477. What practices are contrary to respect for the bodily integrity of the human person?
(Comp 477) 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.
“In brief”
(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 2297) Kidnapping
and hostage taking bring on a reign
of terror; by means of threats they subject their victims to intolerable
pressures. They are morally wrong. Terrorism
threatens, wounds, and kills indiscriminately; it is gravely against justice
and charity. Torture which uses
physical or moral violence to extract confessions, punish the guilty, frighten
opponents, or satisfy hatred is contrary to respect for the person and for
human dignity. Except when performed for strictly therapeutic medical reasons,
directly intended amputations,
mutilations, and sterilizations
performed on innocent persons are against the moral law (Cf. DS 3722).
Reflection
(CCC 2298) In times past, cruel practices were commonly used
by legitimate governments to maintain law and order, often without protest from
the Pastors of the Church, who themselves adopted in their own tribunals the
prescriptions of Roman law concerning torture. Regrettable as these facts are,
the Church always taught the duty of clemency and mercy. She forbade clerics to
shed blood. In recent times it has become evident that these cruel practices
were neither necessary for public order, nor in conformity with the legitimate
rights of the human person. On the contrary, these practices led to ones even
more degrading. It is necessary to work for their abolition. We must pray for
the victims and their tormentors.
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