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 TOPIC 24.4
CIVIL AND ECCLESIASTICAL LAWS

Reference: Catechism of the Catholic Church, nos. 1959; 2242-2243; 2041-2043

Supplementary reading: https://opusdei.org/en/article/topic-25-christian-life-law-and-conscience/

 CIVIL AND ECCLESIASTICAL LAWS

Nature Natural Law,

of Civil Laws indispensable foundation of Civil Laws

Purpose When are Civil Laws unjust

of Civil Law or opposed to Natural Moral Law?

Church Laws The 5 Precepts Purpose of the 5 Precepts

and their obligatory character of the Church of the Church
 Nature
of Civil Laws
◦ Civil laws
norms issued by government authorities
(usually the legislative body) to guarantee
 Peace & Security
 Liberty & Justice
 Protection of Basic Human Rights
 Public Morality

◦ Critical role of Civil Legislation

in the formation of consciences
 Natural Law,
indispensable foundation of
Civil Laws
Natural law
law of right reason,
bidding us to do good and avoid evil

◦ written by the Creator in the human heart (cf. Rom 2:15):

an inner law enabling man to know the truth
about himself as made in God’s image.

◦ embodies the basic precepts governing the moral life,

all consequences of loving God above all
and one’s neighbor as oneself

◦ perennially valid for all men of all times

(e.g., it is always morally unlawful to steal)

◦ articulated in the Decalogue revealed by God to Moses

(cf Ex 20:2ff)

◦ provides the indispensable moral foundation

for building the human community and for civil law
 Purpose
of Civil Law
◦ Civil laws are promulgated
to uphold the moral requirements of the natural law
◦ by making them explicit
(e.g., inviolability of human life from the moment of conception to
natural death; exclusivity and indissolubility of marriage)
◦ by concretizing these requirements
to adequately regulate the life of citizens of society
(e.g., legislation of penal laws, taxation laws, traffic regulations)

◦ There is a moral obligation

to comply with just civil laws

◦ Gravity of the obligation

depends on the degree of importance
the content of the law has for the common good
(e.g. not to drive drunk)
 When are Civil Laws unjust
or opposed to Natural Moral Law?

1) when they prohibit
doing something
that is morally obligatory
for citizens
• prohibiting a hospital
from providing nutrition
&hygiene to a person who has been
comatose for years
• prohibiting citizens from practicing
their religious beliefs
in private or in public
2) When they positively harm or
deprive of due protection goods
that belong
to the common good
4) When they do not distribute
•for example:
•life, justice
(especially the weakest: unborn,
elderly, migrants, OFWs), basic
human rights, human sexuality,
marriage and family life
3) When they are Unjust civil laws
not legitimately enacted do not bind in conscience
•there is a moral obligation
burdens not to comply with their
and benefits fairly provisions, especially
and proportionately in cases 1) and 2)
among citizens
•e.g., nurses and doctors compelled
to participate
in abortion, euthanasia, ligation, or
in-vitro fertilization
 Church laws
and their obligatory character

◦ In order to save us, God willed that men and women should form a
society (the Church),
founded by Jesus Christ.
◦ Jesus endowed the Church with all the means
needed for the fulfillment of her supernatural end
(the salvation of souls)

◦ Among these means is legislative power:

◦ the Roman Pontiff for the universal Church
cf Mt 16:19
◦ the Diocesan Bishops (and the authorities equivalent to them)
for their own circumscriptions
cf Mt 18:18
◦ Church laws give rise to a real moral obligation,
which is grave or light according to the gravity of the matter.

◦ Most Church laws of universal scope are found

in the Code of Canon Law
(one for the Western rite, another for the Eastern rite)
 The 5 Precepts of the Church
cf CCC 2042ff

to confess mortal sins at least

to hear an entire Mass on Sundays and to receive Communion
once a year, and in danger of death, and
days of obligation at least once a year, at Easter time
if one is to receive Communion

to fast and abstain

to help the Church in her needs, each
from eating meat on the days
according to his/her ability
established by the Church
 Purpose
of the 5 Precepts
of the Church
they are intended to guarantee for the faithful
the indispensable minimum
CCC 2041-2043

 in the spirit of prayer,

centered around the worship offered at Mass

 in sacramental life
 nourished and sustained by Christ’s Body and Blood
 “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you
have no life in you
 Jn 6:53-54
 Confession, to ensure the worthy reception of Communion
 in moral commitment and growth in love of God and neighbor

 need to master our instincts and foster freedom of heart

 TOPIC 24.4
CIVIL AND ECCLESIASTICAL LAWS

Reference: Catechism of the Catholic Church, nos. 1959; 2242-2243; 2041-2043

Supplementary reading: https://opusdei.org/en/article/topic-25-christian-life-law-and-conscience/