experiments

475. When are scientific, medical, or psychological experiments on human individuals or groups morally legitimate? 2292-2295 They are morally legitimate when they are at the service of the integral good of the person and of society, without disproportionate risks to the life and physical and psychological integrity of the subjects who must be properly informed and consenting. 476. Are the transplant and donation of organs allowed before and after death? 2296 The transplant of organs is morally acceptable with the consent of the donor and without excessive risks to him or her. Before allowing the noble act of organ donation after death, one must verify that the donor is truly dead. 477. What practices are contrary to respect for the bodily integrity of the human person? 2297-2298 They are: kidnapping and hostage taking, terrorism, torture, violence, and direct sterilization. Amputations and mutilations of a person are morally permissible only for strictly therapeutic medical reasons.

dying

478. What care must be given to the dying? 2299 The dying have a right to live the last moments of their earthly lives with dignity and, above all, to be sustained with prayer and the sacraments that prepare them to meet the living God. 479. How are the bodies of the deceased to be treated? 2300-2301 The bodies of the departed must be treated with love and respect. Their cremation is permitted provided that it does not demonstrate a denial of faith in the resurrection of the body. 480. What does the Lord ask of every person in regard to peace? 2302-2303 The Lord proclaimed “Blessed are the peacemakers” (Matthew 5:9). He called for peace of heart and denounced the immorality of anger which is a desire for revenge for some evil suffered. He also denounced hatred which leads one to wish evil on one’s neighbor. These attitudes, if voluntary and consented to in matters of great importance, are mortal sins against charity.

What is peace

481. What is peace in this world? 2304-2305 Peace in this world, which is required for the respect and development of human life, is not simply the absence of war or a balance of power between adversaries. It is “the tranquility of order” (Saint Augustine), “the work of justice” (Isaiah 32:17) and the effect of charity. Earthly peace is the image and fruit of the peace of Christ. 482. What is required for earthly peace? 2304 2307-2308 Earthly peace requires the equal distribution and safeguarding of the goods of persons, free communication among human beings, respect for the dignity of persons and peoples, and the assiduous practice of justice and fraternity. 483. When is it morally permitted to use military force? 2307-2310 The use of military force is morally justified when the following conditions are simultaneously present: the suffering inflicted by the aggressor must be lasting, grave and certain; all other peaceful means must have been shown to be ineffective; there are well founded prospects of success; the use of arms, especially given the power of modern weapons of mass destruction, must not produce evils graver than the evil to be eliminated.

War

484. In danger of war, who has the responsibility for the rigorous evaluation of these conditions? 2309 This responsibility belongs to the prudential judgment of government officials who also have the right to impose on citizens the obligation of national defense. The personal right to conscientious objection makes an exception to this obligation which should then be carried out by another form of service to the human community. 485. In case of war, what does the moral law require? 2312-2314 2328 Even during a war the moral law always remains valid. It requires the humane treatment of noncombatants, wounded soldiers and prisoners of war. Deliberate actions contrary to the law of nations, and the orders that command such actions are crimes, which blind obedience does not excuse. Acts of mass destruction must be condemned and likewise the extermination of peoples or ethnic minorities, which are most grievous sins. One is morally bound to resist the orders that command such acts. 486. What must be done to avoid war? 2315-2317 2327-2330 Because of the evils and injustices that all war brings with it, we must do everything reasonably possible to avoid it. To this end it is particularly important to avoid: the accumulation and sale of arms which are not regulated by the legitimate authorities; all forms of economic and social injustice; ethnic and religious discrimination; envy, mistrust, pride and the spirit of revenge. Everything done to overcome these and other disorders contributes to building up peace and avoiding war.

adultery

THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT: YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY 487. What responsibility do human persons have in regard to their own sexual identity? 2331-2336 2392-2393 God has created human beings as male and female, equal in personal dignity, and has called them to a vocation of love and of communion. Everyone should accept his or her identity as male or female, recognizing its importance for the whole of the person, its specificity and complementarity. 488. What is chastity? 2337-2338 Chastity means the positive integration of sexuality within the person. Sexuality becomes truly human when it is integrated in a correct way into the relationship of one person to another. Chastity is a moral virtue, a gift of God, a grace, and a fruit of the Holy Spirit.

chastity

489. What is involved in the virtue of chastity? 2339-2341 The virtue of chastity involves an apprenticeship in self-mastery as an expression of human freedom directed towards self-giving. An integral and continuing formation, which is brought about in stages, is necessary to achieve this goal. 490. What are the means that aid the living of chastity? 2340-2347 There are many means at one's disposal: the grace of God, the help of the sacraments, prayer, self-knowledge, the practice of an asceticism adapted to various situations, the exercise of the moral virtues, especially the virtue of temperance which seeks to have the passions guided by reason. 491. In what way is everyone called to live chastity? 2348-2350 2394 As followers of Christ, the model of all chastity, all the baptised are called to live chastely in keeping with their particular states of life. Some profess virginity or consecrated celibacy which enables them to give themselves to God alone with an undivided heart in a remarkable manner. Others, if they are married live in conjugal chastity, or if unmarried practise chastity in continence.

adultery

492. What are the principal sins against chastity? 2351-2359 2396 Grave sins against chastity differ according to their object: adultery, masturbation, fornication, pornography, prostitution, rape, and homosexual acts. These sins are expressions of the vice of lust. These kinds of acts committed against the physical and moral integrity of minors become even more grave. 493. Although it says only “you shall not commit adultery” why does the sixth commandment forbid all sins against chastity? 2336 Although the biblical text of the Decalogue reads “you shall not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:14), the Tradition of the Church comprehensively follows the moral teachings of the Old and New Testaments and considers the sixth commandment as encompassing all sins against chastity. 494. What is the responsibility of civil authority in regard to chastity? 2354 Insofar as it is bound to promote respect for the dignity of the person, civil authority should seek to create an environment conducive to the practice of chastity. It should also enact suitable legislation to prevent the spread of the grave offenses against chastity mentioned above, especially in order to protect minors and those who are the weakest members of society.