卷三 在基督內的生活 - 第二部分 - 第二章 - 第七條 第七誡/You shall not steal

第七條 第七誡

不可偷盜 (出 20:15;申 5:19)。

不可偷盜 (瑪 19:18)。

2401. 第七誡禁止不義地拿走或扣留他人的財物，以及造成他人財物上的任何損失。第七誡命令人，以正義和愛德管理地上的財物及勞苦的成果。第七誡為了公益，要求尊重財物的普遍的用途及私有權。基督徒的生活應努力使這世界的財物，導向天主及弟兄的友愛。

一、財物的普遍用途及私有權

2402. 在起初，天主把大地及其資源，託付給人類共同管理，好使人類細心照顧，以勞作統治大地，並享受其果實。世上的財物是供全人類使用的。不過，把土地分配給人們，是為保障他們生活安全，以免受到貧困及暴力的威脅。財物歸為私有，是合理的，是為保障人的自由與尊嚴，幫助每人供給自己基本的需要，以及負責被照顧者的需要。這種私有權應該能夠使人與人之間自然的連帶責任顯示出來。

2403. 私有權，是由正義的途徑而獲得或收受的，並不廢除大地是給與整個人類的原始事實。雖然為促進公益，需要尊重私有財產，尊重其權利及其運用，但財物的普遍用途仍是首要的。

2404. 「當人使用合法擁有的財富時，不應將財富看成自己專有的，而應視作公有的，意即不但惠及個人，而且惠及他人」。 財富使其擁有者成為天主眷顧的管理人，應使之結果，並與他人共享，首先與他的近人。

2405. 生產的財富，物質的與非物質的，諸如土地與工廠，專長與藝術，都需要其擁有者細心維護，以便其生產造福最大多數人。那些擁有、使用及消費財富者，應有節制地使用，保留給客人、病人與窮人最好的一分。

2406. 政權為了公益，有權利也有義務，規範私有財產權的合法運用。

Article 7

THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT

You shall not steal.¹⁸⁵

2401 The seventh commandment forbids unjustly taking or keeping the goods of one's neighbor and wronging him in any way with respect to his goods. It commands justice and charity in the care of earthly goods and the fruits of men's labor. For the sake of the common good, it requires respect for the universal destination of goods and respect for the right to private property. Christian life strives to order this world's goods to God and to fraternal charity.

I. The Universal Destination and the Private Ownership of Goods

2402 In the beginning God entrusted the earth and its resources to the common stewardship of mankind to take care of them, master them by labor, and enjoy their fruits.¹⁸⁶ The goods of creation are destined for the whole human race. However, the earth is divided up among men to assure the security of their lives, endangered by poverty and threatened by violence. the appropriation of property is legitimate for guaranteeing the freedom and dignity of persons and for helping each of them to meet his basic needs and the needs of those in his charge. It should allow for a natural solidarity to develop between men.

2403 The right to private property, acquired by work or received from others by inheritance or gift, does not do away with the original gift of the earth to the whole of mankind. the universal destination of goods remains primordial, even if the promotion of the common good requires respect for the right to private property and its exercise.

2404 "In his use of things man should regard the external goods he legitimately owns not merely as exclusive to himself but common to others also, in the sense that they can benefit others as well as himself."¹⁸⁷ The ownership of any property makes its holder a steward of Providence, with the task of making it fruitful and communicating its benefits to others, first of all his family.

2405 Goods of production - material or immaterial - such as land, factories, practical or artistic skills, oblige their possessors to employ them in ways that will benefit the greatest number. Those who hold goods for use and consumption should use them with moderation, reserving the better part for guests, for the sick and the poor.

2406 Political authority has the right and duty to regulate the legitimate exercise of the right to ownership for the sake of the common good.¹⁸⁸

二、尊重人及其財物

2407. 在經濟事務上，對人性尊嚴的尊重要求人實踐節制之德，為調節對世物的貪婪；要求實踐正義之德，為保護他人的權利，並給予他所應有的；要求實踐連帶責任之德，以遵守金科玉律並隨從基督的慷慨，「祂本是富有的，為了你們卻成了貧困的，好使你們因著祂的貧困而成為富有的」(格後 8:9)。

尊重他人的財物

2408. 第七誡禁止偷竊，偷竊就是違反物主合理的意願，侵佔他的財產。如果能夠假定物主的同意，或者他的拒絕是不合理性而又不合財物的普遍使用原則，則不算偷竊。這就是在急切而明顯的情況下，為解決立即、實質的需要(食物、避難所、衣服……)，唯一的辦法是支配並使用別人的財物。

2409. 以任何方法不義地拿走及扣留他人的財物，即使不觸犯民法規定，都是違反第七誡。同樣，故意保留借來的財物或遺失的物品；商業上的欺騙；支付不公道的薪酬；以別人的無知或困境作投機生意；哄抬物價等。

以下各項也是道德上不許可的：投機，藉以作出假象而改變財物的價值，旨在獲取利益而損及他人；賄賂，藉之改變應依法作出決定者的判斷；把企業的公司財物佔為己有及私用；偷工減料、逃避稅捐、偽造支票及發票、過度消費和浪費。有意造成私人或公共財產的損失，都是違反道德法律並要求賠償。

2410. 許諾應該遵守；契約應該嚴格遵守，只要所作承諾是公道的。大部分的社會和經濟生活取決於在自然人之間的，或在法人之間的契約效力。諸如，買賣的商業契約，租賃或勞工契約，任何契約都應以善意來訂立和履行。

2411. 契約應合乎交換正義，據此而依照在嚴格遵守雙方的權利之下來規範人與人之間、及機構與機構之間的交易。交換正義應嚴格遵守；交換正義要求保障私有權利、償還債務及履行自由約定的義務。沒有交換正義，任何其他形式的正義都是不可能的。

交換正義不同於法定法定正義，它指成員對團體應該公平的付出；同樣交換正義也與分配正義有分別，後者規定團體(國家)對國民按其貢獻與需要的比例所應該付出的。

2412. 按照交換正義，為賠補所犯下的不正義，必須把所偷竊的財物償還給物主。

耶穌讚賞匝凱的承諾：「我如果欺騙過誰，我就以四倍賠償」(路 19:8)。凡是以直接或間接的方式侵佔了他人的財物，必須償還；如果物品已經消失，則以相等的實物或價錢，並同物主可能合法得到之果實與利益一同償還。同樣，按照他們的責任和所得到的利益，凡是以某種方式參與偷竊的人，或因明知此事而得益者，都有償還的責任；例如，凡出令指揮、協助或窩藏贓物者。

2413. 博彩遊戲 (紙牌等)或打賭，本身並不違反正義。但如果剝奪了某人為了維持自己及他人的所需，則變為道德上不可接受的。遊戲的慾望有危險變成嚴重的奴役。不正義的賭博或遊戲作弊，構成嚴重的事項，除非所加的傷害是輕微的，以致受害者合理地認為此傷害無足輕重。

2414. 第七誡禁止下面的行為或企業：以自私的或意識型態的、商業的或獨裁的任何理由，引領人們走上奴役，貶抑他們的尊嚴，把他們視為貨物買賣交易。藉暴力把人們貶抑到一種生產工具或獲利的來源，這是違反人的尊嚴和基本人權的罪。聖保祿命令一位基督徒主人看待其基督徒奴隸，「不再是一個奴隸，而是一位弟兄……在主內的人」(費 16)。

尊重受造界的完整

2415. 第七誡要求尊重受造界的完整。動物、植物及無生物都是自然地導向過去、現在和將來人類的公益。宇宙的動物、植物和礦物資源的使用，不能脫離道德的要求。造物主將無生物及生物的統治權給予人類，並不是絕對的；而是要人關心近人的生活品質，包括為後代著想；這統治權要求以虔敬的尊重對待受造界的完整。

2416. 動物是天主的受造物。天主以自己的關懷照顧牠們。牠們就以其生存本身，讚美光榮天主。因此，人們應該友善對待牠們。這不禁使人想起聖人們如：聖方濟‧亞西西，或聖斐理伯‧內利，怎樣以愛對待動物。

2417. 天主把動物託給了按照自己的肖象而受造的人來管理。因此人使用動物為食物並製成衣服，是合理的，可以馴服牠們，使能在人的工作及休閒上有所幫助。如果在合理的範圍內，並對治療及救人的生命有所助益，那麼，在動物身上作醫學及科學的試驗，是道德上可以接受的作法。

2418. 使動物無故地受罪，或蹧蹋牠們的生命，是不合乎人性尊嚴的。與其為動物花費大量金錢，而不優先救助人的急難，同樣是不相稱的事。可以愛護動物，但不應該把專屬於人的情懷，轉移到動物身上。

II. Respect for Persons and Their Goods

2407 In economic matters, respect for human dignity requires the practice of the virtue of temperance, so as to moderate attachment to this world's goods; the practice of the virtue of justice, to preserve our neighbor's rights and render him what is his due; and the practice of solidarity, in accordance with the golden rule and in keeping with the generosity of the Lord, who "though he was rich, yet for your sake . . . became poor so that by his poverty, you might become rich."¹⁸⁹

Respect for the goods of others

2408 The seventh commandment forbids theft, that is, usurping another's property against the reasonable will of the owner. There is no theft if consent can be presumed or if refusal is contrary to reason and the universal destination of goods. This is the case in obvious and urgent necessity when the only way to provide for immediate, essential needs (food, shelter, clothing . . .) is to put at one's disposal and use the property of others.¹⁹⁰

2409 Even if it does not contradict the provisions of civil law, any form of unjustly taking and keeping the property of others is against the seventh commandment: thus, deliberate retention of goods lent or of objects lost; business fraud; paying unjust wages; forcing up prices by taking advantage of the ignorance or hardship of another.¹⁹¹

The following are also morally illicit: speculation in which one contrives to manipulate the price of goods artificially in order to gain an advantage to the detriment of others; corruption in which one influences the judgment of those who must make decisions according to law; appropriation and use for private purposes of the common goods of an enterprise; work poorly done; tax evasion; forgery of checks and invoices; excessive expenses and waste. Willfully damaging private or public property is contrary to the moral law and requires reparation.

