"The authority of the Magisterium extends also to the specific precepts of the natural law, because their observance, demanded by the Creator, is … It prepares and disposes the chosen people and each Christian for conversion and faith in the Savior God. They show that the demands of the law are written in their hearts, … The Decalogue contains a privileged expression of the natural law: The moral law presupposes the rational order, established among creatures for their good and to serve their final end, by the power, wisdom, and goodness of the Creator. There are various expressions of moral law (God's eternal law, natural law, law revealed in the Old Testament, the law of the Gospel, Church law, and civil law). The Law of Moses expresses many truths naturally accessible to reason. . . It is addressed to those open to accepting this new hope with faith - the poor, the humble, the afflicted, the pure of heart, those persecuted on account of Christ and so marks out the surprising ways of the Kingdom. In it is written every just law; from it the law passes into the heart of the man who does justice, not that it migrates into it, but that it places its imprint on it, like a seal on a ring that passes onto wax, without leaving the ring. III. Mt 5:17-19. It is also the work of the Holy Spirit and through him it becomes the interior law of charity: "I will establish a New Covenant with the house of Israel. It is the work of Christ and is expressed particularly in the Sermon on the Mount. SECTION ONEMAN'S VOCATION LIFE IN THE SPIRIT, CHAPTER THREEGOD'S SALVATION: LAW AND GRACE. I will put my laws into their hands, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people."19. Where then are these rules written, if not in the book of that light we call the truth? 26 Cf. It expresses the dignity of the person and determines the basis for his fundamental rights and duties: 1957 Application of the natural law varies greatly; it can demand reflection that takes account of various conditions of life according to places, times, and circumstances. . . 2 Leo XIII, Libertas præstantissimum: AAS 20 (1887/88),597; cf. But this command of human reason would not have the force of law if it were not the voice and interpreter of a higher reason to which our spirit and our freedom must be submitted. Even when it is rejected in its very principles, it cannot be destroyed or removed from the heart of man. Its moral prescriptions are summed up in the Ten Commandments. For instance, capital punishment may be morally necessary in a primitive society but needlessly barbaric in a society with secure laws and prisons; and the moral restrictions on warfare today, with its weapons of mass destruction, must be far stricter than those in the past. It's not universally obeyed, or even universally admitted, but it is universally binding and authoritative. 1961 God, our Creator and Redeemer, chose Israel for himself to be his people and revealed his Law to them, thus preparing for the coming of Christ. . 16 Cf. Kreeft, Peter. The natural law expresses the original moral sense which enables man to discern by reason the good and the evil, the truth and the lie: 1955 The "divine and natural" law6 shows man the way to follow so as to practice the good and attain his end. Let's take a look at what the Catechism of the Catholic Church says. There are two foundational points upon which the Church bases its natural law theory: 1) God has created the natural law, and 2) the natural law is manifested in the human person. 1977 Christ is the end of the law (cf. The rules that express it remain substantially valid. Under no circumstances can they be approved” (Catechism of the Catholic Church 2357). The precepts are intended to remove whatever is incompatible with charity. - not impeded by any natural or ecclesiastical law. Finally, it provides the necessary basis for the civil law with which it is connected, whether by a reflection that draws conclusions from its principles, or by additions of a positive and juridical nature. The present catechism follows the division of the Commandments established by St. Augustine, which has become traditional in the Catholic Church. SECTION ONE MAN'S VOCATION LIFE IN THE SPIRIT CHAPTER TWO THE HUMAN COMMUNITY. . 9 Cicero, Rep. III,22,33. GS 10. Search or browse the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Law is declared and established by reason as a participation in the providence of the living God, Creator and Redeemer of all. ... 142 They are contrary to the natural law. "17 It prophesies and presages the work of liberation from sin which will be fulfilled in Christ: it provides the New Testament with images, "types," and symbols for expressing the life according to the Spirit. Because man's essence does not change, but his circumstances and situations do, "application of the natural law varies greatly" (CCC #1957). ARTICLE 2 PARTICIPATION IN SOCIAL LIFE. . 12 Pius XII, Humani generis: DS 3876; cf. It is a necessary foundation for the erection of moral rules and civil law. That is, what we ought to do is based on what we are. . 