United States Catholic Catechism for Adults

Chapter 24. Life in Christ—Part Two • 331

FROM THE CATECHISM

announce the saving truth.” “To the Church belongs the right always and everywhere to announce moral principles, includ ing those pertaining to the social order, and to make judgments on any human affairs to the extent that they are required by the fundamental rights of the human person or the salvation of souls.” (CCC, no. 2032, citing 1 Tm 3:15; LG, no. 17; CIC, can. 747 §2) 3. What is the New Law? The New Law or the Law of the Gospel is the perfection here on earth of the divine law, natural and revealed. It is the work of Christ and is expressed particularly in the Sermon on the Mount. It is also the work of the Holy Spirit, and through him it becomes the interior law of charity: “I will establish a New Covenant with the house of Israel. . . . I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” (CCC, no. 1965, citing Heb 8:8, 10) 1. Why is happiness a motivation to be moral? The Beatitudes respond to the natural desire for happi ness. This desire is of divine origin: God has placed it in the human heart in order to draw man to the One who alone can fulfill it. (CCC, no. 1718) 2. What is social sin? Sin makes men accomplices of one another and causes concupiscence, violence, and injustice to reign among them. Sins give rise to social situations and institutions that are contrary to the divine goodness. “Structures of sin” are the expression and effect of personal sins. They lead their victims to do evil in their turn. In an analogous sense, they constitute a “social sin.” (CCC, no. 1869)