Dipping in to the Catechism 466-472

THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT: YOU SHALL NOT KILL
WHY MUST HUMAN LIFE BE RESPECTED ?
Human life must be respected because it is sacred. From its beginning human life involves
the creative action of God and it remains forever in a special relationship with the Creator,
who is its sole end. It is not lawful for anyone directly to destroy an innocent human being.
This is gravely contrary to the dignity of the person and the holiness of the Creator. “Do not
slay the innocent and the righteous” (Exodus 23:7).
WHY IS THE LEGITIMATE DEFENCE OF PERSONS AND OF SOCIETY NOT
OPPOSED TO THIS NORM ?
Because in choosing to legitimately defend oneself one is respecting the right to life (either
one’s own right to life or that of another) and not choosing to kill. Indeed, for someone
responsible for the life of another, legitimate defence can be not only a right but a grave duty,
provided only that disproportionate force is not used.
WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF PUNISHMENT ?
A punishment imposed by legitimate public authority has the aim of redressing the disorder
introduced by the offence, of defending public order and people’s safety, and contributing to
the correction of the guilty party.
WHAT KIND OF PUNISHMENT MAY BE IMPOSED ?
The punishment imposed must be proportionate to the gravity of the offence. Given the
possibilities which the State now has for effectively preventing crime by rendering one who
has committed an offence incapable of doing harm, the cases in which the execution of the
offender is an absolute necessity “are very rare, if not practically non-existent”. (Evangelium
Vitae). When non-lethal means are sufficient, authority should limit itself to such means
because they better correspond to the concrete conditions of the common good, are more in
conformity with the dignity of the human person, and do not remove definitively from the
guilty party the possibility of reforming himself.
WHAT IS FORBIDDEN BY THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT ?
The fifth commandment forbids as gravely contrary to the moral law:
• Direct and intentional murder and cooperation in it;
• Direct abortion, willed as an end or as means, as well as cooperation in it. Attached
to this sin is the penalty of excommunication because, from the moment of his or her
conception, the human being must be absolutely respected and protected in his
integrity;
• Direct euthanasia which consists in putting an end to the life of the handicapped, the
sick, or those near death by an act or by the omission of a required action;
• Suicide and voluntary cooperation in it, insofar as it is a grave offence against the just
love of God, of self, and of neighbour. One’s responsibility may be aggravated by the
scandal given; one who is psychologically disturbed or is experiencing grave fear may
have diminished responsibility.
WHAT MEDICAL PROCEDURES ARE PERMITTED WHEN DEATH IS
CONSIDERED IMMINENT ?
When death is considered imminent the ordinary care owed to a sick person cannot be
legitimately interrupted. However, it is legitimate to use pain-killers which do not aim at in
death and to refuse “over-zealous treatment”, that is the utilisation of disproportionate
medical procedures without reasonable hope of a positive outcome.
WHY MUST SOCIETY PROTECT EVERY EMBRYO ?
The inalienable right to life of every human individual from the first moment of conception is
a constitutive element of civil society and its legislation. When the State does not place its
power at the service of the rights of all and in particular of the more vulnerable, including
unborn children, the very foundations of a State based on law are undermined