2410 Promises must be kept and contracts strictly observed to the extent that the commitments made in them are morally just. A significant part of economic and social life depends on the honoring of contracts between physical or moral persons - commercial contracts of purchase or sale, rental or labor contracts. All contracts must be agreed to and executed in good faith.

2411 Contracts are subject to commutative justice which regulates exchanges between persons in accordance with a strict respect for their rights. Commutative justice obliges strictly; it requires safeguarding property rights, paying debts, and fulfilling obligations freely contracted. Without commutative justice, no other form of justice is possible.

One distinguishes commutative justice from legal justice which concerns what the citizen owes in fairness to the community, and from distributive justice which regulates what the community owes its citizens in proportion to their contributions and needs.

2412 In virtue of commutative justice, reparation for injustice committed requires the restitution of stolen goods to their owner:

Jesus blesses Zacchaeus for his pledge: "If I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold."¹⁹² Those who, directly or indirectly, have taken possession of the goods of another, are obliged to make restitution of them, or to return the equivalent in kind or in money, if the goods have disappeared, as well as the profit or advantages their owner would have legitimately obtained from them. Likewise, all who in some manner have taken part in a theft or who have knowingly benefited from it - for example, those who ordered it, assisted in it, or received the stolen goods - are obliged to make restitution in proportion to their responsibility and to their share of what was stolen.

2413 Games of chance (card games, etc.) or wagers are not in themselves contrary to justice. They become morally unacceptable when they deprive someone of what is necessary to provide for his needs and those of others. the passion for gambling risks becoming an enslavement. Unfair wagers and cheating at games constitute grave matter, unless the damage inflicted is so slight that the one who suffers it cannot reasonably consider it significant.

2414 The seventh commandment forbids acts or enterprises that for any reason - selfish or ideological, commercial, or totalitarian - lead to the enslavement of human beings, to their being bought, sold and exchanged like merchandise, in disregard for their personal dignity. It is a sin against the dignity of persons and their fundamental rights to reduce them by violence to their productive value or to a source of profit. St. Paul directed a Christian master to treat his Christian slave "no longer as a slave but more than a slave, as a beloved brother, . . . both in the flesh and in the Lord."¹⁹³

Respect for the integrity of creation

2415 The seventh commandment enjoins respect for the integrity of creation. Animals, like plants and inanimate beings, are by nature destined for the common good of past, present, and future humanity.¹⁹⁴Use of the mineral, vegetable, and animal resources of the universe cannot be divorced from respect for moral imperatives. Man's dominion over inanimate and other living beings granted by the Creator is not absolute; it is limited by concern for the quality of life of his neighbor, including generations to come; it requires a religious respect for the integrity of creation.¹⁹⁵

2416 Animals are God's creatures. He surrounds them with his providential care. By their mere existence they bless him and give him glory.¹⁹⁶ Thus men owe them kindness. We should recall the gentleness with which saints like St. Francis of Assisi or St. Philip Neri treated animals.

2417 God entrusted animals to the stewardship of those whom he created in his own image.¹⁹⁷ Hence it is legitimate to use animals for food and clothing. They may be domesticated to help man in his work and leisure. Medical and scientific experimentation on animals is a morally acceptable practice, if it remains within reasonable limits and contributes to caring for or saving human lives.

2418 It is contrary to human dignity to cause animals to suffer or die needlessly. It is likewise unworthy to spend money on them that should as a priority go to the relief of human misery. One can love animals; one should not direct to them the affection due only to persons.

三、教會的社會教導

2419. 「基督的啟示引導我們，對社會生活法規，增加深刻的理解」。教會從福音中對人的真理領受圓滿的啟示。當教會履行其宣告福音的使命時，她以基督之名，向人們証實其尊嚴及其與別人共融的召叫；教會教導人，與天主上智相符合的正義與和平的要求。

2420. 「在人的基本權利及人靈得救要求時」，教會對社會經濟事務，也發表其道德的論斷。在道德層面上，教會擁有不同於政府的使命：教會關懷公益的現世層面，是因為公益導向至善，亦即我們的最終目的。教會對現世財產及社會經濟的關係，努力啟發正確態度。

2421. 教會的社會教導發展於十九世紀，正是福音與現代工業社會相遇，與消費物資生產的新結構，與社會、國家、權力的新概念，與勞動和財產的新形式相衝擊之時。教會的社會教導，在經濟、社會事務上的發展，証實教會教導的持久性價值，同時証實教會恆常生活而主動的聖傳的真正意義。

2422. 教會的社會教導，包括一套理論，其表達是隨著教會依照耶穌基督的全部啟示，在聖神的協助下，解釋歷史過程中的事件時所形成的。這種教導越啟發信友的行動，越能為善意的人所接受。

2423. 教會的社會教導提供反省的原則，指出判斷的標準，提供行動的方向：

任何認為社會關係只取決於經濟因素的主張，都違反人的本性及其行為。

2424. 一種以獲利為唯一規則，以經濟活動為最終目的的理論，是道德上不能接受的。無節制地貪圖金錢必然產生敗壞的惡果，是擾亂社會秩序的許多衝突的原因之一。

一個「犧牲個人及社團的基本權利，而就合集體生產組織」的體系，違反人的尊嚴。凡是把人貶抑為純粹獲利工具的作法，就是奴役人，引人崇拜金錢，助長無神主義的擴張。「你們不能事奉天主而又事奉金錢」(瑪 6:24;路 16:13)。

2425. 教會在現代已揚棄那與「共產主義」或「社會主義」聯合的極權主義及無神主義。此外，教會也拒絕「資本主義」、個人主義，以及把市場的法則視為比人的工作更重要的作法。只憑中央企劃來控制經濟，將敗壞社會關係的基礎；經濟的控制專憑市場的法則，並不能實施社會正義，「因為很多人性方面的需要，並不能由市場來獲得滿足」。需要按照正確的價值等級，並為了公益，鼓勵一種市場和經濟創業活動的合理控制。

2419 "Christian revelation . . . promotes deeper understanding of the laws of social living."¹⁹⁸ The Church receives from the Gospel the full revelation of the truth about man. When she fulfills her mission of proclaiming the Gospel, she bears witness to man, in the name of Christ, to his dignity and his vocation to the communion of persons. She teaches him the demands of justice and peace in conformity with divine wisdom.

2420 The Church makes a moral judgment about economic and social matters, "when the fundamental rights of the person or the salvation of souls requires it."¹⁹⁹ In the moral order she bears a mission distinct from that of political authorities: the Church is concerned with the temporal aspects of the common good because they are ordered to the sovereign Good, our ultimate end. She strives to inspire right attitudes with respect to earthly goods and in socio-economic relationships.

2421 The social doctrine of the Church developed in the nineteenth century when the Gospel encountered modern industrial society with its new structures for the production of consumer goods, its new concept of society, the state and authority, and its new forms of labor and ownership. the development of the doctrine of the Church on economic and social matters attests the permanent value of the Church's teaching at the same time as it attests the true meaning of her Tradition, always living and active.²⁰⁰

2422 The Church's social teaching comprises a body of doctrine, which is articulated as the Church interprets events in the course of history, with the assistance of the Holy Spirit, in the light of the whole of what has been revealed by Jesus Christ.²⁰¹ This teaching can be more easily accepted by men of good will, the more the faithful let themselves be guided by it.

2423 The Church's social teaching proposes principles for reflection; it provides criteria for judgment; it gives guidelines for action:

Any system in which social relationships are determined entirely by economic factors is contrary to the nature of the human person and his acts.²⁰²

2424 A theory that makes profit the exclusive norm and ultimate end of economic activity is morally unacceptable. the disordered desire for money cannot but produce perverse effects. It is one of the causes of the many conflicts which disturb the social order.²⁰³ 
A system that "subordinates the basic rights of individuals and of groups to the collective organization of production" is contrary to human dignity.²⁰⁴ Every practice that reduces persons to nothing more than a means of profit enslaves man, leads to idolizing money, and contributes to the spread of atheism. "You cannot serve God and mammon."²⁰⁵

2425 The Church has rejected the totalitarian and atheistic ideologies associated in modem times with "communism" or "socialism." She has likewise refused to accept, in the practice of "capitalism," individualism and the absolute primacy of the law of the marketplace over human labor.²⁰⁶ Regulating the economy solely by centralized planning perverts the basis of social bonds; regulating it solely by the law of the marketplace fails social justice, for "there are many human needs which cannot be satisfied by the market."²⁰⁷ Reasonable regulation of the marketplace and economic initiatives, in keeping with a just hierarchy of values and a view to the common good, is to be commended.

