386 RESPECT FOR THE DIGNITY OF PERSONS

YOUCAT Lesson 386, June 3, 2015

YOUCAT the catechism for Catholic youth

386  Why does the Fifth Commandment protect the physical and spiritual integrity of a human being as well?

The right to life and human dignity form a unity; they are inseparably connected to each other.  It is possible to put a person to death spiritually also.  [2284-2287, 2326]

Severe overcrowding of refugees. .....138 ..... 386

The commandment “You shall not kill” (Exodus 20:13) applies to both physical and spiritual integrity.  Every seduction and incitement to evil, every use of force is a serious sin, especially when it occurs in a relationship of dependency.  The sin is especially evil when the dependence of children on adults is involved.  This means not only sexual abuse, but also spiritual seduction by parents, priest, teachers, or educators who lead their charges astray from values, and so on.

 “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would  be better for him to have a great millstone fastened round his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.”  Matthew 18:6

 “If you love yourself, then you love all men as yourself.  As long as you love one single person less than you love yourself, you have not truly begun to love yourself.”  Meister Eckhart (ca. 1260-1328)

 “God loves us far more than we love ourselves.”  St. Teresa of Avila (1515-1582)

 [2284-2287, 2326]

II. RESPECT FOR THE DIGNITY OF PERSONS

Respect for the souls of others: scandal

2284 Scandal is an attitude or behavior which leads another to do evil. The person who gives scandal becomes his neighbor's tempter. He damages virtue and integrity; he may even draw his brother into spiritual death. Scandal is a grave offense if by deed or omission another is deliberately led into a grave offense. -- Catechism of the Catholic Church, Edition Second

2285 Scandal takes on a particular gravity by reason of the authority of those who cause it or the weakness of those who are scandalized. It prompted our Lord to utter this curse: "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened round his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea." (Matthew 18:6; compare 1 Corinthians 8:10-13. )⁸⁶ Scandal is grave when given by those who by nature or office are obliged to teach and educate others. Jesus reproaches the scribes and Pharisees on this account: he likens them to wolves in sheep's clothing. (Compare Matthew 7:15.)⁸⁷ –CCC

2286 Scandal can be provoked by laws or institutions, by fashion or opinion. –CCC

Therefore, they are guilty of scandal who establish laws or social structures leading to the decline of morals and the corruption of religious practice, or to "social conditions that, intentionally or not, make Christian conduct and obedience to the Commandments difficult and practically impossible." (Pius XII, Discourse, June 1, 1941.)⁸⁸ This is also true of business leaders who make rules encouraging fraud, teachers who provoke their children to anger, (Compare Ephesians 6:4; Colossians 3:21.)⁸⁹ or manipulators of public opinion who turn it away from moral values. –CCC

 2287 Anyone who uses the power at his disposal in such a way that it leads others to do wrong becomes guilty of scandal and responsible for the evil that he has directly or indirectly encouraged. "Temptations to sin are sure to come; but woe to him by whom they come!" (Luke 17:1.)⁹⁰ –CCC

 IN BRIEF

 2326 Scandal is a grave offense when by deed or omission it deliberately leads others to sin gravely. –CCC

385 EMBRYO EXPERIMENTS

YOUCAT Lesson 385

YOUCAT the catechism for Catholic youth

385  Can experiments be performed on living embryos and embryonic stem cells?

No.  Embryos are human beings, because human life begins with the fusion of a sperm cell and an egg.  [2275, 2323]

Sherry (resting) was born with a gene that can cause Huntington Disease.  I first met Sherry when she was 16 years old.  Sherry then could scarcely hold a fork to feed herself though she came to the table to eat with the family.  Knowing her fate, at age 23, she gave up her love of a courting boyfriend to accept death on its terms.  In the photo, a year before Sherry’s death, her grandmother Eunice speaks to her at a health care center in Jackson, Michigan.  Eunice visited Sherry daily.  Photo by Don L. Bragg. ….. 385

Regarding embryos as biological material, “producing” them and then “using” their stem cells for purposes of research is absolutely immoral and falls under the commandment “You shall not kill.”  Research on adult stem cells is a different matter, since they cannot develop into human beings.  Medical interventions on an embryo are justifiable only if they are made with the intention of healing, if the life and unimpaired development of the child are assured, and if the risks involved are not disproportionately great.  292

“The diagnosis of disability in the unborn child cannot be a reason for abortion, because life with such a disability is also desired and appreciated by God, and here on earth no one can ever be sure that he or she will live without physical or spiritual limitations.”  Pope Benedict XVIl, September 28, 2006