1965 The New Law or the Law of the Gospel is the perfection here on earth of the divine law, natural and revealed. "29 This catechesis also teaches us to deal with cases of conscience in the light of our relationship to Christ and to the Church.30, 1972 The New Law is called a law of love because it makes us act out of the love infused by the Holy Spirit, rather than from fear; a law of grace, because it confers the strength of grace to act, by means of faith and the sacraments; a law of freedom, because it sets us free from the ritual and juridical observances of the Old Law, inclines us to act spontaneously by the prompting of charity and, finally, lets us pass from the condition of a servant who "does not know what his master is doing" to that of a friend of Christ - "For all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you" - or even to the status of son and heir.31, 1973 Besides its precepts, the New Law also includes the evangelical counsels. This law is called "natural," not in reference to the nature of irrational beings, but because reason which decrees it properly belongs to human nature: 1956 The natural law, present in the heart of each man and established by reason, is universal in its precepts and its authority extends to all men. 17 St. Irenaeus, Adv. 32 Cf. Natural Law. No culture in history has thought that love, kindness, justice, honesty, courage, wisdom, or self-control was evil — or that hate, cruelty, injustice, dishonesty, cowardice, folly, or uncontrolled addiction was good. Therefore, the Roman Catholic Church keeps its members "under the Law." 33 St. Francis de Sales, Love of God 8,6. 21 Cf. To replace it with a contrary law is a sacrilege; failure to apply even one of its provisions is forbidden; no one can abrogate it entirely. "The natural law is immutable and permanent throughout the variations of history" (CCC#1958) because it is based on God-made essential human nature, which does not change with time or place, rather than man-made cultural developments, which do. 1974 The evangelical counsels manifest the living fullness of charity, which is never satisfied with not giving more. 7 St. Augustine, De Trin. St. Thomas Aquinas, STh II-II,184,3. Peter Kreeft, Ph.D., is a professor of philosophy at Boston College. haeres. Despite the fact that certain modern theologians draw too wide a chasm between the natural and the supernatural and thus claim that the Church has no competence in the natural law, the recent Catechism of the Catholic Church reaffirms the Church’s authority in this domain: "27, The entire Law of the Gospel is contained in the "new commandment" of Jesus, to love one another as he has loved us.28, 1971 To the Lord's Sermon on the Mount it is fitting to add the moral catechesis of the apostolic teachings, such as Romans 12-15, 1 Corinthians 12-13, Colossians 3-4, Ephesians 4-5, etc. 5 Leo XIII, Libertas praestantissimum, 597. The natural law is nothing other than the light of understanding placed in us by God; through it we know what we must do and what we must avoid. . Catholic teaching on homosexuality is laid out in the Catechism of the Catholic Church and a number of magisterial documents.The Church teaches that while homosexual sexual acts, like all sexual acts outside of marriage, are sinful, having a homosexual orientation itself is not a sin. . 1956 The natural law, present in the heart of each man and established by reason, is universal in its precepts and its authority extends to all men. The moral teaching of the Catholic Church is based upon a sound theory of natural law. If you’ve appreciated, The Journey: A Spiritual Roadmap for Modern Pilgrims, Prayer: The Great Conversation: Straight Answers to Tough Questions About Prayer, Philosophy 101 by Socrates: An Introduction to Philosophy Via Plato's Apology, Before I Go: Letters to Our Children About What Really Matters. 1,1:PL 34,1229-1230. The Lord's Sermon on the Mount, far from abolishing or devaluing the moral prescriptions of the Old Law, releases their hidden potential and has new demands arise from them: it reveals their entire divine and human truth. Rejoice in your hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. . He is the author of many books (over forty and counting) including: Ask Peter Kreeft: The 100 Most Interesting Questions He's Ever Been Asked, Ancient Philosophers, Medieval Philosophers, Modern Philosophers, Contemporary Philosophers, Forty Reasons I Am a Catholic, Doors in the Walls of the World: Signs of Transcendence in the Human Story, Forty Reasons I Am a Catholic, You Can Understand the Bible, Fundamentals of the Faith, The Journey: A Spiritual Roadmap for Modern Pilgrims, Prayer: The Great Conversation: Straight Answers to Tough Questions About Prayer, Love Is Stronger Than Death, Philosophy 101 by Socrates: An Introduction to Philosophy Via Plato's Apology, A Pocket Guide to the Meaning of Life, Prayer for Beginners, and Before I Go: Letters to Our Children About What Really Matters. CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH SECOND EDITION. "Thou shalt not kill," for instance, is based on the real value of human life and the need to preserve it. 1952 There are different expressions of the moral law, all of them interrelated: eternal law - the source, in God, of all law; natural law; revealed law, comprising the Old Law and the New Law, or Law of the Gospel; finally, civil and ecclesiastical laws. Within Catholic moral teaching, natural law arguments are commonly invoked to denounce “unnatural” and therefore immoral acts: contraception, same-sex sexual relations, and many assisted reproductive technologies, for example. The traditional distinction between God's commandments and the evangelical counsels is drawn in relation to charity, the perfection of Christian life. 10 Cf. Mt 6:1-6; 16-18. 1950 The moral law is the work of divine Wisdom. The Catechism of the Catholic Church is a book, promulgated in 1992 by Pope St. John Paul II, which seeks to explain the doctrine (that is, the body of teachings) that the Catholic Church holds. I. "The natural law, present in the heart of each man and established by reason, is universal in its precepts and its authority extends to all men" (CCC #1956). 27 We don't need religious faith or supernatural divine revelation to know that we're morally obligated to choose good and avoid evil or to know what "good" and "evil" mean. 8. God has given this light or law at the creation. 