四、經濟活動與社會正義

2426. 經濟活動的發展、生產的成長，是用來為滿足人們的需要。經濟生活不只為了生產的增加，利潤或權勢的增加；而應首先導向為人服務，為全人，並為全體人類服務。經濟活動固然以自己的方法主導，但也應在道德範圍內，尊重社會正義，以回應天主對人的計劃。

2427. 人的工作是直接從人按照天主的肖象受造而來，並被召叫，彼此協同、彼此服務，治理大地、延續創造的工程。因此，工作是責任：「誰不願意工作，就不應該吃飯」(得後 3:10)。我們以造物主的恩賜及天賦的才能工作，為能光榮天主，並獲得救贖。人藉著辛苦勞力，與納匝肋的木匠，和加爾瓦略山上被釘的耶穌相結合；在某種方式下，與天主聖子，在救贖工程上合作。人每天背著十字架，在他被召叫所盡的職務上，表示願意作耶穌的門徒。工作在基督的聖神內可以是聖化的方法，並給現世的事務帶來生機。

2428. 在工作中，人行使並完成一部分銘刻於其本性的潛能。工作首要的價值是在於人自身，他是創作者，也是受益者。工作是為了人，而不是人為了工作。

每人應該能從工作中獲取維持自己及家人生活的資源，並為人類團體服務。

2429. 每人都有創業的權利；每人都應合理使用其才能，為能對全體都享用的富足有所貢獻，並為獲取其努力的正當成果。應留意遵守合法當局基於公益所訂的法規。

2430. 經濟生活引發各種不同的利益，往往是彼此對立的利益。這樣，說明了為何有衝突的出現，而這些衝突是經濟生活的特色。企業的負責人、薪資階級的代表，如工會的代表、以及有時候可能有政府的官員，將盡一切努力，藉尊重社會各方的權利與義務的談判，化解糾紛。

2431. 國家的責任。「經濟活動，尤其是市場經濟活動，無法在制度、司法和政治的真空狀態中展開。反之，它假定了一些條件：如對於個人自由和私有財產的確實保障，穩定的幣制，以及有效率的公共服務。所以，國家的首要任務，乃在於給這些安全條件提供保証，使得那些從事工作和生產的人，能享受其勞動的成果，並因此而受到鼓勵，願意誠實而有效地去工作……國家的另一任務，在於監視、督導經濟方面人權的實行狀況。不過，這方面首要的責任不屬於國家，而屬於組成社會的機構，以及各種不同社團和協會」。

2432. 企業負責人，在社會面前，應承擔他們的工作對社會應負的經濟與環保的責任。他們應考慮到人群的福祉，而不應只顧利潤的增加。當然，利潤也是必要的。利潤得以實現投資，保障企業的前途，也保障就業。

2433. 工作和就業的機會應向所有的人開放，不論男人或女人、健康者或殘障者、本地人或外地人，都不得有所歧視。就社會這方面來說，它應按照環境而協助國民獲得工作及就業。

2434. 公道的薪酬是工作應有的成果。拒絕發給或不按時發給薪資可以構成嚴重的不義。為衡量公平的酬勞，應同時考慮到每人的需要與貢獻。「工作的酬報應當使人按照各人的任務、生產技能，以及企業的情形與公益，相稱地維持其自身及其家人的物質、社會、文化及精神生活」。雙方的同意並不足以表示薪資總額是合理的，在道德上是正當的。

2435. 當罷工為得到相稱的好處成為不可避免、甚至必需的辦法，則罷工在道德上是合法的。如果有暴力相伴，或所要達到的目標不直接與工作條件相關，或與公益相反，則在道德上是不可接受的。

2436. 不給社會保險機構，償付合法權力所規定的費用，是不公道的。

失業為受害者幾乎常是對其尊嚴的打擊，並對生活的平衡是一種威脅。除了對當事人是一種傷害，對其家庭亦生出許多危險。

2426 The development of economic activity and growth in production are meant to provide for the needs of human beings. Economic life is not meant solely to multiply goods produced and increase profit or power; it is ordered first of all to the service of persons, of the whole man, and of the entire human community. Economic activity, conducted according to its own proper methods, is to be exercised within the limits of the moral order, in keeping with social justice so as to correspond to God's plan for man.²⁰⁸

2427 Human work proceeds directly from persons created in the image of God and called to prolong the work of creation by subduing the earth, both with and for one another.²⁰⁹ Hence work is a duty: "If any one will not work, let him not eat."²¹⁰ Work honors the Creator's gifts and the talents received from him. It can also be redemptive. By enduring the hardship of work²¹¹ in union with Jesus, the carpenter of Nazareth and the one crucified on Calvary, man collaborates in a certain fashion with the Son of God in his redemptive work. He shows himself to be a disciple of Christ by carrying the cross, daily, in the work he is called to accomplish.²¹² Work can be a means of sanctification and a way of animating earthly realities with the Spirit of Christ.

2428 In work, the person exercises and fulfills in part the potential inscribed in his nature. the primordial value of labor stems from man himself, its author and its beneficiary. Work is for man, not man for work.²¹³ 
Everyone should be able to draw from work the means of providing for his life and that of his family, and of serving the human community.

2429 Everyone has the right of economic initiative; everyone should make legitimate use of his talents to contribute to the abundance that will benefit all and to harvest the just fruits of his labor. He should seek to observe regulations issued by legitimate authority for the sake of the common good.²¹⁴

2430 Economic life brings into play different interests, often opposed to one another. This explains why the conflicts that characterize it arise.²¹⁵ Efforts should be made to reduce these conflicts by negotiation that respects the rights and duties of each social partner: those responsible for business enterprises, representatives of wage - earners (for example, trade unions), and public authorities when appropriate.

2431 The responsibility of the state. "Economic activity, especially the activity of a market economy, cannot be conducted in an institutional, juridical, or political vacuum. On the contrary, it presupposes sure guarantees of individual freedom and private property, as well as a stable currency and efficient public services. Hence the principal task of the state is to guarantee this security, so that those who work and produce can enjoy the fruits of their labors and thus feel encouraged to work efficiently and honestly.... Another task of the state is that of overseeing and directing the exercise of human rights in the economic sector. However, primary responsibility in this area belongs not to the state but to individuals and to the various groups and associations which make up society."²¹⁶

2432 Those responsible for business enterprises are responsible to society for the economic and ecological effects of their operations.²¹⁷ They have an obligation to consider the good of persons and not only the increase of profits. Profits are necessary, however. They make possible the investments that ensure the future of a business and they guarantee employment.

2433 Access to employment and to professions must be open to all without unjust discrimination: men and women, healthy and disabled, natives and immigrants.²¹⁸ For its part society should, according to circumstances, help citizens find work and employment.²¹⁹

2434 A just wage is the legitimate fruit of work. To refuse or withhold it can be a grave injustice.²²⁰ In determining fair pay both the needs and the contributions of each person must be taken into account. "Remuneration for work should guarantee man the opportunity to provide a dignified livelihood for himself and his family on the material, social, cultural and spiritual level, taking into account the role and the productivity of each, the state of the business, and the common good."²²¹ Agreement between the parties is not sufficient to justify morally the amount to be received in wages.

2435 Recourse to a strike is morally legitimate when it cannot be avoided, or at least when it is necessary to obtain a proportionate benefit. It becomes morally unacceptable when accompanied by violence, or when objectives are included that are not directly linked to working conditions or are contrary to the common good. 
2436 Unemployment almost always wounds its victim's dignity and threatens the equilibrium of his life. Besides the harm done to him personally, it entails many risks for his family.²²²

五、國際間的正義與連帶責任

2437. 在國際層面上，資源和經濟實力的差距是如此之大，以致造成國與國之間的真正「鴻溝」。一方面是那些握有及發展增產工具的國家，另一方面是那些債台高築的國家。

2438. 宗教、政治、經濟及財政性質的種種原因，帶給今日「社會問題…… 一個全球性的幅度」。在國與國之間，政治已是互相依賴的，因此須有連帶責任。為不讓「邪惡手法」阻止較不開發的國家的進步，連帶責任更是不可缺少的。應以共同努力，朝向道德、文化及經濟發展的目標，動員一切資源，以取代濫用的，或高利貸的財政系統，並取代國際間不公平的貿易來往、軍備競賽，「要重新訂定價值體系，釐清價值優先秩序」。

2439. 富有的國家對那些不能靠自己確保其發展的能力，或因歷史上悲慘事件阻礙了其發展的國家，有重大的道德責任；這是一個連帶責任與愛德的責任；如果富有國家的財富來自沒有公平償付過的資源，則更是一個正義的義務。

2440. 直接援助是對即時的、非常的急需，一個適當的回應，比如天然的災害、傳染病等所造成的需要。但這不足以彌補匱乏的情況所造成的嚴重損害，也不足以應付長久的需要。應該改進國際經濟及財政機構，好能對尚未發展的國家，促進公平的交易。應該支持貧窮國家的努力，他們正尋求成長與解脫 。這些原則更該以特別的方法，運用於農業工作的領域。農民，特別在第三世界，構成絕大多數的窮苦大眾。 

2441. 增長對天主的意識，及對自我的認知，是人類社會完整發展的基礎。這種發展增多物質財富，用之於服務人及其自由。這種發展減少貧苦與經濟剝削，也增進人對各種文化認同的尊重，並向超越開放。 

2442. 直接干預政治建設，及社會生活的組織，不是教會牧者的事。這種責任是平信徒聖召的一部分，他們以自己的主動與其他公民合作。社會行動能有多種具體途徑。不過，社會行動總是為了公益，並須與福音的信息和教會的訓導符合。這是平信徒的事，「他們的使命是以基督徒的熱誠，去使現世的事務富有生命，並顯示他們是和平與正義的倡導者」。 

2437 On the international level, inequality of resources and economic capability is such that it creates a real "gap" between nations.²²³ On the one side there are those nations possessing and developing the means of growth and, on the other, those accumulating debts.

