Youcat commented through CCC – Question n. 400 – Part II.

YOUCAT Question n. 400 – Part II. What does it mean to say that man is a sexual being?

(Youcat answer - repeated) God created man as male and female. He created them for each other and for love. He created them with erotic desires and the ability to experience physical pleasure. He created them to transmit life.    

A deepening through CCC

(CCC 2392) "Love is the fundamental and innate vocation of every human being" (FC 11). (CCC 2333) Everyone, man and woman, should acknowledge and accept his sexual identity. Physical, moral, and spiritual difference and complementarity are oriented toward the goods of marriage and the flourishing of family life. The harmony of the couple and of society depends in part on the way in which the complementarity, needs, and mutual support between the sexes are lived out.    

Reflecting and meditating 

(Youcat comment) Being a man or being a woman is very deeply imprinted on the individual human person; it is a different way of feeling, a different way of loving, a different calling with respect to children, another way of believing. Because he intended that they should be there for each other and complement one another in love, God made man and woman different. That is why man and woman attract each other sexually and intellectually. When a husband and wife express their love for each other in bodily union, their love finds its deepest sensual expression. Just as God is creative in his love, so too man can be creative in love and give life to children.     

(CCC Comment)

(CCC 2335) Each of the two sexes is an image of the power and tenderness of God, with equal dignity though in a different way. the union of man and woman in marriage is a way of imitating in the flesh the Creator's generosity and fecundity: "Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh." All human generations proceed from this union.(Cf.  Gen 4:1-2, 25-26;  5:1). (CCC 2334) "In creating men 'male and female,' God gives man and woman an equal personal dignity" (FC 22; Cf. GS 49 § 2). "Man is a person, man and woman equally so, since both were created in the image and likeness of the personal God" (MD 6).    

(The next question is:  Is there a priority of one sex over the other?)

Youcat commented through CCC – Question n. 400 – Part I.

YOUCAT Question n. 400 – Part I. What does it mean to say that man is a sexual being?

(Youcat answer) God created man as male and female. He created them for each other and for love. He created them with erotic desires and the ability to experience physical pleasure. He created them to transmit life.     

A deepening through CCC

(CCC 2392) "Love is the fundamental and innate vocation of every human being" (FC 11).     

Reflecting and meditating 

(Youcat comment) Being a man or being a woman is very deeply imprinted on the individual human person; it is a different way of feeling, a different way of loving, a different calling with respect to children, another way of believing. Because he intended that they should be there for each other and complement one another in love, God made man and woman different. That is why man and woman attract each other sexually and intellectually. When a husband and wife express their love for each other in bodily union, their love finds its deepest sensual expression. Just as God is creative in his love, so too man can be creative in love and give life to children.     

(CCC Comment)

(CCC 2332) Sexuality affects all aspects of the human person in the unity of his body and soul. It especially concerns affectivity, the capacity to love and to procreate, and in a more general way the aptitude for forming bonds of communion with others. (CCC 2335) Each of the two sexes is an image of the power and tenderness of God, with equal dignity though in a different way. the union of man and woman in marriage is a way of imitating in the flesh the Creator's generosity and fecundity: "Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh." All human generations proceed from this union.(Cf.  Gen 4:1-2, 25-26;  5:1)

(This question: What does it mean to say that man is a sexual being? is continued)

Youcat commented through CCC – Question n. 399.

YOUCAT Question n. 399 - When is the use of military force allowed?

(Youcat answer) The use of military force is possible only in an extreme emergency. There are several criteria for a “just war”: (1) Authorization by the competent authority; (2) a just cause; (3) a just purpose; (4) war must be the last resort; (5) the methods used must be proportionate; (6) there must be a prospect of success.     

A deepening through CCC

(CCC 2309) The strict conditions for legitimate defense by military force require rigorous consideration. The gravity of such a decision makes it subject to rigorous conditions of moral legitimacy. At one and the same time: - the damage inflicted by the aggressor on the nation or community of nations must be lasting, grave, and certain; - all other means of putting an end to it must have been shown to be impractical or ineffective; - there must be serious prospects of success; - the use of arms must not produce evils and disorders graver than the evil to be eliminated. The power of modem means of destruction weighs very heavily in evaluating this condition. These are the traditional elements enumerated in what is called the "just war" doctrine. The evaluation of these conditions for moral legitimacy belongs to the prudential judgment of those who have responsibility for the common good.    

