Our Moral Life in Christ Semester Edition

OUR MORAL LIFE IN CHRIST Semester Edition CHAPTER 7

The Fifth Commandment

Focus Question What is the main thrust of the Fifth Commandment? It is the absolute duty to respect, defend, and protect human life.

Focus Question What does “You shall not kill” essentially mean? It means that killing an innocent person is a flagrant violation of natural law and, therefore, a most grievous sin.

Focus Question What is the positive side of the command not to kill? It affirms the dignity of the human person.

Focus Question What does the natural law demand from us in regard to our own physical lives? We are to cultivate good health, avoid physical injury, and protect our own dignity.

Focus Question What are the sins that disrespect one’s own life? Some of the sins that show a lack of respect for one’s own life include suicide, cult of the body, gluttony, and substance abuse.

Focus Question How does the commandment of love enrich the Fifth Commandment? The Fifth Commandment orders us not to harm others. The commandment of love directs us to benefit others to the highest degree possible.

Focus Question What is the period of time that encompasses a natural human life? Human life on earth begins at conception and ends with death.

Focus Question What is unique about man? Man is made in the image and likeness of God, made directly for God’s glory, and called to share in God’s everlasting life.

Focus Question What makes human life sacred? Man is sacred because he is made in the image of God and is willed for his own sake.

Focus Question What is the danger in seeing human life as possessing only a subjective value? The failure to recognize the human person as a son or daughter of God makes us extremely vulnerable to manipulation or actual destruction if the whims of society or convenience so dictate.

Focus Question How valuable is human life? The dignity of human life transcends the value of all material creation.

Focus Question What is scandal? When does it become grave? It is an attitude or behavior that leads to another to do evil. It becomes grave when it leads others to mortal sin.

Focus Question Why do those in authority have a special obligation to avoid scandal? Those who by nature or office are obliged to teach, educate, lead, or govern others have a greater influence on people than others do.

Focus Question What are some ways teenagers cause scandal to others? Any bad behavior provides a bad example that others may imitate. More specifically, recommending music videos with immoral content can scandalize others. Immodest fashions can lead others into impurity.

Focus Question When does a new person begin to exist? He or she exists from the moment of conception.

Focus Question Who is the most innocent and defenseless of all human persons? The unborn child who is developing in his or her mother’s womb is most defenseless.

Focus Question What does Tradition teach about abortion? The Church has always condemned abortion. The earliest written records is in the Didache, written ca. AD 80.

Focus Question What are the three types of induced abortion? They are eugenic abortion (performed because of a malformation of the fetus), therapeutic abortion (performed because of a danger to maternal health), and psychological or psychosocial abortion (performed for psychological, economic, or social reasons).

Focus Question Is there any scientific basis for claiming the embryo or fetus is not a person? No. From the biological point of view, the fertilized egg in the womb is a completely new organism with its own, unique genetic code which, in time, will fully develop.

Focus Question What is the penalty for abortion according to canon law? It is automatic excommunication, the exclusion of the baptized person from the sacramental life of the Church. This applies to the person performing the abortion, the mother, and all who cooperate in the act.

Focus Question What is a common effect of abortion on the mother and others involved? They experience deep and long-lasting emotional and psychological pain.

Focus Question What is in vitro fertilization? IVF is a medical technique that aims to allow women who cannot become pregnant through sexual intercourse to still have a baby. A women is induced to produce a large number of ova that are then fertilized in a test tube or petri dish. One or more of the fertilized eggs is then inserted into the woman’s uterus.

Focus Question What happens to the unused, fertilized eggs? They are frozen for future IVF procedures, used for experimental purposes, or discarded.

Focus Question Why is the conception of human life in a laboratory setting a gravely sinful act? It violates the dignity of the conjugal union between husband and wife.

Focus Question How does IVF violate the Fifth Commandment? Human life begins at conception, so each of the fertilized eggs is a human person. More embryos than necessary are “created” for the procedure. Some are destroyed right away because they seem weaker or have defects. The rest are later destroyed or placed in a frozen state.

Focus Question Does the Catholic Church oppose all forms of stem-cell research? No. Only embryonic stem-cell research is opposed because it kills an innocent person.

Focus Question Is embryonic stem-cell research necessary? Current research shows that non-embryonic stem- cells are as effective as embryonic stem-cells.

Focus Question What is the allure of stem-cell research? Stem-cells may someday provide a cure for presently incurable conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, juvenile diabetes, certain neuromuscular disorders, and spinal-cord injuries.

Focus Question What is euthanasia? From the Greek meaning “good death,” euthanasia is an action or omission of an action that, by itself or by intention, causes a person’s death in order to eliminate suffering.

Focus Question What is the connection between euthanasia and Nazi Germany? From 1939 to 1941, the Nazi government euthanized 75, ,000 of its own citizens with mental and physical disabilities it deemed unfit for life.

Focus Question Where is euthanasia legal? Euthanasia is legal in the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland (if not performed by a doctor), and the United States (Oregon).

Focus Question What is assisted suicide? It is any action or omission of action that assists another person in causing his or her own death.

Focus Question Why is assisted suicide wrong? Suicide is morally wrong, and, thus, cooperation in suicide is also illicit.

Focus Question Who is responsible for deciding if a country should go to war? The decision belongs to the prudential judgment of those who have responsibility for the common good.

Focus Question What is the justification behind self-defense? The Fifth Commandment is about respecting and protecting innocent life. A person has a right to defend himself or herself against an unjust aggressor, even if it means injuring the assailant.

Focus Question What is the limit to self-defense? The defender may only use proportional means of force to defend himself or herself and others.

Focus Question How does the use of proportionate means to protect the common good apply to police and security agencies? They cannot use disproportionate means against a violator of the law.

Focus Question What is capital punishment? It is an act by the legitimate authority of a state or nation to put a criminal to death.

Focus Question Is the use of the death penalty inherently wrong? No. The state has the right to implement the death penalty when necessary for the protection of others in society.

Focus Question What are the Church’s reasons for limiting the death penalty? It often does not serve as a deterrent for others, and it may preclude the possibility of the conversion of the criminal. It may serve to perpetuate an impoverished view of the value of human life in society that leads to capital crimes.

Focus Question Why must we give our human body respect? It is an essential part of the human person and an instrument of salvation, sanctification, and evangelization. God greatly honored the human body by the Incarnation of Jesus Christ.

Focus Question How would cloning–and how do in vitro fertilization and embryonic stem-cell research–offend the dignity of the person? These practices reduce human beings to objects that can be manufactured and manipulated rather than treating them as unique and irreplaceable creations of God.

Focus Question Why is direct sterilization wrong? It destroys a person’s procreative ability.

Focus Question What is indirect sterilization? It is a licit medical procedure in which the patient is sterilized as a secondary, unintended result of curing an illness or repairing an injury.

Focus Question Under what conditions is organ transplantation moral? It is moral when both the donor and the recipient give informed consent and the physical and psychological dangers and risks are appropriate to the good sought.

Focus Question What is not permitted in connection with organ donation? It is wrong to bring about the disabling mutilation or death of the donor to save the life of another.

Focus Question Is organ removal moral under certain circumstances? Surgery to remove an organ or limb to save the life of a seriously ill or injured person is morally licit.

The End