2438 Various causes of a religious, political, economic, and financial nature today give "the social question a worldwide dimension."²²⁴ There must be solidarity among nations which are already politically interdependent. It is even more essential when it is a question of dismantling the "perverse mechanisms" that impede the development of the less advanced countries.²²⁵ In place of abusive if not usurious financial systems, iniquitous commercial relations among nations, and the arms race, there must be substituted a common effort to mobilize resources toward objectives of moral, cultural, and economic development, "redefining the priorities and hierarchies of values."²²⁶

2439 Rich nations have a grave moral responsibility toward those which are unable to ensure the means of their development by themselves or have been prevented from doing so by tragic historical events. It is a duty in solidarity and charity; it is also an obligation in justice if the prosperity of the rich nations has come from resources that have not been paid for fairly.

2440 Direct aid is an appropriate response to immediate, extraordinary needs caused by natural catastrophes, epidemics, and the like. But it does not suffice to repair the grave damage resulting from destitution or to provide a lasting solution to a country's needs. It is also necessary to reform international economic and financial institutions so that they will better promote equitable relationships with less advanced countries.²²⁷ The efforts of poor countries working for growth and liberation must be supported.²²⁸ This doctrine must be applied especially in the area of agricultural labor. Peasants, especially in the Third World, form the overwhelming majority of the poor.

2441 An increased sense of God and increased self-awareness are fundamental to any full development of human society. This development multiplies material goods and puts them at the service of the person and his freedom. It reduces dire poverty and economic exploitation. It makes for growth in respect for cultural identities and openness to the transcendent.²²⁹

2442 It is not the role of the Pastors of the Church to intervene directly in the political structuring and organization of social life. This task is part of the vocation of the lay faithful, acting on their own initiative with their fellow citizens. Social action can assume various concrete forms. It should always have the common good in view and be in conformity with the message of the Gospel and the teaching of the Church. It is the role of the laity "to animate temporal realities with Christian commitment, by which they show that they are witnesses and agents of peace and justice."²³⁰

六、對窮人的愛護

2443. 天主祝福那幫助窮人者，譴責那不顧窮人者：「求你的，就給他；願意向你借貸的，你不要拒絕」(瑪 5:42)。「你們無條件得來的，也要無條件分施」(瑪 10:8)。從他們為窮人所作的，耶穌將認出祂的被選者。當「窮苦人得了喜訊」(瑪 11:5)時，就是基督臨在的記號。

2444. 「教會愛護窮人……是教會恆久傳統的一部分」。這是受真福的福音、耶穌的貧窮、耶穌對窮人的關注所啟發，也應該是勞苦工作的一個動機，「好能賙濟貧乏的人」(弗 4:28)。這種對窮人的關愛，不只延伸到物質的貧窮，也延伸到文化與宗教多種形式的貧窮。

2445. 愛護窮人與無節制的愛財或自私的濫用錢財不能並存：

好！你們富有的人啊，現在哭泣哀號吧！因為你們的災難快來到了。你們的財產腐爛了，你們的衣服被蛀蟲吃了，你們的金銀生了銹，這銹要作控告你們的証據，也要像火一樣吞食你們的肉。你們竟為末日積蓄了財寶！看，工人們收割了你們的莊田，你們卻扣留他們的工資，這工資喊冤，收割工人的呼聲，已進入了萬軍上主的耳中。你們在世上奢華宴樂，養肥了你們的心，等候宰殺的日子。你們定了義人的罪，殺害了他，他卻沒有抵抗你們 (雅 5:1-6)。

2446. 金口聖若望強有力地提醒：「不讓窮人來分享我們的財產，這是偷竊他們，除掉他們的生命。我們所持有的財物，不是我們的，是他們的」。「首先要滿足正義的要求，因正義應付給的東西，不可作為愛德的恩賜去給」。

聖大額我略，《牧民守則》：當我們給與貧窮者必需的物品，我們不是施予他們我個人的慷慨，我們是還給他們原來是他們的東西。與其說我們完成一項愛德的行為，不如說實行正義的行為。

2447. 哀矜神工 (慈善事業) 是愛德行為，我們藉以幫助我們的近人，在其肉身與精神的需要上。教導、勸告、安慰和鼓勵是精神的慈悲，一如寬恕和忍耐。身體的慈悲工作，特別在於給飢者以食、無屋者以住、裸者以衣、探望病人與坐牢者、埋葬死者。在這些行為中，施捨給窮人，是兄弟友愛的一種主要的見証，也是悅樂天主的正義之實踐：

有兩件內衣的，要分給那沒有的；有食物的，也要照樣作 (路 3:11)。只要你們把所擁有的都施捨了，那麼，一切對你們便潔淨了(路 11:41)。假設有弟兄或姊妹赤身露體，且缺少日用糧，即使你們中有人給他說：「你們平安去吧！穿得暖暖的，吃得飽飽的！」卻不給他們身體所必需的，有甚麼益處呢 (雅 2:15-16)？ 

2448. 「在眾多的形態之下：物質的缺乏、不義的壓制、生理和心理的疾病、最後還有死亡，這些人間的悲慘是脆弱的人性顯明的標誌，人自第一次犯罪之後，就處於脆弱中而需要救恩。這是為何人間的悲慘贏得了救主基督的憐憫，願意把悲慘承擔起來，並與其「弟兄中最弱小的」認同。這是為何受悲痛壓迫的人都是教會優先關愛的對象。教會自創立以來，儘管其間有許多人為的缺點，卻未停止藉慈善事業致力於安慰、保護和解救他們。教會藉無數的慈善事業所作的，都是隨時隨地不可或缺的」。 

2449. 從舊約開始，種種法律措施 (赦免年、禁止付息借貸、禁止扣留抵押品、繳什一稅的義務、每日應付給散工工資、摘剩餘葡萄的權利、拾落穗的權利)，都是回應申命紀的勸勉：「既然在這地上總少不了窮人，為此我吩咐你說：對你地區內困苦貧窮的弟兄，你應大方地伸出援助之手」(申 15:11)。耶穌把這句話當成自己的：「你們常有窮人和你們在一起；至於我，你們卻不常有」(若 12:8)。祂沒有使古代先知的話失去鋒芒：「用銀錢購買窮人，以一雙鞋換取貧人」(亞 8:6)，祂邀請我們認出祂在貧苦弟兄們身上的臨在：

漢森，《奇妙的生命》：有一天，聖羅撒‧利馬的母親責備她在家裏收留窮人及病人，她對母親說：「當我們服事窮人及病人時，我們服事耶穌。我們不應該對幫助我們的近人感到厭倦，因為在他們身上我們服事耶穌」。 

撮要

2450. 「不可偷盜」(出 20:15;申 5:19)。「偷竊的，貪婪的……勒索人的，都不能繼承天國」(格前 6:10)。

2451. 第七誡命令人在管理世間的財物及人類勞作的成果上，應實踐正義和愛德。

2452. 受造界的財富是為全人類用的。私有權不能廢止財產的普遍用途。

2453. 第七誡禁止偷竊。偷竊就是違反物主合理的意願，侵佔他的財產。

2454. 凡以不義的方法拿走或運用他人的財物，都是違反第七誡。違反正義，就要賠償。違反交換正義，需要償還偷竊的東西。

2455. 道德律禁止，一切把人當商品而奴役人性、買賣、交易人口的行為，無論其目的是商業的或獨裁政權的。

2456. 造物主對宇宙的礦物、植物、動物所給予人的統治權，不能脫離道德義務，連同對後代人類的義務在內。

2457. 動物是賜給人類管理的，應該友善地對待牠們。動物可供人在需要時合理的享用。

2458. 當基本人權或人的得救有需要時，教會對經濟社會事務可加以判斷，教會關心人現世的公益，是基於現世福祉應導向我們的最終目的，止於至善。

2459. 人是整個經濟社會生活的創作者、中心和目的。社會問題的關鍵在於，天主為眾人創造的財產，能夠按正義，並由於愛德的協助，實際到達眾人手裏。

2460. 工作的首要價值是在於人，人是創作者和受益者。人藉工作參與造物主的工程。人與基督結合完成的工作，能有救贖性。

2461. 真正的發展，是全人的發展。就是讓每人的潛能成長，以回應自己的聖召，這就是天主的召叫。

2462. 對窮人的佈施是弟兄友愛的見証：亦是悅樂天主的正義之實踐。

2463. 在廣大人群中，有的受飢挨餓、有的流離失所，怎能不在他們身上認出拉匝祿──福音比喻中飢餓的乞丐？怎能聽不到耶穌的話：「便是沒有對我做」(瑪 25:45)？

