QUARTER 4, LESSON 1: VIOLATIONS OF THE DIGNITY OF HUMAN LIFE

ABORTION
- referred to as the termination of pregnancy.
- Considered as the deliberate and direct killing, by whatever means it is carried out (surgical or
chemical).
- Women who subject themselves to an abortion procedure do so for the following reasons:

1. pregnancy outside of marriage (whether through premarital or extramarital relations)

2. external pressure from the child’s father or the woman’s family
3. other priorities (the advancement of one’s career or education, maintaining one’s
figure)
4. poverty

SUBTANCE ABUSE
- adolescence is the period when the habits we carry to adulthood are formed. At this
stage, both good habits (virtues) and bad habits (vices) are developed.
- Like smoking, drinking alcohol, or even use prohibited drugs.
- The common reasons why adolescences try and became addicted:

1. The need to be accepted by peers who engage in such vices

2. The view of smoking, drinking, or taking drugs as a tabooed pleasure or a status
symbol indicating that one is an adult
3. Rebellion against parental authority
4. The desire for adventure or thrill-seeking
5. A way of coping with problems at home, in school, or with friends

SUICIDE
- Suicide is the willful taking of one’s own life and is contrary to the innate human drive to
survive and live.
- Suicide is considered a gravely immoral act

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
- Also called the death penalty
- Refers to society’s act of executing a person found guilty of committing a crime
considered as a threat to the welfare of society in general

EUTHANASIA
- An action or omission which of itself and by intention causes death, with the purpose of
eliminating all suffering
- Euthanasia has often been given other nicknames that are misleading. One such
euphemism is mercy-killing.
 - However, we are under no moral obligation to continue the use of extraordinary means
to preserve life of our loved ones who may be sick or dying. These are the following
examples of these extraordinary means:

1. Medication or procedure that offer no or little hope of improving the condition of the
patient.
2. Instruments or methods that cause unnecessary pain or difficulty for the patient
3. Overly expensive means
4. Treatments or procedures that have more negative side-effects than good effects

THE SACRAMENTS OF THE ANOINTING OF THE SICK

• JESUS CHRIST, THE SACRAMENT OF GOD’S HEALING

- During His earthly ministry, Jesus reached out especially to heal and care for the sick.
- Christ Himself is the sacrament of God’s healing. He came to us in fully, body, and spirit.
Christ fulfilled what the prophet Isaiah proclaimed: He took away our infirmities and
bore our diseases. (Is 53:4; Mt. 8:17)

• THE HEALING CHURCH, THE SACRAMENT OF CHRIST’S HEALING

- In the early Christian community, Christ’s ministry of healing and consoling the sick was
continued by the presbyters or elderly of the early Church in the letters of St. James
(5:14-15)
- The Sacrament of Anointing is primarily intended to strengthen those who are suffering
from serious illness.

• THE SACRAMENT OF ANOINTING: AN EMPOWERING SACRAMENT

- A person who receives the sacrament may be restored to physical, if it will be for the
benefit of the person’s salvation.

BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS (MT. 5:9)

- One major threat to the dignity of human life today is violence. Every day, we hear
about incidents of bullying, hazing, kidnapping, and different harmful activities. To value
human life as a follower of Christ is to reject violence and work for peace.

QUARTER 4, LESSON 2: INTEGRATING ONESELF: THE VIRTUE OF CHASTITY

HUMAN SEXUALITY
- Human Sexuality is God’s gift to us. We are created according to God’s image precisely
as male and female. Our sexuality is good and beautiful gift from God.

BIOLOGICICAL OR PHYSICAL
 - Ex. Girls seem to mature earlier than boys, while men tend to be physically stronger
than women.

PSYCHO-EMOTIONAL AND SPRITUAL

- Ex. Men tend to be more competitive than women, while women tend to be more
nurturing and protective.

