Catechism of the Catholic Church
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1902 Authority does not derive its moral legitimacy from itself. It must not behave in a despotic manner, but must act for the common good as a "moral force based on freedom and a sense of responsibility": 21
A human law has the character of law to the extent that it accords with right reason, and thus derives from the eternal law. Insofar as it falls short of right reason it is said to be an unjust law, and thus has not so much the nature of law as of a kind of violence. 22
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
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PART THREE: LIFE IN CHRIST |
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SECTION ONE: MAN'S VOCATION LIFE IN THE SPIRIT |
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CHAPTER TWO: THE HUMAN COMMUNION |
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ARTICLE 2: PARTICIPATION IN SOCIAL LIFE |
Notes for the above paragraph:
21 GS 74 § 2.22 St. Thomas Aquinas, STh I-II, 93, 3, ad 2.
English Translation of the Cathechism of the Catholic Church for the United States of America © 1997, United States Catholic Conference, Inc.