2443 God blesses those who come to the aid of the poor and rebukes those who turn away from them: "Give to him who begs from you, do not refuse him who would borrow from you"; "you received without pay, give without pay."²³¹ It is by what they have done for the poor that Jesus Christ will recognize his chosen ones.²³² When "the poor have the good news preached to them," it is the sign of Christ's presence.²³³

2444 "The Church's love for the poor . . . is a part of her constant tradition." This love is inspired by the Gospel of the Beatitudes, of the poverty of Jesus, and of his concern for the poor.²³⁴ Love for the poor is even one of the motives for the duty of working so as to "be able to give to those in need."²³⁵ It extends not only to material poverty but also to the many forms of cultural and religious poverty.²³⁶

2445 Love for the poor is incompatible with immoderate love of riches or their selfish use:

Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have rusted, and their rust will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure for the last days. Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You have lived on the earth in luxury and in pleasure; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. You have condemned, you have killed the righteous man; he does not resist you.²³⁷

2446 St. John Chrysostom vigorously recalls this: "Not to enable the poor to share in our goods is to steal from them and deprive them of life. the goods we possess are not ours, but theirs."²³⁸ "The demands of justice must be satisfied first of all; that which is already due in justice is not to be offered as a gift of charity":²³⁹

When we attend to the needs of those in want, we give them what is theirs, not ours. More than performing works of mercy, we are paying a debt of justice.²⁴⁰

2447 The works of mercy are charitable actions by which we come to the aid of our neighbor in his spiritual and bodily necessities.²⁴¹ Instructing, advising, consoling, comforting are spiritual works of mercy, as are forgiving and bearing wrongs patiently. the corporal works of mercy consist especially in feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and imprisoned, and burying the dead.²⁴² Among all these, giving alms to the poor is one of the chief witnesses to fraternal charity: it is also a work of justice pleasing to God:²⁴³

He who has two coats, let him share with him who has none and he who has food must do likewise.²⁴⁴ But give for alms those things which are within; and behold, everything is clean for you.²⁴⁵ If a brother or sister is ill-clad and in lack of daily food, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled," without giving them the things needed for the body, what does it profit?²⁴⁶

2448 "In its various forms - material deprivation, unjust oppression, physical and psychological illness and death - human misery is the obvious sign of the inherited condition of frailty and need for salvation in which man finds himself as a consequence of original sin. This misery elicited the compassion of Christ the Savior, who willingly took it upon himself and identified himself with the least of his brethren. Hence, those who are oppressed by poverty are the object of a preferential love on the part of the Church which, since her origin and in spite of the failings of many of her members, has not ceased to work for their relief, defense, and liberation through numerous works of charity which remain indispensable always and everywhere."²⁴⁷

2449 Beginning with the Old Testament, all kinds of juridical measures (the jubilee year of forgiveness of debts, prohibition of loans at interest and the keeping of collateral, the obligation to tithe, the daily payment of the day-laborer, the right to glean vines and fields) answer the exhortation of Deuteronomy: "For the poor will never cease out of the land; therefore I command you, 'You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor in the land.'"²⁴⁸ Jesus makes these words his own: "The poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me."²⁴⁹ In so doing he does not soften the vehemence of former oracles against "buying the poor for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals . . .," but invites us to recognize his own presence in the poor who are his brethren:²⁵⁰

When her mother reproached her for caring for the poor and the sick at home, St. Rose of Lima said to her: "When we serve the poor and the sick, we serve Jesus. We must not fail to help our neighbors, because in them we serve Jesus.²⁵¹

IN BRIEF

2450 "You shall not steal" (⇒ Ex 20:15; ⇒ Deut 5:19). "Neither thieves, nor the greedy, nor robbers will inherit the kingdom of God" (⇒ 1 Cor 6:10).

2451 The seventh commandment enjoins the practice of justice and charity in the administration of earthly goods and the fruits of men's labor.

2452 The goods of creation are destined for the entire human race. the right to private property does not abolish the universal destination of goods.

2453 The seventh commandment forbids theft. Theft is the usurpation of another's goods against the reasonable will of the owner.

2454 Every manner of taking and using another's property unjustly is contrary to the seventh commandment. the injustice committed requires reparation. Commutative justice requires the restitution of stolen goods.

2455 The moral law forbids acts which, for commercial or totalitarian purposes, lead to the enslavement of human beings, or to their being bought, sold or exchanged like merchandise.

2456 The dominion granted by the Creator over the mineral, vegetable, and animal resources of the universe cannot be separated from respect for moral obligations, including those toward generations to come.

2457 Animals are entrusted to man's stewardship; he must show them kindness. They may be used to serve the just satisfaction of man's needs.

2458 The Church makes a judgment about economic and social matters when the fundamental rights of the person or the salvation of souls requires *. She is concerned with the temporal common good of men because they are ordered to the sovereign Good, their ultimate end.

2459 Man is himself the author, center, and goal of all economic and social life. the decisive point of the social question is that goods created by God for everyone should in fact reach everyone in accordance with justice and with the help of charity.

2460 The primordial value of labor stems from man himself, its author and beneficiary. By means of his labor man participates in the work of creation. Work united to Christ can be redemptive.

2461 True development concerns the whole man. It is concerned with increasing each person's ability to respond to his vocation and hence to God's call (cf CA 29).

2462 Giving alms to the poor is a witness to fraternal charity: it is also a work of justice pleasing to God.

2463 How can we not recognize Lazarus, the hungry beggar in the parable (cf ⇒ Lk 17:19-31), in the multitude of human beings without bread, a roof or a place to stay? How can we fail to hear Jesus: "As you did it not to one of the least of these, you did it not to me" (⇒ Mt 25:45)?

第八條 第八誡

不可作假見証，害你的近人(出 20:16;申 5:20)。

你們曾聽過對古人說：「不可發虛誓，但要向上主償還你的誓願」(瑪 5:33)。

2464. 第八誡禁止在對別人的關係上歪曲真理。這項道德規定來自神聖子民的聖召，要作天主的見証，而天主是真理，天主要真理。違反真理的罪，就是以言語、以行為表示拒絕致力於道德的正直：是對天主根本的不忠，因此破壞盟約的基礎。

一、生活於真理中

2465. 舊約証實：天主是一切真理之源。祂的話是真理。祂的法律是真理。祂的「信實，代代流傳」（詠 119:90)。因為天主是「真實的」(羅 3:4)，祂的子民被召生活於真理中。

2466. 在耶穌基督身上，天主的真理全部彰顯出來。「滿溢恩寵和真理」(若 1:14)，祂是「世界的光」(若 8:12)，祂就是真理。「凡信我的人，不留在黑暗中」(若 12:46)。耶穌的門徒「存留在祂的話內」，好能認識「使他們自由、使他們成聖」的真理。跟隨耶穌，就是因「真理之神」而生活 (若 14:17)，祂是父因子的名所派遣的， 並把人「引入一切真理」(若 16:13)。耶穌教導祂的門徒，無條件地愛真理：「你們的話應當是：是就說是，非就說非」(瑪 5:37)。

2467. 人天生傾向於真理。人有責任尊重真理，並為真理作証：「人有其尊嚴，因他們是人……受其天性的驅使，負有道德責任去追求真理，尤其是宗教的真理。每人也有責任固守已認識的真理，遵循真理的要求而處理其全部生活」。

2468. 真理是作事及說話的正直，叫作誠實、誠懇或坦率。真理或誠實是一種德行，在於表示自己的行為真實，並承認自己所言為真，避免口是心非、假裝與偽善。

2469. 「人如果不能互相信任，就是說，如果不顯示出真理，就不可能共同生活」。真理之為德行，就是要正當地給予他人所應得的。誠實就是在應說的事和應保守的緘默之間，適當地保持中庸：這包括正直與謹慎。按正義，「人對另一人應正直地顯示真理」。

2470. 基督的門徒接受「在真理中生活」，即依照主的榜樣度簡樸生活，也存留於祂的真理中。「如果我們說我們與祂相通，但仍在黑暗中行走，我們就是說謊，不履行真理」(若一 1:6)。

二、「為真理作証」

2471. 基督在比拉多前聲明，祂是「為真理作証而來到世界上」(若 18:37)。基督徒不應以「為主作証為恥」(弟後 1:8)。在要求為信仰作証的情形中，基督徒應毫不含糊地明認自己的信仰，如同聖保祿面對他的審判者所作的。基督徒應該「對天主和對人時常保持良心無愧」(宗 24:16)。

2472. 基督徒參與教會生活的責任，促使他們作福音及源自福音之義務的見証。這種見証就是把信德以言以行傳下去。見証是一種正義行為，証實真理或使人認識真理。

所有基督徒，無論生活在甚麼地方，都應藉生活的榜樣及言語的見証，顯示出他們因聖洗而成了新人，並因聖神的能力藉堅振聖事而強化。

2473. 殉道是對信仰的真理所作的至高見証，殉道是至死不屈的見証。殉道者為死而復活的基督作証，他與基督因愛德而結合。他為信仰真理和基督的道理而作証。他因勇毅而忍受死亡。請「你們讓我成為猛獸的食物，只有藉著牠們我才能到達天主那裡」。

2474. 教會非常仔細地，收集了那些為証實他們的信仰而至死不屈的人的記錄。這就是殉道錄。這構成以鮮血寫成的真理檔案：

聖依納爵‧安提約基，《致羅馬人書》：世界的快樂與這世紀的王權，於我毫無益處。對我來說，為(與)基督(結合)而死，勝過統治大地全球。我所尋找的就是祂，祂曾為我們而死；我所願望的就是祂，祂曾為我們而復活。我的出生日期已經迫近……。

《聖玻里加殉道錄》：我讚美祢，因為祢曾認為今天此時我可被列入殉道者的行列中……信實及真理的天主，祢堅守了祢的許諾。為了此一恩寵，為了這一切，我讚美祢、稱謝祢，並為了天上永遠的大司祭，祢可愛的聖子、耶穌基督，我光榮祢。祂與祢及聖神同在，藉著祂，光榮歸於祢，現在及來世，永無窮盡。阿們。

THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT

You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.²⁵²

It was said to the men of old, "You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn."²⁵³

2464 The eighth commandment forbids misrepresenting the truth in our relations with others. This moral prescription flows from the vocation of the holy people to bear witness to their God who is the truth and wills the truth. Offenses against the truth express by word or deed a refusal to commit oneself to moral uprightness: they are fundamental infidelities to God and, in this sense, they undermine the foundations of the covenant.

