John 19, 8-16 + CSDC and CV

John 19, 8-16 + CSDC and CV 

CV 14 c. The idea of a world without development indicates a lack of trust in man and in God. It is therefore a serious mistake to undervalue human capacity to exercise control over the deviations of development or to overlook the fact that man is constitutionally oriented towards “being more”. Idealizing technical progress, or contemplating the utopia of a return to humanity's original natural state, are two contrasting ways of detaching progress from its moral evaluation and hence from our responsibility.

Terrorism is to be condemned in the most absolute terms  

CSDC 514 a. Terrorism is to be condemned in the most absolute terms. It shows complete contempt for human life and can never be justified, since the human person is always an end and never a means. Acts of terrorism strike at the heart of human dignity and are an offence against all humanity; “there exists, therefore, a right to defend oneself from terrorism”.[1081] However, this right cannot be exercised in the absence of moral and legal norms, because the struggle against terrorists must be carried out with respect for human rights and for the principles of a State ruled by law.[1082] The identification of the guilty party must be duly proven, because criminal responsibility is always personal, and therefore cannot be extended to the religions, nations or ethnic groups to which the terrorists belong.

Notes: [1081] John Paul II, Message for the 2002 World Day of Peace, 5: AAS 94 (2002), 134. [1082] Cf. John Paul II, Message for the 2004 World Day of Peace, 8: AAS 96 (2004), 119.

(John 19, 8-16) If you release him, you are not a Friend of Caesar  

[8] Now when Pilate heard this statement, he became even more afraid, [9] and went back into the praetorium and said to Jesus, "Where are you from?" Jesus did not answer him. [10] So Pilate said to him, "Do you not speak to me? Do you not know that I have power to release you and I have power to crucify you?" [11] Jesus answered (him), "You would have no power over me if it had not been given to you from above. For this reason the one who handed me over to you has the greater sin." [12] Consequently, Pilate tried to release him; but the Jews cried out, "If you release him, you are not a Friend of Caesar. Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar." [13] When Pilate heard these words he brought Jesus out and seated him on the judge's bench in the place called Stone Pavement, in Hebrew, Gabbatha. [14] It was preparation day for Passover, and it was about noon. And he said to the Jews, "Behold, your king!" [15] They cried out, "Take him away, take him away! Crucify him!" Pilate said to them, "Shall I crucify your king?" The chief priests answered, "We have no king but Caesar." [16] Then he handed him over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus, 

CSDC 397. Authority must recognize, respect and promote essential human and moral values. These are innate and “flow from the very truth of the human being and express and safeguard the dignity of the person; values which no individual, no majority and no State can ever create, modify or destroy”.[812] These values do not have their foundation in provisional and changeable “majority” opinions, but must simply be recognized, respected and promoted as elements of an objective moral law, the natural law written in the human heart (cf. Rom 2:15), and as the normative point of reference for civil law itself.[813] If, as a result of the tragic clouding of the collective conscience, scepticism were to succeed in casting doubt on the basic principles of the moral law,[814] the legal structure of the State itself would be shaken to its very foundations, being reduced to nothing more than a mechanism for the pragmatic regulation of different and opposing interests.[815]

Notes: [812] John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Evangelium Vitae, 71: AAS 87 (1995), 483. [813] Cf. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Evangelium Vitae, 70: AAS 87 (1995), 481- 483; John XXIII, Encyclical Letter Pacem in Terris: AAS 55 (1963), 258-259, 279-280. [814] Cf. Pius XII, Encyclical Letter Summi Pontificatus: AAS 31 (1939), 423. [815] Cf. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Evangelium Vitae, 70: AAS 87 (1995), 481- 483; John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Veritatis Splendor, 97, 99: AAS 85 (1993), 1209- 1211; Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Doctrinal Note on Some Questions Regarding the Participation of Catholics in Political Life (24 November 2002), 5-6, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Vatican City 2002, pp. 11-14.

[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)]