common good presupposes respect for the person as such. In the name of the common good, public authorities are bound to respect…
- 1908 Second, the common good requires the social well-being and development of the group itself. Development is the epitome of all social…
- 1909 Finally, the common good requires peace , that is, the stability and security of a just order. It presupposes that authority should ensure…
- 1910 Each human community possesses a common good which permits it to be recognized as such; it is in the political community that its most…
- 1911 Human interdependence is increasing and gradually spreading throughout the world. The unity of the human family, embracing people who enjoy…
- 1912 The common good is always oriented towards the progress of persons: "The order of things must be subordinate to the order of persons, and…
- 1913 "Participation" is the voluntary and generous engagement of a person in social interchange. It is necessary that all participate, each…
- 1914 Participation is achieved first of all by taking charge of the areas for which one assumes personal responsibility : by the care taken for…
- 1915 As far as possible citizens should take an active part in public life . The manner of this participation may vary from one country or…
- 1916 As with any ethical obligation, the participation of all in realizing the common good calls for a continually renewed conversion of the…
- 1917 It is incumbent on those who exercise authority to strengthen the values that inspire the confidence of the members of the group and…
- 1918 "There is no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God" ( Rom 13:1).
- 1919 Every human community needs an authority in order to endure and develop.
- 1920 "The political community and public authority are based on human nature and therefore . . . belong to an order established by God" ( GS 74…
- 1921 Authority is exercised legitimately if it is committed to the common good of society. To attain this it must employ morally acceptable…
- 1922 The diversity of political regimes is legitimate, provided they contribute to the good of the community.
- 1923 Political authority must be exercised within the limits of the moral order and must guarantee the conditions for the exercise of freedom.
- 1924 The common good comprises "the sum total of social conditions which allow people, either as groups or as individuals, to reach their…
- 1925 The common good consists of three essential elements: respect for and promotion of the fundamental rights of the person; prosperity, or the…
- 1926 The dignity of the human person requires the pursuit of the common good. Everyone should be concerned to create and support institutions…
- 1927 It is the role of the state to defend and promote the common good of civil society. The common good of the whole human family calls for an…
- 1928 Society ensures social justice when it provides the conditions that allow associations or individuals to obtain what is their due,…
- 1929 Social justice can be obtained only in respecting the transcendent dignity of man. The person represents the ultimate end of society, which…
- 1930 Respect for the human person entails respect for the rights that flow from his dignity as a creature. These rights are prior to society and…
- 1931 Respect for the human person proceeds by way of respect for the principle that "everyone should look upon his neighbor (without any…
- 1932 The duty of making oneself a neighbor to others and actively serving them becomes even more urgent when it involves the disadvantaged, in…
- 1933 This same duty extends to those who think or act differently from us. The teaching of Christ goes so far as to require the forgiveness of…
- 1934 Created in the image of the one God and equally endowed with rational souls, all men have the same nature and the same origin. Redeemed by…
- 1935 The equality of men rests essentially on their dignity as persons and the rights that flow from it: Every form of social or cultural…
- 1936 On coming into the world, man is not equipped with everything he needs for developing his bodily and spiritual life. He needs others.…
- 1937 These differences belong to God's plan, who wills that each receive what he needs from others, and that those endowed with particular…
- 1938 There exist also sinful inequalities that affect millions of men and women. These are in open contradiction of the Gospel: Their equal…
- 1939 The principle of solidarity, also articulated in terms of "friendship" or "social charity," is a direct demand of human and Christian…
- 1940 Solidarity is manifested in the first place by the distribution of goods and remuneration for work. It also presupposes the effort for a…
- 1941 Socio-economic problems can be resolved only with the help of all the forms of solidarity: solidarity of the poor among themselves, between…
- 1942 The virtue of solidarity goes beyond material goods. In spreading the spiritual goods of the faith, the Church has promoted, and often…
- 1943 Society ensures social justice by providing the conditions that allow associations and individuals to obtain their due.
- 1944 Respect for the human person considers the other "another self." It presupposes respect for the fundamental rights that flow from the…
- 1945 The equality of men concerns their dignity as persons and the rights that flow from it.
- 1946 The differences among persons belong to God's plan, who wills that we should need one another. These differences should encourage charity.
- 1947 The equal dignity of human persons requires the effort to reduce excessive social and economic inequalities. It gives urgency to the…
- 1948 Solidarity is an eminently Christian virtue. It practices the sharing of spiritual goods even more than material ones.