I. Living in the Truth

2465 The Old Testament attests that God is the source of all truth. His Word is truth. His Law is truth. His "faithfulness endures to all generations."²⁵⁴ Since God is "true," the members of his people are called to live in the truth.²⁵⁵

2466 In Jesus Christ, the whole of God's truth has been made manifest. "Full of grace and truth," he came as the "light of the world," he is the Truth.²⁵⁶ "Whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness."²⁵⁷ The disciple of Jesus continues in his word so as to know "the truth [that] will make you free" and that sanctifies.²⁵⁸ To follow Jesus is to live in "the Spirit of truth," whom the Father sends in his name and who leads "into all the truth."²⁵⁹ To his disciples Jesus teaches the unconditional love of truth: "Let what you say be simply 'Yes or No.'"²⁶⁰

2467 Man tends by nature toward the truth. He is obliged to honor and bear witness to it: "It is in accordance with their dignity that all men, because they are persons . . . are both impelled by their nature and bound by a moral obligation to seek the truth, especially religious truth. They are also bound to adhere to the truth once they come to know it and direct their whole lives in accordance with the demands of truth."²⁶¹

2468 Truth as uprightness in human action and speech is called truthfulness, sincerity, or candor. Truth or truthfulness is the virtue which consists in showing oneself true in deeds and truthful in words, and in guarding against duplicity, dissimulation, and hypocrisy.

2469 "Men could not live with one another if there were not mutual confidence that they were being truthful to one another."²⁶² The virtue of truth gives another his just due. Truthfulness keeps to the just mean between what ought to be expressed and what ought to be kept secret: it entails honesty and discretion. In justice, "as a matter of honor, one man owes it to another to manifest the truth."²⁶³

2470 The disciple of Christ consents to "live in the truth," that is, in the simplicity of a life in conformity with the Lord's example, abiding in his truth. "If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not live according to the truth."²⁶⁴

II. To Bear Witness to the Truth

2471 Before Pilate, Christ proclaims that he "has come into the world, to bear witness to the truth."²⁶⁵ The Christian is not to "be ashamed then of testifying to our Lord."²⁶⁶ In situations that require witness to the faith, the Christian must profess it without equivocation, after the example of St. Paul before his judges. We must keep "a clear conscience toward God and toward men."²⁶⁷

2472 The duty of Christians to take part in the life of the Church impels them to act as witnesses of the Gospel and of the obligations that flow from it. This witness is a transmission of the faith in words and deeds. Witness is an act of justice that establishes the truth or makes it known.²⁶⁸ 
All Christians by the example of their lives and the witness of their word, wherever they live, have an obligation to manifest the new man which they have put on in Baptism and to reveal the power of the Holy Spirit by whom they were strengthened at Confirmation.

2473 Martyrdom is the supreme witness given to the truth of the faith: it means bearing witness even unto death. the martyr bears witness to Christ who died and rose, to whom he is united by charity. He bears witness to the truth of the faith and of Christian doctrine. He endures death through an act of fortitude. "Let me become the food of the beasts, through whom it will be given me to reach God."²⁷⁰

2474 The Church has painstakingly collected the records of those who persevered to the end in witnessing to their faith. These are the acts of the Martyrs. They form the archives of truth written in letters of blood:

Neither the pleasures of the world nor the kingdoms of this age will be of any use to me.

It is better for me to die [in order to unite myself] to Christ Jesus than to reign over the ends of the earth. I seek him who died for us; I desire him who rose for us. My birth is approaching. . .²⁷¹ I bless you for having judged me worthy from this day and this hour to be counted among your martyrs.... You have kept your promise, God of faithfulness and truth. For this reason and for everything, I praise you, I bless you, I glorify you through the eternal and heavenly High Priest, Jesus Christ, your beloved Son. Through him, who is with you and the Holy Spirit, may glory be given to you, now and in the ages to come. Amen.²⁷²

三、違反真理的罪

2475. 基督的門徒「穿上新人，就是按照天主的肖象所造，具有真實的正義和聖善的新人」(弗 4:24)。「戒絕謊言」，他們放棄了「各種邪惡、各種欺詐、虛偽、嫉妒和各種誹謗」(伯前 2:1)。

2476. 偽証與虛誓。公開的表達違背真理的言詞，具有特別的嚴重性。在法庭前、就是偽証。如果宣誓講不實之言，就是虛誓。這些行為促成無辜者的定罪，或者開脫有罪者，或者加重被告的罪刑。這種行為嚴重危害正義的施行，及法官判決的公平。

2477. 尊重別人的聲望，禁止對他們可能造成不當的傷害的態度與言語。下列情況使人成為有罪的：

──武斷，就是沒有充分根據而當以為真，甚或默認，近人在倫理上的缺失；
──誹謗，就是無客觀健全的理由，揭發別人的缺點與過錯給不知道此事的人；
──誣衊，是以違反真理的言詞，傷害別人的聲望，使人對他作出錯誤的判斷。

2478.為了避免武斷，每人應盡其所能，設法以善意的態度解釋其近人的思、言及行為。

聖依納爵‧羅耀拉，《神操》：任何善良的基督徒，對別人的言語應該寧願加以保護，而不輕易譴責；如果無法保護，就該詢問那說話的人有甚麼意思。倘若他懂錯了，便該用愛心糾正他；如果這還不夠，便該用一切適當的方法，使他明白，而彌補缺點。

2479. 誹謗與誣衊是破壞近人的聲望與名譽。既然名譽是社會對人性尊嚴的見証，每人都有天賦權利享有自己的名譽、聲望與尊重。因此，誹謗及誣衊傷害正義與愛德。

2480. 應當禁止藉諂媚、奉承或逢迎的言語或行為，鼓勵或贊成別人行為的邪惡及舉止的錯謬。如果奉承構成罪惡或重罪的共犯，就是一種嚴重的過失。服務的善意或友情，不能使口是心非的言語成為正當的。奉承如果只是為取悅於人、為迴避壞事、應付一件必然的事，以及為得到合法的好處，則是輕微的罪。

2481. 說大話或吹噓構成違反真理的過失。諷刺也是一樣，它有意輕視別人，惡意醜化別人的行為。

2482. 「謊言是有意欺騙而說假話」。主耶穌曾揭發謊言是魔鬼的工作：「你們是出於你們的父親魔鬼……他沒有真理：他幾時撒謊，正出於他的本性，因為他是撒謊者，而且又是撒謊者的父親」(若 8:44)。

2483. 謊言是對真理最直接的冒犯。謊言是說話或行事違背真理，使人陷入錯誤。謊言傷害人對真理及對近人的關係，也侵害人與其言語對天主的基本關係。

2484. 謊言的嚴重性，依照其所歪曲的真理本身、環境狀況、撒謊者的意圖，以及受害者所受損害的程度而衡量。撒謊本身只構成輕微的罪，但若嚴重侵害正義與愛德，則變成大罪。

2485. 謊言本身是應受譴責的，因為是對言語的褻瀆，而言語的作用是要把已知的真理通傳給人。刻意藉違背真理的言詞，引人陷入錯誤，在正義與愛德上構成過失。如果欺騙的意圖，使那些受騙的人，有危險造成悲慘結局，則負罪更大。

2486. 謊言(原來就是傷害誠實之德)，是對他人的一種真正暴力。它打擊人的認知能力，而這正是一切判斷和決定的先決條件。謊言含有使人意見不合的胚芽，及由此不合而產生的一切壞事。謊言為整個社會是一種不幸；破壞人與人之間的信任，撕裂社會組織的關係。

2487. 即使犯錯者已被寬恕，關於正義與真理所犯的一切錯誤，仍有補償的責任。如果不可能公開地賠補，應該私下來作；如果對受害人無法直接賠補，應該以愛德的名義，給予道義上的補償。這項賠償的責任也涉及侵犯他人名譽的罪過。這種賠償，是道義的，有時是物質的，應該按照所造成的損害來衡量。賠償是良心上的責任。

2475 Christ's disciples have "put on the new man, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness."²⁷³ By "putting away falsehood," they are to "put away all malice and all guile and insincerity and envy and all slander."²⁷⁴

2476 False witness and perjury. When it is made publicly, a statement contrary to the truth takes on a particular gravity. In court it becomes false witness.²⁷⁵ When it is under oath, it is perjury. Acts such as these contribute to condemnation of the innocent, exoneration of the guilty, or the increased punishment of the accused.²⁷⁶ They gravely compromise the exercise of justice and the fairness of judicial decisions.

