Saturday, April 13, 2013
465. When is a citizen forbidden to obey civil authorities?
(Comp 465) A citizen is obliged in conscience not to obey the laws of civil
authorities when they are contrary to the demands of the moral order: “We must
obey God rather than men” (Acts of the Apostles 5:29).
“In brief”
(CCC 2257) Every society's
judgments and conduct reflect a vision of man and his destiny. Without the
light the Gospel sheds on God and man, societies easily become totalitarian. (CCC
2256) Citizens are obliged in conscience not to
follow the directives of civil authorities when they are contrary to the
demands of the moral order. "We must obey God rather than men" (Acts
5:29).
To deepen and
explain
(CCC 2242) The citizen is obliged in conscience not to
follow the directives of civil authorities when they are contrary to the
demands of the moral order, to the fundamental rights of persons or the
teachings of the Gospel. Refusing
obedience to civil authorities, when their demands are contrary to those of
an upright conscience, finds its justification in the distinction between
serving God and serving the political community. "Render therefore to
Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's"
(Mt 22:21). "We must obey God rather than men" (Acts 5:29): When citizens
are under the oppression of a public authority which oversteps its competence,
they should still not refuse to give or to do what is objectively demanded of
them by the common good; but it is legitimate for them to defend their own
rights and those of their fellow citizens against the abuse of this authority
within the limits of the natural law and the Law of the Gospel (GS 74 § 5). (CCC
2243) Armed resistance to oppression
by political authority is not legitimate, unless all the following conditions
are met: 1) there is certain, grave, and prolonged violation of fundamental
rights; 2) all other means of redress have been exhausted; 3) such resistance
will not provoke worse disorders; 4) there is well-founded hope of success; and
5) it is impossible reasonably to foresee any better solution.
Reflection
(CCC 450) From the beginning of Christian history, the
assertion of Christ's lordship over the world and over history has implicitly
recognized that man should not submit his personal freedom in an absolute
manner to any earthly power, but only to God the Father and the Lord Jesus
Christ: Caesar is not "the Lord" (Cf. Rev 11:15; Mk 12:17;
Acts 5:29). "The Church… believes that the key, the centre and the
purpose of the whole of man's history is to be found in its Lord and
Master" (GS 10 § 3; cf. 45 § 2). (CCC 1903) Authority is exercised
legitimately only when it seeks the common good of the group concerned and if
it employs morally licit means to attain it. If rulers were to enact unjust
laws or take measures contrary to the moral order, such arrangements would not
be binding in conscience. In such a case, "authority breaks down
completely and results in shameful abuse" (John XXIII PT 51).
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