 [2275, 2323]

 Abortion

 2275 "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 toward its healing the improvement of its condition of health, or its individual survival." (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Donum vitae I,3.)⁸³ –Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition

"It is immoral to produce human embryos intended for exploitation as disposable biological material." (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Donum vitae I,5.)⁸⁴ –CCC

 "Certain attempts to influence chromosomic or genetic inheritance are not therapeutic but are aimed at producing human beings selected according to sex or other predetermined qualities. Such manipulations are contrary to the personal dignity of the human being and his integrity and identity" (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Donum vitae I,6.)⁸⁵ which are unique and unrepeatable. ---CCC

 IN BRIEF

2323 Because it should be treated as a person from conception, the embryo must be defended in its integrity, cared for, and healed like every other human being. --CCC

384 HANDICAPPED CHILD

YOUCAT Lesson 384

YOUCAT the catechism for Catholic youth

384  Can a handicapped child be aborted?

No.  Aborting a handicapped child is always a serious crime, even if it is done with the intention of sparing that person suffering later on.  280

Sitting in the shade In the center of this 1980 photo with his back to the large trees is my nephew John Amadeus Racanelli, a profoundly retarded lad then attending a Voss family 4^th of July picnic.  At left, in the pink shirt facing John is my own son John Bragg who now is 43 years old.  John Racanelli still lives at home under his mother Margaret’s (my sister) care. “Amadeus” means “I love God”.  I saw John Racanell just yesterday (August 15, 2017).  He is in declining health. ….. 384

 “The diagnosis of disability in the unborn child cannot be a reason for abortion because life with such a disability is also desired and appreciated by God, and here on earth no one can ever be sure that he or she will live without physical or spiritual limitations.”  Pope Benedict XVI, September 28, 2006

383 ABORTION

YOUCAT Lesson 383, May 30, 2015

YOUCAT the catechism for Catholic youth

383  Why is abortion unacceptable at any phase in the development of an embryo?

God-given human life is God’s own property; it is sacred from the first moment of its existence and not under the control of any human being.  “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you” (Jeremiah 1:5).  [2270-2274, 2322]

Hawaiian ”Mother and Child”, by Charles W Bartlett, painted about 1920. ….. 383

God alone is Lord over life and death.  Not even “my” life belongs to me.  Every child, from the moment of conception on, has a right to life.  From his earliest beginnings an unborn human being is a separate person, and no one can infringe upon his rights, not the State, not the doctor, and not even the mother.  The Church’s clarity about this is not a lack of compassion; she means, rather, to point out the irreparable harm that is inflicted on the child who is killed in abortion and on his parents and on society as a whole.  Protecting innocent human life is one of the noblest tasks of the State.  If a State evades this responsibility, it undermines the foundations of a rule of law.  323

“God, give us the courage to protect every unborn life.  For the child is God’s greatest gift for the family, for a nation, and for the world.”  Bl. Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997), upon receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979

“If a human being is no longer safe in his mother’s womb, where in the world can he be safe?”  Phil Bosmans (b. 1922, Belgian priest and writer)

[2270-2274, 2322]

Abortion

2270 Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception. From the first moment of his existence, a human being must be recognized as having the rights of a person - among which is the inviolable right of every innocent being to life. (Compare Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Donum vitae I,1.)⁷² --Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition

 Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you. (Jeremiah 1:5; compare Job 10:8-12; Psalm 22:10-11.)⁷³ --CCC

 My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately wrought in the depths of the earth. (Psalm 139:15.)⁷⁴ --CCC

2271 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 as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the moral law: --CCC

You shall not kill the embryo by abortion and shall not cause the newborn to perish. (Didache 2,2:SCh 248,148; cf. Ep. Barnabae 19,5:PG 2 777; Ad Diognetum 5,6:PG 2,1173; Tertullian, Apol. 9:PL 1,319-320.)⁷⁵ –CCC

God, the Lord of life, has entrusted to men the noble mission of safeguarding life, and men must carry it out in a manner worthy of themselves. Life must be protected with the utmost care from the moment of conception: abortion and infanticide are abominable crimes. (Gaudium et Spes 51 § 3.)⁷⁶ –CCC