2477 Respect for the reputation of persons forbids every attitude and word likely to cause them unjust injury.²⁷⁷ He becomes guilty: 
- of rash judgment who, even tacitly, assumes as true, without sufficient foundation, the moral fault of a neighbor; 
- of detraction who, without objectively valid reason, discloses another's faults and failings to persons who did not know them;²⁷⁸ 
- of calumny who, by remarks contrary to the truth, harms the reputation of others and gives occasion for false judgments concerning them.

2478 To avoid rash judgment, everyone should be careful to interpret insofar as possible his neighbor's thoughts, words, and deeds in a favorable way:

Every good Christian ought to be more ready to give a favorable interpretation to another's statement than to condemn it. But if he cannot do so, let him ask how the other understands it. and if the latter understands it badly, let the former correct him with love. If that does not suffice, let the Christian try all suitable ways to bring the other to a correct interpretation so that he may be saved.²⁷⁹

2479 Detraction and calumny destroy the reputation and honor of one's neighbor. Honor is the social witness given to human dignity, and everyone enjoys a natural right to the honor of his name and reputation and to respect. Thus, detraction and calumny offend against the virtues of justice and charity.

2480 Every word or attitude is forbidden which by flattery, adulation, or complaisance encourages and confirms another in malicious acts and perverse conduct. Adulation is a grave fault if it makes one an accomplice in another's vices or grave sins. Neither the desire to be of service nor friendship justifies duplicitous speech. Adulation is a venial sin when it only seeks to be agreeable, to avoid evil, to meet a need, or to obtain legitimate advantages.

2481 Boasting or bragging is an offense against truth. So is irony aimed at disparaging someone by maliciously caricaturing some aspect of his behavior.

2482 "A lie consists in speaking a falsehood with the intention of deceiving."²⁸⁰ The Lord denounces lying as the work of the devil: "You are of your father the devil, . . . there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies."²⁸¹

2483 Lying is the most direct offense against the truth. To lie is to speak or act against the truth in order to lead into error someone who has the right to know the truth. By injuring man's relation to truth and to his neighbor, a lie offends against the fundamental relation of man and of his word to the Lord.

2484 The gravity of a lie is measured against the nature of the truth it deforms, the circumstances, the intentions of the one who lies, and the harm suffered by its victims. If a lie in itself only constitutes a venial sin, it becomes mortal when it does grave injury to the virtues of justice and charity.

2485 By its very nature, lying is to be condemned. It is a profanation of speech, whereas the purpose of speech is to communicate known truth to others. the deliberate intention of leading a neighbor into error by saying things contrary to the truth constitutes a failure in justice and charity. the culpability is greater when the intention of deceiving entails the risk of deadly consequences for those who are led astray.

2486 Since it violates the virtue of truthfulness, a lie does real violence to another. It affects his ability to know, which is a condition of every judgment and decision. It contains the seed of discord and all consequent evils. Lying is destructive of society; it undermines trust among men and tears apart the fabric of social relationships.

2487 Every offense committed against justice and truth entails the duty of reparation, even if its author has been forgiven. When it is impossible publicly to make reparation for a wrong, it must be made secretly. If someone who has suffered harm cannot be directly compensated, he must be given moral satisfaction in the name of charity. This duty of reparation also concerns offenses against another's reputation. This reparation, moral and sometimes material, must be evaluated in terms of the extent of the damage inflicted. It obliges in conscience.

四、尊重真理

2488. 傳播真理的權利並非無條件的。每人應該使自己的生活與弟兄友愛的福音誡命相符合。這在實際情況中要求評估，是否適宜把真情披露給詢問的人。

2489. 遇到任何要求提供資訊或傳播的情況時，應以愛德與對真理的尊重為答覆的原則。別人的好處與安全、私生活的尊重與公益，都是足夠的理由，對不宜公開的事保持緘默，或使用謹慎的言詞。為避免壞榜樣，經常需要更嚴格的謹慎。任何人都沒責任給沒有權利知道的人揭露真相。

2490. 和好聖事的秘密是神聖的，在任何藉口下都不得洩露。「聖事的秘密是不可侵犯的；所以聽告解者不得以言語，或其他任何方式，或藉任何理由揭發告解人」。

2491. 職業秘密，如政治家、軍人、醫生、律師等所持有者，或在保証守秘密的情況下所委託的事，應當予以遵守，除非在特殊情況中，保守秘密將會給託付者、受託付者，或第三者造成極重的傷害，而且只有公開真相才可避免。為別人有害的私人訊息，雖不是在守秘密的保証下所託付的，沒有重大及相稱的理由，亦不得予以公開。

2492. 每人都應對他人的私生活有合理的保留。傳播負責人在公益的要求，與私人權利的尊重之間，應保持合理的平衡。對投身政治及公共活動者之私生活的資訊干預，如果侵犯了他們的隱私與自由，是可譴責的。

五、社會傳播媒體的使用

2493. 在現代社會中傳播媒體在資訊、文化及教育方面，有其特殊重要的角色。隨著技術的進步、傳播資訊的豐富與多元，以及輿論所發生的影響，此一角色更形擴大。

2494. 媒體提供的資訊，是為公益服務。社會有權利得到基於真理、自由、正義與連帶責任的資訊：

為妥善行使這種權利，要求傳播的事實應常是真實的，在正義與愛德的條件下是完整的，而且傳播的方式也當是正直的、適當的，這是說，不可違反道德規範、人的權利及人的尊嚴。採訪消息時如此，傳播消息時亦當如此。

2495. 「社會的所有成員在這方面都必須盡正義與愛德的義務。所以應藉社會傳播媒體，形成並傳播健全的輿論」。連帶責任就是真實的及正確的傳播，以及意見自由交流的一種結果。這樣的傳播與交流有助於認識，並尊重他人。

2496. 社會傳播工具(尤其是大眾媒體)能夠在接收者身上，產生某種被動性，使他們對表演或訊息成為缺少警戒性的消費者。面對大眾傳播媒體，使用者應自加節制與嚴守紀律。他們自己應培養清明及正直的良心，以便更容易地抗拒不太正派的影響。

2497.  基於職業的關係，新聞工作者在資訊傳播上，有責任服務真理，及不侵犯愛德。他們應以同樣的關心，努力尊重事實的本身，及尊重對人的批判該有的限度。他們要避免造謠中傷。

2498. 「基於公益，政府應負起特殊責任；政府的任務是保護真正的及公正的資訊自由」 。政府宣布法律，並監督其實施，要保証，不因媒體的妄用，「致使民間風氣墮落、社會進步受阻」。政府應制裁對個人的聲望及隱私權侵犯的行為。政府及時地、誠實地提供有關公益的資訊，回答民眾有根據的憂慮。決不可以求助於虛偽的資訊，假借媒體，而操縱輿論。政府使用媒體時，不該侵害個人及族群的自由。

2499. 道德輿論應譴責極權國家的內幕，他們有系統地捏造事實，藉傳播媒體對輿論施行政治統治，「操縱」公開審判的被告與証人，並扼殺及壓制他們視為「輿論的罪惡」的一切，以為如此就可以確保他們的暴政。

2488 The right to the communication of the truth is not unconditional. Everyone must conform his life to the Gospel precept of fraternal love. This requires us in concrete situations to judge whether or not it is appropriate to reveal the truth to someone who asks for it.

2489 Charity and respect for the truth should dictate the response to every request for information or communication. the good and safety of others, respect for privacy, and the common good are sufficient reasons for being silent about what ought not be known or for making use of a discreet language. the duty to avoid scandal often commands strict discretion. No one is bound to reveal the truth to someone who does not have the right to know it.²⁸²

2490 The secret of the sacrament of reconciliation is sacred, and cannot be violated under any pretext. "The sacramental seal is inviolable; therefore, it is a crime for a confessor in any way to betray a penitent by word or in any other manner or for any reason."²⁸³

2491 Professional secrets - for example, those of political office holders, soldiers, physicians, and lawyers - or confidential information given under the seal of secrecy must be kept, save in exceptional cases where keeping the secret is bound to cause very grave harm to the one who confided it, to the one who received it or to a third party, and where the very grave harm can be avoided only by divulging the truth. Even if not confided under the seal of secrecy, private information prejudicial to another is not to be divulged without a grave and proportionate reason.

2492 Everyone should observe an appropriate reserve concerning persons' private lives. Those in charge of communications should maintain a fair balance between the requirements of the common good and respect for individual rights. Interference by the media in the private lives of persons engaged in political or public activity is to be condemned to the extent that it infringes upon their privacy and freedom.

V. The Use of the Social Communications Media

2493 Within modern society the communications media play a major role in information, cultural promotion, and formation. This role is increasing, as a result of technological progress, the extent and diversity of the news transmitted, and the influence exercised on public opinion.

2494 The information provided by the media is at the service of the common good.²⁸⁴ Society has a right to information based on truth, freedom, justice, and solidarity:

The proper exercise of this right demands that the content of the communication be true and - within the limits set by justice and charity - complete. Further, it should be communicated honestly and properly. This means that in the gathering and in the publication of news, the moral law and the legitimate rights and dignity of man should be upheld.²⁸⁵

2495 "It is necessary that all members of society meet the demands of justice and charity in this domain. They should help, through the means of social communication, in the formation and diffusion of sound public opinion."²⁸⁶ Solidarity is a consequence of genuine and right communication and the free circulation of ideas that further knowledge and respect for others.