THE GIFT OF HUMAN SEXUALITY

- Our sexuality refers to everything about our being human that makes us either male or
female.
- It is a fundamental part of our being human and one of God’s many gifts to us. In
Genesis, we read: God created man in His image and likeness. Male and female He
created them (Genesis 1:27)

SEXUALITY IS A GIFT FROM GOD (CCC 2333)

- We see how our sexuality promotes the good of marriage and the family by reflecting to
the roles of the parents and their children.
- Our sexuality touches every aspect of our being human, it means so much than the
sexual act. The words sex doesn’t simply refer to a specific act, or our doing, but also our
dignity as a person, our being.

THE VIRTUE OF CHASTITY

- It refers to the wholesome integration of our sexuality within us. This integration
involves the use of all our sexual faculties and talents in responding to the call, built into
our nature by God’s creation, to become truly loving person in the community.

THE OLD TESTAMENT

- The virtue of chastity is upheld and protect by two Commandments: 6th commandment ,
You shall not commit adultery(Ex. 20: 1, Dt. 5:18). 9th Commandment, You shall not
covet your neighbor’s wife (Ex. 20:17).

THE NEW TESTAMENT

- Christ protects the virtue of chastity by preaching, Blessed are the clean of heart, for
they will see God (Mt. 5:8)
- Jesus teaches us that those who strive to live chaste lives will experience the great
reward of personally seeing God in perfect joy and freedom.
OBSTACLES TO GROWING IN CHASTITY
- MASTURBATION
- PREMARITAL SEX
- ARTIFICIAL CONTRECEPTION
- PORNOGRAPHY
- PROSTITUTION
- HOMOSEXUAL ACTS

MASTURBATION
- The act of arousing oneself by touching ones sexual organs or other similar means, is an
obstacle to chastity that confronts many teenagers.

PREMARTIAL SEX
- Another impediment to growing in chastity is premarital sex. It also called fornication or
entering into sexual union of outside marriage.
- The Catholic Church has always taught that the sexual act is God’s gift and sexual union
finds its fullest meaning only in the service of conjugal love and the transmission of life.
- God gave us the ability to enter into sexual union for two reasons:
1. To express conjugal love (the unitive purpose)
2. To generate offspring (the procreative purpose)

THE USE OF ARTIFICIAL CONTRACEPTION

- The word contraception and family planning have been used by some people
interchangeable.
- Contraception refers to artificial methods or techniques that prevent pregnancy .
- Family planning is broader and refers to the notion of spacing the births within a family.
- The Catholic Church is against contraception but not family planning.

REASONS WHY THE CHURCH FIRMS AGAINST ARTIFICIAL FORMS OF CONTRACEPTION

- One of the church’s teachings on sexual matters is the twofold purpose of the sexual
act. This means that the sexual union of a married couple:
(a) Must always be an expression of their conjugal love
(b) Must be open to the possible transmission of life

- Some forms of artificial contraception (e.g., IUDS or intrauterine devices, some birth-
control pills, RU-486) do not prevent conception but acts as abortifacients.

PORNOGRAPHY AND PROSTITUTION

- Pornography refers to any material (e.g. pictures, periodicals, films, and websites).
- Prostitution is engaging in the sexual act for money

HOMOSEXUAL ACTS
- Homosexual orientation refer to the sexual attraction toward member of the same sex.
 - Homosexual act refers to having sexual relations with another person of the same sex.

