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u ance or hardship of another. (Cf. Deut 25:13-16; ment; it gives guidelines for action:
24:14-15; Jas 5:4; Am 8:4-6.) Any system in which social relationships are de- The Ten Commandments
The following are also morally illicit: speculation termined entirely by economic factors is contrary to
in which one contrives to manipulate the price of the nature of the human person and his acts. (Cf. The Ten Command-
goods artificially in order to gain an advantage to the Centesimus Annus 24.) ments (or Decalogue, 1. I am the LORD your God:
detriment of others; corruption in which one influen- A theory that makes profit the exclusive norm which literally means ten you shall not have
ces the judgment of those who must make decisions and ultimate end of economic activity is morally un- words) was given by God strange Gods before Me.
according to law; appropriation and use for private acceptable. The disordered desire for money cannot to Moses on Mount Sinai
purposes of the common goods of an enterprise; but produce perverse effects. It is one of the causes in the book of Exodus (20, 2. You shall not take the name
work poorly done; tax evasion; forgery of checks of the many conflicts which disturb the social order. 2-17) and Deuteronomy of the LORD your God in vain.
and invoices; excessive expenses and waste. Will- (Cf. Gaudium et Spes 63 § 3; Laborem Exercens 7; (5, 6-21). The Catechism 3. Remember to keep holy
fully damaging private or public property is contrary 20; Centesimus Annus 35.) of the Catholic Church the LORD’S Day.
to the moral law and requires reparation. (2072) states: “Since they
A system that “subordinates the basic rights of express man’s fundamen- 4. Honour your father
Respect for the integrity of creation individuals and of groups to the collective organ- tal duties towards God and your mother.

The Seventh Commandment enjoins respect for ization of production” is contrary to human dig- and towards his neighbor,
the integrity of creation. Animals, like plants and in- nity. (Gaudium et Spes 65 § 2.) Every practice that the Ten Commandments 5. You shall not kill.
animate beings, are by nature destined for the com- reduces persons to nothing more than a means of reveal, in their primordial 6. You shall not commit adultery.
mon good of past, present, and future humanity. profit enslaves man, leads to idolizing money, and content, grave obliga- 7. You shall not bear false witness
Use of the mineral, vegetable, and animal resources contributes to the spread of atheism. “You cannot tions. They are fundamen- against your neighbor.
of the universe cannot be divorced from respect for serve God and mammon.” (Mt 6:24; Lk 16:13. ) tally immutable, and they
moral imperatives. Man's dominion over inanimate The Church has rejected the totalitarian and oblige always and every- 8. You shall not steal.
and other living beings granted by the Creator is not atheistic ideologies associated in modem times where. No one can dis- 9. You shall not covet
absolute; it is limited by concern for the quality of with “communism” or “socialism.” She has like- pense from them. The Ten your neighbor’s wife.
life of his neighbor, including generations to come; wise refused to accept, in the practice of “cap- Commandments are engraved by God in the human heart.”
it requires a religious respect for the integrity of cre- italism,” individualism and the absolute primacy The Catechism of the Catholic Church follows the division of 10. You shall not covet
ation. (Cf. Centesimus Annus 37-38.) of the law of the marketplace over human labor. the Commandments established by St. Augustine, which has your neighbor’s goods.