Reflecting and meditating 

(CCC Comment)

(CCC 2310) Public authorities, in this case, have the right and duty to impose on citizens the obligations necessary for national defense. Those who are sworn to serve their country in the armed forces are servants of the security and freedom of nations. If they carry out their duty honorably, they truly contribute to the common good of the nation and the maintenance of peace (Cf. GS 79 § 5).     

 
(The next question is: What does it mean to say that man is a sexual being?)

Youcat commented through CCC – Question n. 398.

YOUCAT Question n. 398 - Must Christians be pacifists?

(Youcat answer) The Church strives for peace but does not preach radical pacifism. Indeed, no one can deny either the individual citizen or particular governments and alliances the fundamental right of armed self-defense. War is morally justifiable only as a last resort.

A deepening through CCC

(CCC 2308) All citizens and all governments are obliged to work for the avoidance of war. However, "as long as the danger of war persists and there is no international authority with the necessary competence and power, governments cannot be denied the right of lawful self-defense, once all peace efforts have failed" (GS 79 § 4).     

Reflecting and meditating 

(Youcat comment) The Church unmistakably says No to war. Christians should do everything possible to avoid war before it starts: They oppose the stockpiling of arms and trafficking in weapons; they fight against racial, ethnic, and religious discrimination; they work to put an end to economic and social injustice and thus promote peace.   

(CCC Comment)

(CCC 2304) Respect for and development of human life require peace. Peace is not merely the absence of war, and it is not limited to maintaining a balance of powers between adversaries. Peace cannot be attained on earth without safeguarding the goods of persons, free communication among men, respect for the dignity of persons and peoples, and the assiduous practice of fraternity. Peace is "the tranquillity of order" (St. Augustine, De civ. Dei, 19, 13, 1: PL 41, 640). Peace is the work of justice and the effect of charity  (Cf. Isa 32:17; cf. GS 78  §§ 1-2).    

(The next question is: When is the use of military force allowed?)

Youcat commented through CCC – Question n. 397.

YOUCAT Question n. 397 - What does Jesus think about nonviolence?

(Youcat answer) Jesus places a high value on nonviolent action. He commands his disciples: “Do not resist one who is evil. But if any one strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also” (Mt 5:39).    

A deepening through CCC

(CCC 2305) Earthly peace is the image and fruit of the peace of Christ, the messianic "Prince of Peace" (Isa 9:5). By the blood of his Cross, "in his own person he killed the hostility" (Eph 2:16 J.B.; cf. Col 1:20-22), he reconciled men with God and made his Church the sacrament of the unity of the human race and of its union with God. "He is our peace" (Eph 2:14). He has declared: "Blessed are the peacemakers" (Mt 5:9).    

Reflecting and meditating 

(Youcat comment) He rebukes Peter, who wants to defend him with force: “Put your sword into its sheath” (Jn 18:11). Jesus does not call his disciples to take up weapons. He remains silent before Pilate. His way is to take the part of the victims, to go to the Cross, to redeem the world through love, and to call the peacemakers blessed. Therefore the Church, too, respects people who for reasons of conscience refuse to be part of the armed services but place themselves at the service of society in some other way.    

(CCC Comment)

(CCC 2304) Respect for and development of human life require peace. Peace is not merely the absence of war, and it is not limited to maintaining a balance of powers between adversaries. Peace cannot be attained on earth without safeguarding the goods of persons, free communication among men, respect for the dignity of persons and peoples, and the assiduous practice of fraternity. Peace is "the tranquillity of order" (St. Augustine, De civ. Dei, 19, 13, 1: PL 41, 640). Peace is the work of justice and the effect of charity  (Cf. Isa 32:17; cf. GS 78  §§ 1-2).   

(The next question is: Must Christians be pacifists?)