Catechism index

2261 The Old Testament always considered blood a sacred sign of life. 60 This teaching remains necessary for all time. Scripture specifies the prohibition contained in the fifth commandment: "Do not slay the innocent and the righteous." 61 The deliberate murder of an innocent person is gravely contrary to the dignity of …
2262 The Old Testament always considered blood a sacred sign of life. 60 This teaching remains necessary for all time. In the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord recalls the commandment, "You shall not kill," 62 and adds to it the proscription of anger, hatred, and vengeance. Going further, Christ asks his …
2263 The Old Testament always considered blood a sacred sign of life. 60 This teaching remains necessary for all time. The legitimate defense of persons and societies is not an exception to the prohibition against the murder of the innocent that constitutes intentional killing. "The act of self-defense can have a double …
2264 The Old Testament always considered blood a sacred sign of life. 60 This teaching remains necessary for all time. 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 …
2265 The Old Testament always considered blood a sacred sign of life. 60 This teaching remains necessary for all time. Legitimate defense can be not only a right but a grave duty for someone responsible for another's life. Preserving the common good requires rendering the unjust aggressor unable to inflict harm. To …
2266 The Old Testament always considered blood a sacred sign of life. 60 This teaching remains necessary for all time. 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 …
2267 The Old Testament always considered blood a sacred sign of life. 60 This teaching remains necessary for all time. Recourse to the death penalty on the part of legitimate authority, following a fair trial, was long considered an appropriate response to the gravity of certain crimes and an acceptable, albeit extreme, …
2268 The Old Testament always considered blood a sacred sign of life. 60 This teaching remains necessary for all time. The fifth commandment forbids direct and intentional killing as gravely sinful. the murderer and those who cooperate voluntarily in murder commit a sin that cries out to heaven for vengeance. 68
2269 Infanticide, 69 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. 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 refusing …
2270 Infanticide, 69 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. Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception.
2271 Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you. 72 My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately wrought in the depths of the earth. 73 Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable. Direct abortion, that is to say, abortion willed either …
2272 Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you. 72 My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately wrought in the depths of the earth. 73 Formal cooperation in an abortion constitutes a grave offense. The Church attaches the canonical penalty of excommunication to this crime against human life. "A person who procures a completed abortion incurs excommunication …
2273 Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you. 72 My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately wrought in the depths of the earth. 73 The inalienable right to life of every innocent human individual is a constitutive element of a civil society and its legislation: "The inalienable rights of the person must be recognized and respected …
2274 Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you. 72 My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately wrought in the depths of the earth. 73 Since it must be treated from conception as a person, the embryo must be defended in its integrity, cared for, and healed, as far as possible, like any other human being. Prenatal …
2275 Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you. 72 My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately wrought in the depths of the earth. 73 "One must hold as licit procedures carried out on the human embryo which respect the life and integrity of the embryo and do not involve disproportionate risks for it, but are directed …
2276 Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you. 72 My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately wrought in the depths of the earth. 73 Those whose lives are diminished or weakened deserve special respect. Sick or handicapped persons should be helped to lead lives as normal as possible.
2277 Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you. 72 My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately wrought in the depths of the earth. 73 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. Thus an act or omission which, of …
2278 Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you. 72 My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately wrought in the depths of the earth. 73 Discontinuing medical procedures that are burdensome, dangerous, extraordinary, or disproportionate to the expected outcome can be legitimate; it is the refusal of "over-zealous" treatment. Here one does not will to cause death; …
2279 Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you. 72 My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately wrought in the depths of the earth. 73 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 …
2280 Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you. 72 My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately wrought in the depths of the earth. 73 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 …