QUARTER 4, LESSON 3: RESPECTING TRUTH

TRUTH
- As Christians, God call us to, walk the light. (1 Jn. 1:7) by following Jesus Christ, who is in
the way, the truth and the life (Jn. 14:6)

LEVELS OF TRUTH
- Upholding the truth involves so much more than just not lying or merely telling the
truth. Valuing truth involves our whole selves, thoughts, words, and actions.
- First, we uphold the truth when our thoughts correspond to the reality we experience
and are not in error (CFC 1218).
Ex. Studying well and knowing more about our experiences, were we can grasp of reality
and are empowered to solve everyday problems and situations.
- Second, we uphold the truth in our words when we express in all honesty what we think
and do not lie (CFC 1218). It is simply because honesty is not just proclamation of some
cold, abstract truth but is an expression of our basic respect for dignity of all persons.
- Lastly, we value truth in our actions when what we do correspond to our thoughts and
words, when we are not hypocrites who say one thing and do another (CFC 1218)
- As Christians, we acknowledge that God Himself is the source of truth. He is the source
of all the knowledge and wisdom, of truthfulness and honesty, of fortitude and moral
integrity.
- We are called to always live by the truth in our thoughts, our words, and our actions
because if we respond to that calling Christ will strengthen us with the Holy Spirit.

YOU SHALL NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS AGAINST YOUR NEIGHBOR (EX. 20:16; DT. 5:20)
- The eighth commandment upholds the value of trust not only by prohibiting the lying in
court but also by positively commanding us to respect the good name of others.
- God commanded us not to bear false witness against our neighbor , God, who desires
only our good, reminds us of our human obligation to stand against all perversions of
truth that can threaten that very foundation of a just and loving community (CFC 1221).

THE TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE (JN. 8:32)

- Jesus Christ reminds us of liberating power of truth (CFC 1226). Through His own life and
ministry, we understand how respecting the truth frees us from sin and self-
centeredness and allow us to freely love God and others.

QUARTER 4, LESSON 4: OBSTACLES IN RESPECTING TRUTH

 - The obstacles arise from a false, individualistic notion of freedom as doing what ones
want as well as a distorted understanding of truth itself.

OBSTACLES TO RESPECTING THE TRUTH

- DIRECT VIOLATIONS OF TRUTH
- GOSSIPING AND BACKBITING
- NAME-CALLING, TEASING, VERBAL ABUSE
- NEGATIVE VALUES PRESENTED BY THE MEDIA

DIRECT VIOLATIONS OF TRUTH

- Lying is a direct violation of the eighth commandment. A person who lies under oath
before a court of law is guilty of perjury, a serious offense because the very life and
freedom of the accused are put in jeopardy.
- Slander or Calumny means speak falsely against someone with the goal of destroying
that person’s name.
- Detraction means to speak out publicly what is actually true but is unnecessarily
destructive of a person’s good name and reputation.

GOSSIPING AND BACKBITING

- Gossiping and backbiting whether about something true or untrue, whether one begins
it or merely entertains it- corrodes the foundation of trust and respect in any
community because of its prejudiced, one-sided disclosure of reality and the covert
manner by which is done.

CHRIST’S TEACHING
- Jesus Christ teaches us that members of His Body, the Church, we are responsible for
helping erring members of our community in a manner that is consistent, direct, and
loving (Mt. 18: 15-17)

NAME CALLING, TEASING, VERBAL ABUSE

- Name calling and teasing clearly violate the human dignity because they disrespectfully
focus on certain traits or weakness of people.
- Adults who were victims of such form of verbal abusing as children have had to bear
lifelong psychological scars.

NEGATIVE VALUES PRESENTED BY THE MEDIA

- Media is a powerful too both educational and for the formation of values. However,
despite many benefits of the media, it has been source of negative values.
- Negative values: promiscuity, violence, consumerism, commercialism- which indirectly
distort the truth about human sexuality, the dignity and sanctity of human life, and the
importance of solidarity and justice.

THE TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE (JOHN 14:6)

 - Christ, who Himself said, I am … the truth (John 14:6), calls us to follow His own
openness and respect for the truth in thoughts, words, and deeds that lead to true
freedom.

QUARTER 4, LESSON 5: OPENING UP TO THE CALL OF JUSTICE

JUSTICE
- Biblical reference to the word justice mean to make right
- Justice is, first and foremost, a relational term – people living in the right relationship
with God, one another, and the natural creation.