- 1949 Called to beatitude but wounded by sin, man stands in need of salvation from God. Divine help comes to him in Christ through the law that…
- 1950 The moral law is the work of divine Wisdom. Its biblical meaning can be defined as fatherly instruction, God's pedagogy. It prescribes for…
- 1951 Law is a rule of conduct enacted by competent authority for the sake of the common good. The moral law presupposes the rational order,…
- 1952 There are different expressions of the moral law, all of them interrelated: eternal law - the source, in God, of all law; natural law;…
- 1953 The moral law finds its fullness and its unity in Christ. Jesus Christ is in person the way of perfection. He is the end of the law, for…
- 1954 Man participates in the wisdom and goodness of the Creator who gives him mastery over his acts and the ability to govern himself with a…
- 1955 The "divine and natural" law shows man the way to follow so as to practice the good and attain his end. The natural law states the first…
- 1956 The natural law, present in the heart of each man and established by reason, is universal in its precepts and its authority extends to all…
- 1957 Application of the natural law varies greatly; it can demand reflection that takes account of various conditions of life according to…
- 1958 The natural law is immutable and permanent throughout the variations of history; it subsists under the flux of ideas and customs and…
- 1959 The natural law, the Creator's very good work, provides the solid foundation on which man can build the structure of moral rules to guide…
- 1960 The precepts of natural law are not perceived by everyone clearly and immediately. In the present situation sinful man needs grace and…
- 1961 God, our Creator and Redeemer, chose Israel for himself to be his people and revealed his Law to them, thus preparing for the coming of…
- 1962 The Old Law is the first stage of revealed Law. Its moral prescriptions are summed up in the Ten Commandments. The precepts of the…
- 1963 According to Christian tradition, the Law is holy, spiritual, and good, yet still imperfect. Like a tutor it shows what must be done, but…
- 1964 The Old Law is a preparation for the Gospel . "The Law is a pedagogy and a prophecy of things to come." It prophesies and presages the work…
- 1965 The New Law or the Law of the Gospel is the perfection here on earth of the divine law, natural and revealed. It is the work of Christ and…
- 1966 The New Law is the grace of the Holy Spirit given to the faithful through faith in Christ. It works through charity; it uses the Sermon on…
- 1967 The Law of the Gospel "fulfills," refines, surpasses, and leads the Old Law to its perfection. In the Beatitudes, the New Law fulfills the…
- 1968 The Law of the Gospel fulfills the commandments of the Law. The Lord's Sermon on the Mount, far from abolishing or devaluing the moral…
- 1969 The New Law practices the acts of religion : almsgiving, prayer and fasting, directing them to the "Father who sees in secret," in contrast…
- 1970 The Law of the Gospel requires us to make the decisive choice between "the two ways" and to put into practice the words of the Lord. It is…
- 1971 To the Lord's Sermon on the Mount it is fitting to add the moral catechesis of the apostolic teachings , such as Romans 12-15, 1…
- 1972 The New Law is called a law of love because it makes us act out of the love infused by the Holy Spirit, rather than from fear; a law of…
- 1973 Besides its precepts, the New Law also includes the evangelical counsels . The traditional distinction between God's commandments and the…
- 1974 The evangelical counsels manifest the living fullness of charity, which is never satisfied with not giving more. They attest its vitality…
- 1975 According to Scripture the Law is a fatherly instruction by God which prescribes for man the ways that lead to the promised beatitude, and…
- 1976 "Law is an ordinance of reason for the common good, promulgated by the one who is in charge of the community" (St. Thomas Aquinas, STh…
- 1977 Christ is the end of the law (cf. Rom 10:4); only he teaches and bestows the justice of God.
- 1978 The natural law is a participation in God's wisdom and goodness by man formed in the image of his Creator. It expresses the dignity of the…
- 1979 The natural law is immutable, permanent throughout history. The rules that express it remain substantially valid. It is a necessary…
- 1980 The Old Law is the first stage of revealed law. Its moral prescriptions are summed up in the Ten Commandments.
- 1981 The Law of Moses contains many truths naturally accessible to reason. God has revealed them because men did not read them in their hearts.
- 1982 The Old Law is a preparation for the Gospel.
- 1983 The New Law is the grace of the Holy Spirit received by faith in Christ, operating through charity. It finds expression above all in the…
- 1984 The Law of the Gospel fulfills and surpasses the Old Law and brings it to perfection: its promises, through the Beatitudes of the Kingdom…
- 1985 The New Law is a law of love, a law of grace, a law of freedom.
- 1986 Besides its precepts the New Law includes the evangelical counsels. "The Church's holiness is fostered in a special way by the manifold…
- 1987 The grace of the Holy Spirit has the power to justify us, that is, to cleanse us from our sins and to communicate to us "the righteousness…
- 1988 Through the power of the Holy Spirit we take part in Christ's Passion by dying to sin, and in his Resurrection by being born to a new life;…
- 1989 The first work of the grace of the Holy Spirit is conversion , effecting justification in accordance with Jesus' proclamation at the…
- 1990 Justification detaches man from sin which contradicts the love of God, and purifies his heart of sin. Justification follows upon God's…
- 1991 Justification is at the same time the acceptance of God's righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ. Righteousness (or "justice") here…
- 1992 Justification has been merited for us by the Passion of Christ who offered himself on the cross as a living victim, holy and pleasing to…
- 1993 Justification establishes cooperation between God's grace and man's freedom . On man's part it is expressed by the assent of faith to the…
- 1994 Justification is the most excellent work of God's love made manifest in Christ Jesus and granted by the Holy Spirit. It is the opinion of…
- 1995 The Holy Spirit is the master of the interior life. By giving birth to the "inner man," justification entails the sanctification of his…
- 1996 Our justification comes from the grace of God. Grace is favor , the free and undeserved help that God gives us to respond to his call to…
- 1997 Grace is a participation in the life of God. It introduces us into the intimacy of Trinitarian life: by Baptism the Christian participates…
- 1998 This vocation to eternal life is supernatural . It depends entirely on God's gratuitous initiative, for he alone can reveal and give…
- 1999 The grace of Christ is the gratuitous gift that God makes to us of his own life, infused by the Holy Spirit into our soul to heal it of sin…
- 2000 Sanctifying grace is an habitual gift, a stable and supernatural disposition that perfects the soul itself to enable it to live with God,…