Luke 13, 22-30
+ CSDC and CV
CV 44b.
The Church, in her concern for man's authentic development, urges him to have
full respect for human values in the exercise of his sexuality. It cannot be
reduced merely to pleasure or entertainment, nor can sex education be reduced to
technical instruction aimed solely at protecting the interested parties from
possible disease or the “risk” of procreation. This would be to impoverish and
disregard the deeper meaning of sexuality, a meaning which needs to be
acknowledged and responsibly appropriated not only by individuals but also by
the community. It is irresponsible to view sexuality merely as a source of
pleasure, and likewise to regulate it through strategies of mandatory birth
control. In either case materialistic ideas and policies are at work, and
individuals are ultimately subjected to various forms of violence.
The judgment concerning
the interval of time between births and the number of children
CSDC 234. The judgment concerning the interval of time
between births, and that regarding the number of children, belongs to the
spouses alone. This
is one of their inalienable rights, to be exercised before God with due
consideration of their obligations towards themselves, their children already
born, the family and society[528]. The intervention of public authorities
within the limits of their competence to provide information and enact suitable
measures in the area of demographics must be made in a way that fully respects
the persons and the freedom of the couple. Such intervention may never become a
substitute for their decisions[529]. All the more must various organizations
active in this area refrain from doing the same. All programmes of economic
assistance aimed at financing campaigns of sterilization and contraception, as
well as the subordination of economic assistance to such campaigns, are to be
morally condemned as affronts to the dignity of the person and the family.
The answer to questions connected with population growth must instead by sought
in simultaneous respect both of sexual morals and of social ethics, promoting
greater justice and authentic solidarity so that dignity is given to life in
all circumstances, starting with economic, social and cultural conditions.
Notes: [528] Cf. Second Vatican
Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, 50: AAS 58
(1966), 1070-1072; Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2368; Paul VI,
Encyclical Letter Populorum Progressio, 37: AAS 59 (1967),
275-276. [529] Cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2372.
(Lk 13, 22-30) Some are last who will be first, and some
are first who will be last
22 He passed through towns and villages,
teaching as he went and making his way to Jerusalem. 23 Someone asked him,
"Lord, will only a few people be saved?" He answered them, 24
"Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I tell you, will
attempt to enter but will not be strong enough. 25 After the master of the
house has arisen and locked the door, then will you stand outside knocking and
saying, 'Lord, open the door for us.' He will say to you in reply, 'I do not
know where you are from.' 26 And you will say, 'We ate and drank in your
company and you taught in our streets.' 27 Then he will say to you, 'I do not
know where (you) are from. Depart from me, all you evildoers!' 28 And there
will be wailing and grinding of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
and all the prophets in the kingdom of God and you yourselves cast out. 29 And
people will come from the east and the west and from the north and the south
and will recline at table in the kingdom of God. 30 For behold, some are last
who will be first, and some are first who will be last."
CSDC 411. Among the deformities of the
democratic system, political corruption is one of the most serious [843] because it betrays at one and the same time both moral
principles and the norms of social justice. It compromises the correct
functioning of the State, having a negative influence on the relationship
between those who govern and the governed. It causes a growing distrust with
respect to public institutions, bringing about a progressive disaffection in
the citizens with regard to politics and its representatives, with a resulting
weakening of institutions. Corruption radically distorts the role of
representative institutions, because they become an arena for political
bartering between clients' requests and governmental services. In this way
political choices favour the narrow objectives of those who possess the means
to influence these choices and are an obstacle to bringing about the common
good of all citizens. CSDC 412. As an instrument of the State, public
administration at any level — national, regional, community — is oriented
towards the service of citizens: “Being at the service of its citizens, the
State is the steward of the people's resources, which it must administer with a
view to the common good”.[844] Excessive bureaucratization is contrary to this
vision and arises when “institutions become complex in their organization and
pretend to manage every area at hand. In the end they lose their effectiveness
as a result of an impersonal functionalism, an overgrown bureaucracy, unjust
private interests and an all-too-easy and generalized disengagement from a
sense of duty”.[845] The role of those working in public administration is not
to be conceived as impersonal or bureaucratic, but rather as an act of generous
assistance for citizens, undertaken with a spirit of service.
Notes: [843] Cf. John Paul
II, Encyclical Letter Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, 44: AAS 80
(1988), 575-577; John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Centesimus Annus, 48: AAS
83 (1991), 852-854; John Paul II, Message for the 1999 World Day of Peace, 6: AAS
91 (1991), 381-382; [844] John Paul II, Message
for the 1998 World Day of Peace, 5: AAS 90 (1998), 152. [845] John
Paul II, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Christifideles Laici, 41:
AAS 81 (1989), 471-472.
[Initials and Abbreviations.- CSDC: Pontifical Council for
Justice And Peace, Compendium
of the Social Doctrine of the Church; - SDC:
Social Doctrine of the Church; - CV: Benedict
XVI, Caritas in Veritate (Charity
in truth)]
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