TWO ATTITUDES: OBSTACLES IN ACTING JUSTLY

- ME-FIRST-ATTITUDE
- ATTITUDE OF INDIFFERENCE

ME-FIRST-ATTITUDE
- Self-centeredness denies the intrinsic dignity of others.

ATTITUDE OF INDIFFERENCE
- We fail to see some essential dimensions of Christian moral living.

OLD TESTAMENT
- 7th and 10th commandments
- The 7th and 10th commandments express our Christian obligation to promote justice.
- The 7th and 10th commandments forbid what’s not fair-stealing and having disordered
attachment to material possessions

7TH COMMANDMENT (YOU SHALL NOT STEAL)

- The 7th commandment protects our freedom to have what we need to live a truly
human life.
- In Egypt, people from Israelites were treated primarily as things or means of production
rather than as human persons.

2 TYPES OF THEFT
- THEFT FROM ABOVE
- THEFT FROM BELOW

THEFT FROM ABOVE

- Stealing on the part of those who already have a lot of material possessions.
THEFT FROM BELOW
- Stealing is done by those who do not have enough resources to fulfil their basic needs.

10TH COMMANDMENT (YOU SHALL NOT COVET YOUR NEIGHBOR’S HOUSE/PROPERTY)

- This commandment is more concerned with the roots of such actions. - the disordered
desires of the heart (CFC 1147)
- It reminds us the value of temperance and contentment.

NEW TESTAMENT SIGNIFICANCE

- Justice is at the heart of the Good News.
- Christ constantly warns us through His teachings against acts of stealing and unjust
craving material possessions.
- Christ has shown us that the 7th and 10th commandment are called to act in true
solidarity with and compassion

QUARTER 4, LESSON 6: THE VIRTUE OF JUSTICE AND THE CATHOLIC SOCIAL

TEACHINGS

JUSTICE
- It is a constant firm will to give persons due by the virtue of their dignity.
- Justice is giving people what is due to them as human persons.
- The basic things that we all need to live in a truly human way: food clothing, a decent
place to live, there respect of other members of the society and the like.
- We are obliged as relational beings to actively work with other members of our
community so that no one will go hungry, naked, unsheltered, or oppressed

PANANAGUTAN
- It captures the essence of what it means to act justly.
- It grounds the Christian call to justice on our nature as persons who are by, with, and for
others.
- It reminds us that our Christian obligation to share what we have and care for the least
of our brothers and sisters, it’s central to the Good News of Christ.

CATHOLIC SOCIAL TEACHINGS

- The Church’s body of teachings on social realities based on Sacred Scripture, Church
Tradition, natural law, and human experience. CST response to key modern social
problems.
CATHOLIC SOCIAL TEACHINGS
- EACH PERSON IS PRICELESS
- EVERYTHING IS FOR EVERYONE
- CARE FOR THE POOR
- LOVE YOUR WORK
- CARE FOR THE EARTH

EACH PERSON IS PRICELESS

- Upholding justice means upholding and promoting human dignity.

EVERYTHING IS FOR EVERYONE

- God creates and sustains everything in this world for the improvement of the quality of
life of everyone- without exception!
- This principle is known as the universal destination of all earthly goods.

CARE FOR THE POOR

- Poverty is a reality in our society that hinders others from living truly human.
- We are called to work actively in empowering our needy brothers and sisters so that
they may be freed from oppressive discrimination, injustice, and deprivation of basic
needs.

LOVE YOUR WORK

- All forms of legitimate work are important because of the consequent personal growth
and development that works bring about in the individual.
- Labor is sharing in God’s creativity and generosity.

CARE FOR THE EARTH

- We are summoned to have keen understanding of integrity of creation, an awareness of
how everything that God has created for is related to everything else.
- Christian obligation is to have a passionate care for our earth and our environment (PCP
II)
- We as stewards of God’s creation have to care for our environment so that many people
may benefit from it.