3 Cf. 2,4,9:PL 32,678. "24 Its prayer is the Our Father.25, 1970 The Law of the Gospel requires us to make the decisive choice between "the two ways" and to put into practice the words of the Lord.26 It is summed up in the Golden Rule, "Whatever you wish that men would do to you, do so to them; this is the law and the prophets. Mt 7:13-14,21-27. Speaking of pagans, St. Paul says that "they show that what the law requires is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness" (Rom 2:15). Jesus Christ is in person the way of perfection. —Radically, the natural law consists of one supreme and universal principle, from which are derived all our natural moral obligations or duties. "This law is called 'natural,' not in reference to the nature of irrational beings [that is, animals — it is not a law of biology], "but because reason, which decrees it, properly belongs to human nature" (CCC #1955). 1962 The Old Law is the first stage of revealed Law. There were . 1980 The Old Law is the first stage of revealed law. 1983 The New Law is the grace of the Holy Spirit received by faith in Christ, operating through charity. 30. 30 Cf. An excellent tool for learning more about the Faith and for research. Therefore, man needs God's revelation to know these truths "firmly and with no mixture of error" (Pius XII). . 27 Mt 7:12; cf. 28 Cf. 1979 The natural law is immutable, permanent throughout history. They are a privileged expression of the natural law. 1986 Besides its precepts the New Law includes the evangelical counsels. Every culture in history has had some version of the Ten Commandments. Broadly understood, natural law refers to a range of moral theories that rely on rational discernment of the natural order as a means of telling good from evil. Perhaps St. Paul knew of or even recalled the words of Cicero selected by the Church to grace the pages of her Catechism when he wrote his epistle to the Romans: "For when the Gentiles who do not have the law by nature observe the prescriptions of the law, they are a law for themselves even though they do not have the law. 1978 The natural law is a participation in God's wisdom and goodness by man formed in the image of his Creator. "12 The natural law provides revealed law and grace with a foundation prepared by God and in accordance with the work of the Spirit. St. Thomas Aquinas, STh I-II,90,1. The term "natural law" is sometimes misunderstood. It always rises again in the life of individuals and societies: 1959 The natural law, the Creator's very good work, provides the solid foundation on which man can build the structure of moral rules to guide his choices. It finds expression above all in the Lord's Sermon on the Mount and uses the sacraments to communicate grace to us. Its principal precepts are expressed in the Decalogue. It … "Such an ordinance of reason is what one calls law."2. 23 Cf. These are stated and authenticated within the covenant of salvation. 4 Rom 10:4. Rom 10:4); only he teaches and bestows the justice of God. 19 Heb 8:8, 10; cf. 57,1:PL 36,673. ("Authority" means "right," not "might."). Natural law is God's preparation for revealed law. Like a tutor15 it shows what must be done, but does not of itself give the strength, the grace of the Spirit, to fulfill it. 1954 Man participates in the wisdom and goodness of the Creator who gives him mastery over his acts and the ability to govern himself with a view to the true and the good. It is no accident that these seven commandments coincide with the three major “precepts” that St. Thomas Aquinas elaborates in the natural law: 1) The duty of self-preservation, which we extend to others as the right of self-preservation, coincides with the commands to avoid stealing, killing, or envying the possessions of others. Rom 5:5. 31 Jn 15:15; cf. The canon law of the Catholic Church requires that clerics "observe perfect and perpetual continence for the sake of the kingdom of heaven". Rom 7:12,14,16. [God] does not want each person to keep all the counsels, but only those appropriate to the diversity of persons, times, opportunities, and strengths, as charity requires; for it is charity, as queen of all virtues, all commandments, all counsels, and, in short, of all laws and all Christian actions that gives to all of them their rank, order, time, and value. The Catholic Church teaches that such acts are always violations of divine and natural law." Tertullian, Adv. The precepts of the Decalogue lay the foundations for the vocation of man fashioned in the image of God; they prohibit what is contrary to the love of God and neighbor and prescribe what is essential to it. . Marc, 2,4:PL 2,288-289. in Ps. ... Divorce is a grave offense against the natural law. all the precepts needed to shape one's life. It is in conformity with nature, is diffused among all men, and is immutable and eternal; its orders summon to duty; its prohibitions turn away from offense . 15 Cf. "Homosexual desires, however, are not in themselves sinful. The natural law states the first and essential precepts which govern the moral life. Mt 15:18-19. . "The Church's holiness is fostered in a special way by the manifold counsels which the Lord proposes to his disciples in the Gospel" (LG 42 § 2). Some of them are utterly false—for instance, that of Bentham, who made the pursuit of utility or temporal pleasure the foundation of the moral code, and that of Fichte, who taught that the supreme obligation is to love self above everything and all others on account of self. 29 This catechesis also teaches us to deal with cases of conscience in the light of our relationship to Christ and to the Church. It was envisioned as a document which the faithful can turn to if they are in doubt whether the Church teaches something, and whether Catholics must therefore believe it, as well. 11 St. Augustine, Conf. 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