2272 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 latae sententiae," (Codex Iuris Canonici, can. 1398.)⁷⁷ "by the very commission of the offense," (Codex Iuris Canonici, can. 1314.)⁷⁸ and subject to the conditions provided by Canon Law. (Compare Codex Iuris Canonici, cann. 1323-1324.)⁷⁹ The Church does not thereby intend to restrict the scope of mercy. Rather, she makes clear the gravity of the crime committed, the irreparable harm done to the innocent who is put to death, as well as to the parents and the whole of society. –CCC

2273 The inalienable right to life of every innocent human individual is a constitutive element of a civil society and its legislation: --CCC

"The inalienable rights of the person must be recognized and respected by civil society and the political authority. These human rights depend neither on single individuals nor on parents; nor do they represent a concession made by society and the state; they belong to human nature and are inherent in the person by virtue of the creative act from which the person took his origin. Among such fundamental rights one should mention in this regard every human being's right to life and physical integrity from the moment of conception until death." (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith,  Donum vitae III.)⁸⁰ –CCC

"The moment a positive law deprives a category of human beings of the protection which civil legislation ought to accord them, the state is denying the equality of all before the law. When the state does not place its power at the service of the rights of each citizen, and in particular of the more vulnerable, the very foundations of a state based on law are undermined. . . . As a consequence of the respect and protection which must be ensured for the unborn child from the moment of conception, the law must provide appropriate penal sanctions for every deliberate violation of the child's rights." (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Donum vitae III.)⁸¹ –CCC

2274 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. –CCC

Prenatal diagnosis is morally licit, "if it respects the life and integrity of the embryo and the human fetus and is directed toward its safe guarding or healing as an individual. . . . It is gravely opposed to the moral law when this is done with the thought of possibly inducing an abortion, depending upon the results: a diagnosis must not be the equivalent of a death sentence." (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Donum vitae 1, 2.)⁸² –CCC

  

IN BRIEF

 2322 From its conception, the child has the right to life. Direct abortion, that is, abortion willed as an end or as a means, is a "criminal" practice (Gaudium et Spes 27 § 3), gravely contrary to the moral law. The Church imposes the canonical penalty of excommunication for this crime against human life. --CCC

382 "PEOPLE SHOULD NOT DIE AT THE HAND OF ANOTHER PERSON BUT RATHER WITH ANOTHER PERSON AT HAND."

YOUCAT Lesson 382

YOUCAT the catechism for Catholic youth

382  Is it permissible to offer assistance in dying?

To bring about death directly is always against the commandment “You shall not kill” (Exodus 20:13).  In contrast, to stand by and assist a dying person is humane and even obligatory.  [2278-2279]

Caregiver of Alzheimer’s patient.  --Wikipedia photo  …..382

What really matters is whether a dying person is killed or allowed to die.  Someone who kills a dying person (euthanasia) breaks the Fifth Commandment.  Someone who helps another person in the dying process obeys the commandment “Love your neighbor.”  In view of the certain impending death of a patient, it is legitimate to withhold extraordinary or expensive medical procedures that are not proportionate to the expected outcome.  The patient himself must make the decision to forgo “extraordinary” measures or must have stated this intention in an advanced directive.  If he is no longer capable of doing so, those who are legally entitled must represent the express or probable wishes of the dying person.  Ordinary care of a dying person should never be discontinued; this is commanded by love of neighbor and mercy.  Meanwhile it can be legitimate and in keeping with human dignity to use painkillers, even at the risk of shortening the patient’s life.  The crucial thing is that the use of such medications must not aim at bringing about death, either as an end in itself or as a means of ending pain.  393

“People should not die at the hand of another person but rather with another person on hand.”  Former German President Horst Kohler

The hospice movement, not the euthanasia movement, is the answer to our situation that respects human dignity.  The forces of imagination and solidarity are mobilized to confront the gigantic problems that we are facing only when the cheap way out is relentlessly barred.  When dying is not understood as part of life, that is the beginning of the civilization of death.”  Robert Spaemann (b. 1927)

“You shall not kill the embryo by abortion and shall not cause the newborn to perish.”  Didache 2,2, third century

“Christians…marry and have children like other people, but they do not expose their newborns.”  Letter to Diognetus third century

“Abortion and infanticide are abominable crimes.”  Second Vatican Council, Gaudium et Spes

[2278-2279]

Euthanasia

2278 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; one's inability to impede it is merely accepted. The decisions should be made by the patient if he is competent and able or, if not, by those legally entitled to act for the patient, whose reasonable will and legitimate interests must always be respected. –Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition

2279 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 risk of shortening their days, can be morally in conformity with human dignity if death is not willed as either an end or a means, but only foreseen and tolerated as inevitable Palliative care is a special form of disinterested charity. As such it should be encouraged. --CCC

Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, August 13, 2017

Jesus walks on water by Ivan Alvazovsky 1888  Po vodam. .... 381

Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, August 13, 2017
Lectionary: 115

Reading 1 1 KGS 19:9A, 11-13A

At the mountain of God, Horeb, Elijah came to a cave where he took shelter.  Then the LORD said to him,
"Go outside and stand on the mountain before the LORD; the LORD will be passing by."  A strong and heavy wind was rending the mountains and crushing rocks before the LORD—but the LORD was not in the wind.  After the wind there was an earthquake—but the LORD was not in the earthquake.  After the earthquake there was fire—but the LORD was not in the fire.  After the fire there was a tiny whispering sound.  When he heard this, Elijah hid his face in his cloak and went and stood at the entrance of the cave.

 Responsorial Psalm PS 85:9, 10, 11-12, 13-14

R. (8) Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.
I will hear what God proclaims;
the LORD — for he proclaims peace.
Near indeed is his salvation to those who fear him,
glory dwelling in our land.
R. Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.
Kindness and truth shall meet;
justice and peace shall kiss.
Truth shall spring out of the earth,
and justice shall look down from heaven.
R. Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.
The LORD himself will give his benefits;
our land shall yield its increase.
Justice shall walk before him,
and prepare the way of his steps.
R. Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.

Reading 2 ROM 9:1-5

Brothers and sisters:  I speak the truth in Christ, I do not lie; my conscience joins with the Holy Spirit in bearing me witness that I have great sorrow and constant anguish in my heart.  For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my own people, my kindred according to the flesh.  They are Israelites; theirs the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; theirs the patriarchs, and from them, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen.

  Alleluia CF. PS 130:5

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I wait for the Lord;
my soul waits for his word.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

  Gospel MT 14:22-33

After he had fed the people, Jesus made the disciples get into a boat and precede him to the other side,
while he dismissed the crowds.  After doing so, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray.  When it was evening he was there alone.  Meanwhile the boat, already a few miles offshore, was being tossed about by the waves, for the wind was against it.  During the fourth watch of the night, he came toward them walking on the sea.  When the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified.  "It is a ghost," they said, and they cried out in fear.  At once Jesus spoke to them, "Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid." 

Peter said to him in reply, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water."  He said, "Come."  Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus.  But when he saw how strong the wind was he became frightened; and, beginning to sink, he cried out, "Lord, save me!" 

Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught Peter, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"  After they got into the boat, the wind died down.  Those who were in the boat did him homage, saying, "Truly, you are the Son of God."

381 CAPITAL PUNISHMENT

YOUCAT Lesson 381

YOUCAT the catechism for Catholic youth

381  Why is the Church opposed to capital punishment?

The Church is committed to opposing the death penalty because it is “both cruel and unnecessary” (Pope John Paul II, St. Louis, January 27, 1999).  [2266-2267]

Mehmet Ali Agca  who shot John Paul II 1981 laid flowers Christmas 2014 the saint's tomb in St. Peter's Basilica. ….. 381

Every legitimate State has in principle the right to punish crime appropriately.  In “Evangelium vitae (1995)”, the Pope does not say that the use of the death penalty is in every respect an unacceptable and illegitimate punishment.  To take the life of a criminal is an extreme measure to which the State should resort only “in cases of absolute necessity”.  This necessity arises when the only way to protect human society is by killing the convicted criminal.  But such cases, says Pope John Paul II, “are very rare, if not practically non-existent”.

[2266-2267]       

Legitimate defense

2266 The efforts of the state to curb the spread of behavior harmful to people's rights and to the basic rules of civil society correspond to the requirement of safeguarding the common good. Legitimate public authority has the right and duty to inflict punishment proportionate to the gravity of the offense. Punishment has the primary aim of redressing the disorder introduced by the offense. When it is willingly accepted by the guilty party, it assumes the value of expiation. Punishment then, in addition to defending public order and protecting people's safety, has a medicinal purpose: as far as possible, it must contribute to the correction of the guilty party. (Compare Luke 23:40-43.)⁶⁷ –Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition

2267 Assuming that the guilty party's identity and responsibility have been fully determined, the traditional teaching of the Church does not exclude recourse to the death penalty, if this is the only possible way of effectively defending human lives against the unjust aggressor. --CCC