474. What duty do we have toward our body?
(Comp 474) We must take reasonable care of our own physical health and that of
others but avoid the cult of the body and every kind of excess. Also to be
avoided are the use of drugs which cause very serious damage to human health
and life, as well as the abuse of food, alcohol, tobacco and medicine.
“In brief”
(CCC 2318) "In [God's] hand
is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind" (Job
12:10). (CCC 2319) Every human life, from the
moment of conception until death, is sacred because the human person has been
willed for its own sake in the image and likeness of the living and holy God.
To deepen and
explain
(CCC 2288) Life and physical health are precious gifts
entrusted to us by God. We must take reasonable care of them, taking into
account the needs of others and the common good. Concern for the health of its citizens requires that society help
in the attainment of living-conditions that allow them to grow and reach
maturity: food and clothing, housing, health care, basic education, employment,
and social assistance. (CCC 2289) If morality requires respect for the life of
the body, it does not make it an absolute value. It rejects a neo-pagan notion
that tends to promote the cult of the
body, to sacrifice everything for it's sake, to idolize physical perfection
and success at sports. By its selective preference of the strong over the weak,
such a conception can lead to the perversion of human relationships.
Reflection
(CCC 2290) The virtue of temperance disposes us to avoid every kind of excess: the abuse of
food, alcohol, tobacco, or medicine. Those incur grave guilt who, by
drunkenness or a love of speed, endanger their own and others' safety on the
road, at sea, or in the air. (CCC 2291) The use
of drugs inflicts very grave damage on human health and life. Their use,
except on strictly therapeutic grounds, is a grave offense. Clandestine
production of and trafficking in drugs are scandalous practices. They
constitute direct co-operation in evil, since they encourage people to
practices gravely contrary to the moral law.
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