become traditional in the Catholic Church:
God entrusted animals to the stewardship of (Cf. Centesimus Annus 10; 13; 44.) Regulating the
those whom he created in his own image. (Cf. Gen- economy solely by centralized planning perverts the
esis 2:19-20; 9:1-4.) Hence it is legitimate to use ani- basis of social bonds; regulating it solely by the law There must be solidarity among nations which It is not the role of the Pastors of the Church to
mals for food and clothing. They may be domesti- of the marketplace fails social justice, for “there are are already politically interdependent. It is even more intervene directly in the political structuring and or-
cated to help man in his work and leisure. Medical many human needs which cannot be satisfied by the essential when it is a question of dismantling the ganization of social life. This task is part of the voca-
and scientific experimentation on animals is a mor- market.” (Centesimus Annus 34.) Reasonable regu- “perverse mechanisms” that impede the develop- tion of the lay faithful, acting on their own initiative
ally acceptable practice if it remains within reason- lation of the marketplace and economic initiatives, in ment of the less advanced countries. (Cf. Sollicitudo with their fellow citizens. Social action can assume
able limits and contributes to caring for or saving keeping with a just hierarchy of values and a view to Rei Socialis 17; 45.) In place of abusive if not usurious various concrete forms. It should always have the
human lives. the common good, is to be commended. financial systems, iniquitous commercial relations common good in view and be in conformity with
It is contrary to human dignity to cause animals Economic activity and social justice among nations, and the arms race, there must be the message of the Gospel and the teaching of the
to suffer or die needlessly. It is likewise unworthy to The development of economic activity and substituted a common effort to mobilize resources Church. It is the role of the laity “to animate temporal
spend money on them that should as a priority go growth in production are meant to provide for the toward objectives of moral, cultural, and economic realities with Christian commitment, by which they
to the relief of human misery. One can love animals; needs of human beings. Economic life is not meant development, “redefining the priorities and hierarch- show that they are witnesses and agents of peace
one should not direct to them the affection due only solely to multiply goods produced and increase ies of values.” (Centesimus Annus 28; cf. 35.) and justice.” (Sollicitudo Rei Socialis 47 § 6; cf. 42. )
to persons. profit or power; it is ordered first of all to the ser- Direct aid is an appropriate response to immedi- When her mother reproached her for caring for
The social doctrine of the Church vice of persons, of the whole man, and of the entire ate, extraordinary needs caused by natural catastro- the poor and the sick at home, St. Rose of Lima said
The Church makes a moral judgment about eco- human community. Economic activity, conducted phes, epidemics, and the like. But it does not suffice to her: “When we serve the poor and the sick, we
serve Jesus. We must not fail to help our neighbors,
to repair the grave damage resulting from destitu-
nomic and social matters, “when the fundamental according to its own proper methods, is to be exer- tion or to provide a lasting solution to a country's because in them we serve Jesus.”
rights of the person or the salvation of souls requires cised within the limits of the moral order, in keeping needs. It is also necessary to reform international
it.” (Gaudium et Spes 76 § 5.) In the moral order she with social justice so as to correspond to God's plan economic and financial institutions so that they will True development concerns the whole man. It
bears a mission distinct from that of political au- for man. (Cf. Gaudium et Spes 64.) better promote equitable relationships with less ad- is concerned with increasing each person's ability to
thorities: the Church is concerned with the tempor- Justice and solidarity among nations vanced countries. (Cf. Sollicitudo Rei Socialis 16.) respond to his vocation and hence to God's call (cf.
al aspects of the common good because they are On the international level, inequality of resour- The efforts of poor countries working for growth Centesimus Annus 29).
ordered to the sovereign Good, our ultimate end. ces and economic capability is such that it creates a and liberation must be supported. (Cf. Centesimus How can we not recognize Lazarus, the hungry
She strives to inspire right attitudes with respect to real “gap” between nations. (Cf. Sollicitudo Rei So- Annus 26.) This doctrine must be applied especially beggar in the parable (cf. Lk 17:19-31), in the multi-
earthly goods and in socio-economic relationships. cialis 14.) On the one side there are those nations in the area of agricultural labor. Peasants, especially tude of human beings without bread, a roof or a
The Church's social teaching proposes prin- possessing and developing the means of growth in the Third World, form the overwhelming majority place to stay? How can we fail to hear Jesus: “As
ciples for reflection; it provides criteria for judg- and, on the other, those accumulating debts. of the poor. you did it not to one of the least of these, you did it
not to Me” (Mt 25:45)? v

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