401. In what does the social dimension of man consist?

401. In what does the social dimension of man consist?      

(Comp 401) Together with the personal call to beatitude, the human person has a communal dimension as an essential component of his nature and vocation. Indeed, all are called to the same end, God himself. There is a certain resemblance between the communion of the divine Persons and the fraternity that people are to establish among themselves in truth and love. Love of neighbor is inseparable from love for God.

“In brief”

(CCC 1890) There is a certain resemblance between the union of the divine persons and the fraternity that men ought to establish among themselves. (CCC 1891) The human person needs life in society in order to develop in accordance with his nature. Certain societies, such as the family and the state, correspond more directly to the nature of man. 

To deepen and explain

(CCC 1877) The vocation of humanity is to show forth the image of God and to be transformed into the image of the Father's only Son. This vocation takes a personal form since each of us is called to enter into the divine beatitude; it also concerns the human community as a whole. (CCC 1878) All men are called to the same end: God himself. There is a certain resemblance between the union of the divine persons and the fraternity that men are to establish among themselves in truth and love (Cf. GS 24 § 3). Love of neighbor is inseparable from love for God.  

Reflection

(CCC 1879) The human person needs to live in society. Society is not for him an extraneous addition but a requirement of his nature. Through the exchange with others, mutual service and dialogue with his brethren, man develops his potential; he thus responds to his vocation (Cf. GS 25 § 1). (CCC 1880) A society is a group of persons bound together organically by a principle of unity that goes beyond each one of them. As an assembly that is at once visible and spiritual, a society endures through time: it gathers up the past and prepares for the future. By means of society, each man is established as an "heir" and receives certain "talents" that enrich his identity and whose fruits he must develop (Cf. Lk 19:13, 15). He rightly owes loyalty to the communities of which he is part and respect to those in authority who have charge of the common good.  

(Next question: What is the relationship between the person and society?)

400. What are structures of sin?

400. What are structures of sin?   

(Comp 400) Structures of sin are social situations or institutions that are contrary to the divine law. They are the expression and effect of personal sins.

“In brief”

(CCC 1869) Thus sin makes men accomplices of one another and causes concupiscence, violence, and injustice to reign among them. Sins give rise to social situations and institutions that are contrary to the divine goodness.. 

To deepen and explain

(CCC 1869) Thus sin makes men accomplices of one another and causes concupiscence, violence, and injustice to reign among them. Sins give rise to social situations and institutions that are contrary to the divine goodness. "Structures of sin" are the expression and effect of personal sins. They lead their victims to do evil in their turn. In an analogous sense, they constitute a "social sin" (John Paul II, RP 16). 

Reflection

(CCC 1887) The inversion of means and ends (Cf. CA 41), which results in giving the value of ultimate end to what is only a means for attaining it, or in viewing persons as mere means to that end, engenders unjust structures which "make Christian conduct in keeping with the commandments of the divine Law-giver difficult and almost impossible" (Pius XII, Address at Pentecost, June 1, 1941). (CCC 408) The consequences of original sin and of all men's personal sins put the world as a whole in the sinful condition aptly described in St. John's expression, "the sin of the world" (Jn 1:29). This expression can also refer to the negative influence exerted on people by communal situations and social structures that are the fruit of men's sins (Cf. John Paul II, RP 16).

(Next question: In what does the social dimension of man consist?) 

399. Do we have any responsibility for sins committed by others?

399. Do we have any responsibility for sins committed by others? 

(Comp 399) We do have such a responsibility when we culpably cooperate with them.

“In brief”

(CCC 1868) Sin is a personal act. Moreover, we have a responsibility for the sins committed by others when we cooperate in them. 

To deepen and explain

(CCC 1868) Sin is a personal act. Moreover, we have a responsibility for the sins committed by others when we cooperate in them: - by participating directly and voluntarily in them; - by ordering, advising, praising, or approving them; - by not disclosing or not hindering them when we have an obligation to do so; - by protecting evil-doers. 

Reflection

(CCC 1736) Every act directly willed is imputable to its author: Thus the Lord asked Eve after the sin in the garden: "What is this that you have done?" (Gen 3:13). He asked Cain the same question (Cf. Gen 4:10). The prophet Nathan questioned David in the same way after he committed adultery with the wife of Uriah and had him murdered (Cf. 2 Sam 12:7-15). An action can be indirectly voluntary when it results from negligence regarding something one should have known or done: for example, an accident arising from ignorance of traffic laws. 

(Next question: What are structures of sin?)

398. What are vices?

398. What are vices?   

(Comp 398) Vices are the opposite of virtues. They are perverse habits which darken the conscience and incline one to evil. The vices can be linked to the seven, so-called, capital sins which are: pride, avarice, envy, anger, lust, gluttony, and sloth or acedia.

“In brief”

(CCC 1876) The repetition of sins - even venial ones - engenders vices, among which are the capital sins. 

To deepen and explain

(CCC 1866) Vices can be classified according to the virtues they oppose, or also be linked to the capital sins which Christian experience has distinguished, following St. John Cassian and St. Gregory the Great. They are called "capital" because they engender other sins, other vices (Cf. St. Gregory the Great, Moralia in Job, 31, 45: PL 76, 621A). They are pride, avarice, envy, wrath, lust, gluttony, and sloth or acedia. 

Reflection

(CCC 1867) The catechetical tradition also recalls that there are "sins that cry to heaven": the blood of Abel  (Cf. Gen 4:10), the sin of the Sodomites (Cf. Gen 18:20; 19:13), the cry of the people oppressed in Egypt (Cf. Ex 3:7-10), the cry of the foreigner, the widow, and the orphan (Cf. Ex 20:20-22), injustice to the wage earner (Cf. Deut 24:14-15; Jas 5:4). 

(Next question: Do we have any responsibility for sins committed by others?)

397. How does sin proliferate?

397. How does sin proliferate?   

(Comp 397) Sin creates a proclivity to sin; it engenders vice by repetition of the same acts.

“In brief”

(CCC 1876) The repetition of sins - even venial ones - engenders vices, among which are the capital sins.

To deepen and explain

(CCC 1865) Sin creates a proclivity to sin; it engenders vice by repetition of the same acts. This results in perverse inclinations which cloud conscience and corrupt the concrete judgment of good and evil. Thus sin tends to reproduce itself and reinforce itself, but it cannot destroy the moral sense at its root.

Reflection

(CCC 401) After that first sin, the world is virtually inundated by sin. There is Cain's murder of his brother Abel and the universal corruption which follows in the wake of sin. Likewise, sin frequently manifests itself in the history of Israel, especially as infidelity to the God of the Covenant and as transgression of the Law of Moses. And even after Christ's atonement, sin raises its head in countless ways among Christians (cf. Gen 4:3-15; 6:5, 12; Rom 1:18-32; 1 Cor 1-6; Rev 2-3). Scripture and the Church's Tradition continually recall the presence and universality of sin in man's history: What Revelation makes known to us is confirmed by our own experience. For when man looks into his own heart he finds that he is drawn towards what is wrong and sunk in many evils which cannot come from his good creator. Often refusing to acknowledge God as his source, man has also upset the relationship which should link him to his last end; and at the same time he has broken the right order that should reign within himself as well as between himself and other men and all creatures (GS 13 § 1).

(Next question: What are vices?)