Catechism of the Catholic Church: Article 5:The Fifth Commandment
In Brief
2318"In [God's] hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind" (Job 12:10).
2319Every human life, from the moment of conception until death, is sacred because the human person has been willed for its own sake in the image and likeness of the living and holy God.
2320The murder of a human being is gravely contrary to the dignity of the person and the holiness of the Creator.
2321The prohibition of murder does not abrogate the right to render an unjust aggressor unable to inflict harm. Legitimate defense is a grave duty for whoever is responsible for the lives of others or the common good.
2322From its conception, the child has the right to life. Direct abortion, that is, abortion willed as an end or as a means, is a "criminal" practice (GS 27 § 3), gravely contrary to the moral law. The Church imposes the canonical penalty of excommunication for this crime against human life.
2323Because it should be treated as a person from conception, the embryo must be defended in its integrity, cared for, and healed like every other human being.
2324Intentional euthanasia, whatever its forms or motives, is murder. It is gravely contrary to the dignity of the human person and to the respect due to the living God, his Creator.
2325Suicide is seriously contrary to justice, hope, and charity. It is forbidden by the fifth commandment.
2326Scandal is a grave offense when by deed or omission it deliberately leads others to sin gravely.
2327Because of the evils and injustices that all war brings with it, we must do everything reasonably possible to avoid it. The Church prays: "From famine, pestilence, and war, O Lord, deliver us."
2328The Church and human reason assert the permanent validity of the moral law during armed conflicts. Practices deliberately contrary to the law of nations and to its universal principles are crimes.
2329"The arms race is one of the greatest curses on the human race and the harm it inflicts on the poor is more than can be endured" (GS 81 § 3).
2330"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God" (Mt 5:9).
Notes
54 Ex 20:13; Cf. Deut 5:17.
55 Mt 5:21-22.
56 CDF, instruction, Donum vitae, intro. 5.
57 Cf. Gen 4:8-12.
58 Gen 4:10-11.
59 Gen 9:5-6.
60 Cf. Lev 17:14.
61 Ex 23:7.
62 Mt 5:21.
63 Cf. Mt 5:22-39; 5:44.
64 Cf. Mt 26:52.
65 St. Thomas Aquinas, STh II-II,64,7, corp. art.
66 St. Thomas Aquinas, STh II-II,64,7, corp. art.
67 Cf. Lk 23:40-43.
68 FRANCIS, Address to Participants in the Meeting organized by the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization, 11 October 2017: L’Osservatore Romano, 13 October 2017, 5.
69 Cf. Gen 4:10.
70 Cf. GS 51 § 3.
71 Cf. Am 8:4-10.
72 Cf. CDF, Donum vitae I,1.
73 Jer 1:5; cf. Job 10:8-12; Ps 22:10-11.
74 Ps 139:15.
75 Didache 2,2:SCh 248,148; cf. Ep. Barnabae 19,5:PG 2 777; Ad Diognetum 5,6:PG 2,1173; Tertullian, Apol. 9:PL 1,319-320.
76 GS 51 § 3.
77 CIC, can. 1398.
78 CIC, can. 1314.
79 Cf. CIC, cann. 1323-1324.
80 CDF, Donum vitae III.
81 CDF, Donum vitae III.
82 CDF, Donum vitae I,2.
83 CDF, Donum vitae I,3.
84 CDF, Donum vitae I,5.
85 CDF, Donum vitae I,6.
86 Mt 18:6; cf. 1 Cor 8:10-13.
87 Cf. Mt 7:15.
88 Pius XII, Discourse, June 1, 1941.
89 Cf. Eph 6:4; Col 3:21.
90 Lk 17:1.
91 Cf. DS 3722.
92 Cf. Tob 1:16-18.
93 Cf. CIC, can. 1176 § 3.
94 Mt 5:21.
95 St. Thomas Aquinas, STh II-II,158,1 ad 3.
96 Mt 5:22.
97 Mt 5:44-45.
98 St. Augustine, De civ. Dei, 19,13,1:PL 41,640.
99 Cf. Isa 32:17; cf. GS 78 §§ 1-2.
100 Isa 9:5.
101 Eph 2:16 J.B.; cf. Col 1:20-22.
102 Eph 2:14.
103 Mt 5:9.
104 Cf. GS 78 § 5.
105 Cf. GS 81 § 4.
106 GS 79 § 4.
107 Cf. GS 79 § 5.
108 Cf. GS 79 § 3.
109 GS 79 § 4.
110 GS 80 § 3.
111 Cf. Paul VI, PP 53.
112 GS 78 § 6; cf. Isa 2:4.