2496 The means of social communication (especially the mass media) can give rise to a certain passivity among users, making them less than vigilant consumers of what is said or shown. Users should practice moderation and discipline in their approach to the mass media. They will want to form enlightened and correct consciences the more easily to resist unwholesome influences.

2497 By the very nature of their profession, journalists have an obligation to serve the truth and not offend against charity in disseminating information. They should strive to respect, with equal care, the nature of the facts and the limits of critical judgment concerning individuals. They should not stoop to defamation.

2498 "Civil authorities have particular responsibilities in this field because of the common good.... It is for the civil authority ... to defend and safeguard a true and just freedom of information."²⁸⁷ By promulgating laws and overseeing their application, public authorities should ensure that "public morality and social progress are not gravely endangered" through misuse of the media.²⁸⁸ Civil authorities should punish any violation of the rights of individuals to their reputation and privacy. They should give timely and reliable reports concerning the general good or respond to the well-founded concerns of the people. Nothing can justify recourse to disinformation for manipulating public opinion through the media. Interventions by public authority should avoid injuring the freedom of individuals or groups.

2499 Moral judgment must condemn the plague of totalitarian states which systematically falsify the truth, exercise political control of opinion through the media, manipulate defendants and witnesses at public trials, and imagine that they secure their tyranny by strangling and repressing everything they consider "thought crimes."

六、真、美與聖藝

2500. 行善帶來自然的心靈快樂與道德的美麗。同樣，真理包含著心靈之美的喜悅與光輝。真理本身是美的。言語中的真理，是用理性的方式表達對受造的與非受造的實體之認識，這為有理智的人是必要的；不過，真理可以找到其他的人性的表達方式，這些表達方式是補充的，特別能喚起那些無法言傳的事，人心靈的底蘊、靈魂的提昇、天主的奧秘。在天主藉著真理之言語啟示於人之前，祂先藉著受造界的普遍語言，就是祂聖言的工程、祂智慧的工程，啟示給人：宇宙的秩序與和諧，連小孩和學者都會發現，「受造物的偉大和美麗使他們以類比方式認識創造者」(智 13:5)，「因為全是美麗的根源所創造的」(智 13:3)。

智慧是天主德能的散發，是全能者榮耀的真誠流露，因此任何污穢都不能侵入祂內。 她是永遠光明的反映，是天主德能的明鏡，是天主美善的肖象(智 7:25-26)。智慧比太陽還美麗，壓倒一切星座；如與光明相比，她佔優勢；因光明還要讓位於黑夜，但邪惡絕不能戰勝智慧 (智 7:29-30) 。我實在愛慕智慧的美麗 (智 8:2)。 

2501. 「按天主的肖象而受造」(創 1:26)的人，也藉著自己藝術品的美麗，表達與天主造物主關係的真理。事實上，藝術是一種屬於人的特有表達形式；除了尋找生活的所需是一切生物共有的傾向之外，藝術是天賦給人的內心極豐富的資源。產生於造物主賦與的秉賦，及人本身的努力，藝術是一種應用的智慧，它連合了知識與技巧，由耳目所能接觸到的表達方式給實體的真理一種形式。對真理及萬物的熱愛達到某一程度，藝術與天主的創造活動有些相似。與人的其他活動一樣，藝術本身不是一個絕對的目的，它是以人的最終目的為方向，而更顯高貴。

2502. 如果聖藝在其形式上符合其使命，就是真的、美的：就是說在信德與崇拜中，使人想起並讚頌天主那超越萬物的奧跡、那顯示在基督身上的真理與仁愛的不可見的卓越美麗，[基督是]「天主光榮的反映，天主本體的真相」(希 1:3)，在祂身上「住著有形可見的整個圓滿的天主性」(哥 2:9)，在至聖童貞天主之母、天使以及聖人們身上反映的靈性美麗。真正的聖藝使人朝拜、祈禱、愛慕造物主、救世主、至聖的聖化者天主。

2503. 因此主教們，由他們自己或代理人，應該注意提倡新的、舊的各種形式的聖藝，並以同樣的關心，排除一切不合信德的真理，以及不合聖藝真正美的事物於禮儀及宗教建築之外。

撮要

2504. 「不可作假見証，害你的近人」(出 20:16)。基督的門徒穿上了「新人，就是按照天主的肖象所造，具有真實的正義和聖善的新人」(弗 4:24)。

2505. 真理或誠實是一種德行，在於表示自己的行為真實，自己所言為真，避免口是心非、假裝與偽善。

2506. 基督徒不應以言行「為主作証為恥」(弟後 1:8)。殉道是對信仰的真理所作的至高見証。

2507. 尊重別人的名譽、聲望，禁止一切誹謗、誣衊的言語及行為。

2508. 謊言就是說假話，有意欺騙近人。

2509. 犯了違反真理的罪，就應補償。

2510. 「金科玉律」(瑪 7:12)助人在實際的環境中分辨，是否適宜把真情披露給詢問的人。

2511. 「聖事的秘密是不可侵犯的」。職業的秘密應該遵守。為別人有害的秘密，不應該公開。

2512. 社會有權利得到基於真理、自由及正義的資訊。在運用大眾傳播工具上，宜自加節制與嚴守紀律。

2513. 美術，尤其是聖藝，「其本質就是要以人工，對天主的無限美善，作某種程度的表達；聖藝越能別無目的，而極力使人心靈歸向天主，就越能增加對天主的讚美與光榮」。

2500 The practice of goodness is accompanied by spontaneous spiritual joy and moral beauty. Likewise, truth carries with it the joy and splendor of spiritual beauty. Truth is beautiful in itself. Truth in words, the rational expression of the knowledge of created and uncreated reality, is necessary to man, who is endowed with intellect. But truth can also find other complementary forms of human expression, above all when it is a matter of evoking what is beyond words: the depths of the human heart, the exaltations of the soul, the mystery of God. Even before revealing himself to man in words of truth, God reveals himself to him through the universal language of creation, the work of his Word, of his wisdom: the order and harmony of the cosmos - which both the child and the scientist discover - "from the greatness and beauty of created things comes a corresponding perception of their Creator," "for the author of beauty created them."²⁸⁹

[Wisdom] is a breath of the power of God, and a pure emanation of the glory of the Almighty; therefore nothing defiled gains entrance into her. For she is a reflection of eternal light, a spotless mirror of the working of God, and an image of his goodness.²⁹⁰ For [wisdom] is more beautiful than the sun, and excels every constellation of the stars. Compared with the light she is found to be superior, for it is succeeded by the night, but against wisdom evil does not prevail.²⁹¹ I became enamored of her beauty.²⁹²

2501 Created "in the image of God,"²⁹³ man also expresses the truth of his relationship with God the Creator by the beauty of his artistic works. Indeed, art is a distinctively human form of expression; beyond the search for the necessities of life which is common to all living creatures, art is a freely given superabundance of the human being's inner riches. Arising from talent given by the Creator and from man's own effort, art is a form of practical wisdom, uniting knowledge and skill,²⁹⁴ to give form to the truth of reality in a language accessible to sight or hearing. To the extent that it is inspired by truth and love of beings, art bears a certain likeness to God's activity in what he has created. Like any other human activity, art is not an absolute end in itself, but is ordered to and ennobled by the ultimate end of man.²⁹⁵

2502 Sacred art is true and beautiful when its form corresponds to its particular vocation: evoking and glorifying, in faith and adoration, the transcendent mystery of God - the surpassing invisible beauty of truth and love visible in Christ, who "reflects the glory of God and bears the very stamp of his nature," in whom "the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily."²⁹⁶ This spiritual beauty of God is reflected in the most holy Virgin Mother of God, the angels, and saints. Genuine sacred art draws man to adoration, to prayer, and to the love of God, Creator and Savior, the Holy One and Sanctifier.

2503 For this reason bishops, personally or through delegates, should see to the promotion of sacred art, old and new, in all its forms and, with the same religious care, remove from the liturgy and from places of worship everything which is not in conformity with the truth of faith and the authentic beauty of sacred art.²⁹⁷

IN BRIEF

2504 "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor" (⇒ Ex 20:16). Christ's disciples have "put on the new man, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness" (⇒ Eph 4:24).

2505 Truth or truthfulness is the virtue which consists in showing oneself true in deeds and truthful in words, and guarding against duplicity, dissimulation, and hypocrisy.

2506 The Christian is not to "be ashamed of testifying to our Lord" (⇒ 2 Tim 1:8) in deed and word. Martyrdom is the supreme witness given to the truth of the faith.

2507 Respect for the reputation and honor of persons forbids all detraction and calumny in word or attitude.

2508 Lying consists in saying what is false with the intention of deceiving the neighbor who has the right to the truth.

2509 An offense committed against the truth requires reparation.

2510 The golden rule helps one discern, in concrete situations, whether or not it would be appropriate to reveal the truth to someone who asks for it.

2511 "The sacramental seal is inviolable" (⇒ CIC, can. 983 # 1). Professional secrets must be kept. Confidences prejudicial to another are not to be divulged.