subsidiarity

516. What is the task of business management? 2432 Business managers are responsible for the economic and ecological effects of their operations. They must consider the good of persons and not only the increase of profits, even though profits are necessary to assure investments, the future of the business, employment, and the good progress of economic life. 517. What are the duties of workers? 2435 They must carry out their work in a conscientious way with competence and dedication, seeking to resolve any controversies with dialogue. Recourse to a non-violent strike is morally legitimate when it appears to be the necessary way to obtain a proportionate benefit and it takes into account the common good. 518. How is justice and solidarity among nations brought about? 2437-2441 On the international level, all nations and institutions must carry out their work in solidarity and subsidiarity for the purpose of eliminating or at least reducing poverty, the inequality of resources and economic potential, economic and social injustices, the exploitation of persons, the accumulation of debts by poor countries, and the perverse mechanisms that impede the development of the less advanced countries.

poor

519. In what way do Christians participate in political and social life? 2442 The lay faithful take part directly in political and social life by animating temporal realities with a Christian spirit and collaborating with all as authentic witnesses of the Gospel and agents of peace and justice. 520. By what is love for the poor inspired? 2443-2449 2462-2463 Love for the poor is inspired by the Gospel of the Beatitudes and by the example of Jesus in his constant concern for the poor. Jesus said, “Whatever you have done to the least of my brethren, you have done to me” (Matthew 25:40). Love for the poor shows itself through the struggle against material poverty and also against the many forms of cultural, moral, and religious poverty. The spiritual and corporal works of mercy and the many charitable institutions formed throughout the centuries are a concrete witness to the preferential love for the poor which characterizes the disciples of Jesus. THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT: YOU SHALL NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS AGAINST YOUR NEIGHBOR 521. What is one’s duty toward the truth? 2464-2470 2504 Every person is called to sincerity and truthfulness in acting and speaking. Everyone has the duty to seek the truth, to adhere to it and to order one’s whole life in accordance with its demands. In Jesus Christ the whole of God’s truth has been made manifest. He is “the truth”. Those who follow him live in the Spirit of truth and guard against duplicity, dissimulation, and hypocrisy.

witness

522. How does one bear witness to the truth? 2471-2474 2505-2506 A Christian must bear witness to the truth of the Gospel in every field of his activity, both public and private, and also if necessary, with the sacrifice of his very life. Martyrdom is the supreme witness given to the truth of the faith. 523. What is forbidden by the eighth commandment? 2475-2487 2507-2509 The eighth commandment forbids: false witness, perjury, and lying, the gravity of which is measured by the truth it deforms, the circumstances, the intentions of the one who lies, and the harm suffered by its victims; rash judgment, slander, defamation and calumny which diminish or destroy the good reputation and honor to which every person has a right; flattery, adulation, or complaisance, especially if directed to serious sins or toward the achievement of illicit advantages. A sin committed against truth demands reparation if it has caused harm to others. 524. What is required by the eighth commandment? 2488-2492 2510-2511 The eighth commandment requires respect for the truth accompanied by the discretion of charity in the field of communication and the imparting of information, where the personal and common good, the protection of privacy and the danger of scandal must all be taken into account; in respecting professional secrets which must be kept, save in exceptional cases for grave and proportionate reasons; and also in respecting confidences given under the seal of secrecy.

truth

525. How is one to use the means of social communication? 2493-2499 2512 The information provided by the media must be at the service of the common good. Its content must be true and – within the limits of justice and charity – also complete. Furthermore, information must be communicated honestly and properly with scrupulous respect for moral laws and the legitimate rights and dignity of the person. 526. What relationship exists between truth, beauty and sacred art? 2500-2503 2513 The truth is beautiful, carrying in itself the splendour of spiritual beauty. In addition to the expression of the truth in words there are other complementary expressions of the truth, most specifically in the beauty of artistic works. These are the fruit both of talents given by God and of human effort. Sacred art by being true and beautiful should evoke and glorify the mystery of God made visible in Christ, and lead to the adoration and love of God, the Creator and Savior, who is the surpassing, invisible Beauty of Truth and Love. THE NINTH COMMANDMENT: YOU SHALL NOT COVET YOUR NEIGHBOR'S WIFE 527. What is required by the ninth commandment? 2514-2516 2528-2530 The ninth commandment requires that one overcome carnal concupiscence in thought and in desire. The struggle against such concupiscence entails purifying the heart and practicing the virtue of

permissiveness

528. What is forbidden by the ninth commandment? 2517-2519 2531-2532 The ninth commandment forbids cultivating thoughts and desires connected to actions forbidden by the sixth commandment. 529. How does one reach purity of heart? 2520 In the battle against disordered desires the baptized person is able, by the grace of God, to achieve purity of heart through the virtue and gift of chastity, through purity of intention, purity of vision (both exterior and interior), discipline of the imagination and of feelings and by prayer. 530. What are the other requirements for purity? 2521-2527 2533 Purity requires modesty which, while protecting the intimate center of the person, expresses the sensitivity of chastity. It guides how one looks at others and behaves toward them in conformity with the dignity of persons and their communion. Purity frees one from wide-spread eroticism and avoids those things which foster morbid curiosity. Purity also requires a purification of the social climate by means of a constant struggle against moral permissiveness which is founded on an erroneous conception of human freedom.

see God

THE TENTH COMMANDMENT: YOU SHALL NOT COVET YOUR NEIGHBOR’S POSSESSIONS 531. What is required and what is forbidden by the tenth commandment? 2534-2540 2551-2554 This commandment, which completes the preceding commandment, requires an interior attitude of respect for the property of others and forbids greed, unbridled covetousness for the goods of others, and envy which is the sadness one experiences at the sight of another’s goods and the immoderate desire to acquire them for oneself. 532. What does Jesus call for in poverty of spirit? 2544-2547 2556 Jesus calls his disciples to prefer him to everything and everyone. Detachment from riches – in the spirit of evangelical poverty – and self-abandonment to divine providence free us from anxiety about the future and prepare us for the blessedness of the “poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Mathew 5:3). 533. What is the greatest human desire? 2548-2550 2557 The greatest desire of the human person is to see God. “I want to see God” is the cry of our whole being. We realize our true and full happiness in the vision and beatitude of the One who created us out of love and draws us to himself with infinite love. “Whoever sees God has obtained all the goods of which he can conceive.” (Saint Gregory of Nyssa)

Abraham

Part Four Christian Prayer Section One Prayer in the Christian Life 534. What is prayer? 2558-2565 2590 Prayer is the raising of one’s mind and heart to God, or the petition of good things from him in accord with his will. It is always the gift of God who comes to encounter man. Christian prayer is the personal and living relationship of the children of God with their Father who is infinitely good, with his Son Jesus Christ, and with the Holy Spirit who dwells in their hearts. CHAPTER ONE The Revelation of Prayer 535. Why is there a universal call to prayer? 2566-2567 Because through creation God first calls every being from nothingness. Even after the Fall man continues to be capable of recognizing his Creator and retains a desire for the One who has called him into existence. All religions, and the whole history of salvation in particular, bear witness to this human desire for God. It is God first of all, however, who ceaselessly draws every person to the mysterious encounter known as prayer. THE REVELATION OF PRAYER IN THE OLD TESTAMENT 536. How is Abraham a model of prayer? 2570-2573 2592 Abraham is a model of prayer because he walked in the presence of God, heard and obeyed him. His prayer was a battle of faith because he continued to believe in the fidelity of God even in times of trial. Besides, after having received in his own tent the visit of the Lord who confided his plan to him, Abraham dared to intercede for sinners with bold confidence.