THE THIRD COMMA!DME!

T:
REMEMBER TO KEEP HOLY THE LORD'S DAY

450. Why did God “bless the Sabbath day and declare it sacred” (Exodus 20:11)?

2168-2172
2189

God did so because on the Sabbath day one remembers God’s rest on the seventh day of
creation, and also the liberation of Israel from slavery in Egypt and the Covenant which God
sealed with his people.

451. How did Jesus act in regard to the Sabbath?

2173

Jesus recognized the holiness of the Sabbath day and with divine authority he gave this law
its authentic interpretation: “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath”
(Mark 2:27).

452. For what reason has the Sabbath been changed to Sunday for Christians?

2174-2176
2190-2191

The reason is because Sunday is the day of the Resurrection of Christ. As “the first day of the
week” (Mark 16:2) it recalls the first creation; and as the “eighth day”, which follows the
sabbath, it symbolizes the new creation ushered in by the Resurrection of Christ. Thus, it has
become for Christians the first of all days and of all feasts. It is the day of the Lord in which
he with his Passover fulfilled the spiritual truth of the Jewish Sabbath and proclaimed man’s
eternal rest in God.

453. How does one keep Sunday holy?

2177-2185
2192-2193

Christians keep Sunday and other days of obligation holy by participating in the Eucharist of
the Lord and by refraining from those activities which impede the worship of God and
disturb the joy proper to the day of the Lord or the necessary relaxation of mind and body.
Activities are allowed on the Sabbath which are bound up with family needs or with
important social service, provided that they do not lead to habits prejudicial to the holiness of
Sunday, to family life and to health.

454. Why is the civil recognition of Sunday as a feast day important?

2186-2188
2194-2195

It is important so that all might be given the real possibility of enjoying sufficient rest and
leisure to take care of their religious, familial, cultural and social lives. It is important also to
have an opportune time for meditation, for reflection, for silence, for study, and a time to
dedicate to good works, particularly for the sick and for the elderly.

CHAPTER TWO

“You Shall Love Your !eighbour as Yourself”

THE FOURTH COMMA!DME!T:

HO!OR YOUR FATHER A!D YOUR MOTHER

455. What does the fourth commandment require?

2196-2200
2247-2248

It commands us to honor and respect our parents and those whom God, for our good, has
vested with his authority.

456. What is the nature of the family in the plan of God?

2201-2205
2249

A man and a woman united in marriage form a family together with their children. God
instituted the family and endowed it with its fundamental constitution. Marriage and the
family are ordered to the good of the spouses and to the procreation and education of
children. Members of the same family establish among themselves personal relationships and
primary responsibilities. In Christ the family becomes the domestic church because it is a
community of faith, of hope, and of charity.

457. What place does the family occupy in society?

2207-2208

The family is the original cell of human society and is, therefore, prior to any recognition by
public authority. Family values and principles constitute the foundation of social life. Family
life is an initiation into the life of society.

458. What are the duties that society has toward the family?

2209-2213
2250

Society, while respecting the principle of subsidiarity, has the duty to support and strengthen
marriage and the family. Public authority must respect, protect and foster the true nature of
marriage and the family, public morality, the rights of parents, and domestic prosperity.

459. What are the duties of children toward their parents?

2214-2220
2251

Children owe respect (filial piety), gratitude, docility and obedience to their parents. In
paying them respect and in fostering good relationships with their brothers and sisters,
children contribute to the growth in harmony and holiness in family life in general. Adult
children should give their parents material and moral support whenever they find themselves
in situations of distress, sickness, loneliness, or old age.

460. What are the duties of parents toward their children?

2221-2231

Parents, in virtue of their participation in the fatherhood of God, have the first responsibility
for the education of their children and they are the first heralds of the faith for them. They
have the duty to love and respect their children as persons and as children of God and to
provide, as far as is possible, for their physical and spiritual needs. They should select for
them a suitable school and help them with prudent counsel in the choice of their profession
and their state of life. In particular they have the mission of educating their children in the
Christian faith.

461. How are parents to educate their children in the Christian faith?

2252-2253

Parents do this mainly by example, prayer, family catechesis and participation in the life of
the Church.

462. Are family bonds an absolute good?

2232-2233

Family ties are important but not absolute, because the first vocation of a Christian is to
follow Jesus and love him: “He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of
me; whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me” (Matthew 10:37).
Parents must support with joy their children's choice to follow Jesus in whatever state of life,
even in the consecrated life or the priestly ministry.
463. How should authority be exercised in the various spheres of civil society?

2234-2237
2254

Authority should always be exercised as a service, respecting fundamental human rights, a

just hierarchy of values, laws, distributive justice, and the principle of subsidiarity. All those
who exercise authority should seek the interests of the community before their own interest
and allow their decisions to be inspired by the truth about God, about man and about the
world.

464. What are the duties of citizens in regard to civil authorities?

2238-2241
2255

Those subject to authority should regard those in authority as representatives of God and
offer their loyal collaboration for the right functioning of public and social life. This
collaboration includes love and service of one's homeland, the right and duty to vote,
payment of taxes, the defense of one's country, and the right to exercise constructive
criticism.

465. When is a citizen forbidden to obey civil authorities?

2242-2243
2256

A citizen is obliged in conscience not to obey the laws of civil authorities when they are
contrary to the demands of the moral order: “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts of
the Apostles 5:29).

THE FIFTH COMMA!DME!T:

YOU SHALL !OT KILL

466. Why must human life be respected?

2258-2262
2318-2320

Human life must be respected because it is sacred. From its beginning human life involves
the creative action of God and it remains forever in a special relationship with the Creator,
who is its sole end. It is not lawful for anyone directly to destroy an innocent human being.
This is gravely contrary to the dignity of the person and the holiness of the Creator. “Do not
slay the innocent and the righteous” (Exodus 23:7).
467. Why is the legitimate defense of persons and of society not opposed to this norm?

2263-2265

Because in choosing to legitimately defend oneself one is respecting the right to life (either
one’s own right to life or that of another) and not choosing to kill. Indeed, for someone
responsible for the life of another, legitimate defense can be not only a right but a grave duty,
provided only that disproportionate force is not used.

468. What is the purpose of punishment?

2266

A punishment imposed by legitimate public authority has the aim of redressing the disorder
introduced by the offense, of defending public order and people’s safety, and contributing to
the correction of the guilty party.

469. What kind of punishment may be imposed?

2267

The punishment imposed must be proportionate to the gravity of the offense. Given the
possibilities which the State now has for effectively preventing crime by rendering one who
has committed an offense incapable of doing harm, the cases in which the execution of the
offender is an absolute necessity “are very rare, if not practically non-existent.” (Evangelium
Vitae). When non-lethal means are sufficient, authority should limit itself to such means
because they better correspond to the concrete conditions of the common good, are more in
conformity with the dignity of the human person, and do not remove definitively from the
guilty party the possibility of reforming himself.

470. What is forbidden by the fifth commandment?

2268-2283
2321-2326

The fifth commandment forbids as gravely contrary to the moral law:

• direct and intentional murder and cooperation in it;

• direct abortion, willed as an end or as means, as well as cooperation in it. Attached to

this sin is the penalty of excommunication because, from the moment of his or her
conception, the human being must be absolutely respected and protected in his
integrity;

• direct euthanasia which consists in putting an end to the life of the handicapped, the