Things a Catholic might say to a politician like Pedro Sánchez during a meeting

This blog is almost 22 years old and, as I have said many times, I am Catholic, a condition that I am very clear about in my life.

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I was thinking a little while ago: what would I, as a Catholic, say to a politician like Sánchez during a meeting with him? I like to write, but this time I will limit myself to quoting a few paragraphs from the Catechism of the Catholic Church that I feel I need to remind him of:

1902 "Authority does not derive its moral legitimacy from itself. It must not behave despotically, but act for the common good as a 'moral force, based on freedom and on awareness of the task and obligations it has received' (GS 74, 2)."

1903 "Authority is exercised legitimately only if it seeks the common good of the group in question and if, to achieve it, it employs morally licit means. If leaders were to proclaim unjust laws or take measures contrary to the moral order, these provisions cannot be binding in conscience. 'In such a situation, authority itself completely collapses and appalling inequity arises' (PT 51)."

1904 “It is preferable that a power be balanced by other powers and other spheres of competence that keep it within its proper limits. This is the principle of the “rule of law” in which the law is sovereign and not the arbitrary will of men” (CA 44).

2270 "Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception. From the first moment of its existence, the human being must have its rights as a person recognized, among which is the inviolable right of every innocent being to life."

2271 "From the first century, the Church has affirmed the moral evil of all procured abortion. This teaching has not changed; it remains unchanged. Direct abortion, that is, abortion willed either as an end or as a means, is gravely contrary to the moral law."

2277 "Whatever the motives and means, direct euthanasia consists in ending the life of disabled, sick, or dying persons. It is morally unacceptable.

Therefore, any action or omission that, in itself or by intention, causes death to eliminate suffering constitutes homicide gravely contrary to the dignity of the human person and to respect for the living God, his Creator. An error in judgment into which one may have fallen in good faith does not change the nature of this homicidal act, which must always be rejected and excluded."

2284 "Scandal is the attitude or behavior that leads another to do evil. The one who causes scandal becomes a tempter of his neighbor. He attacks virtue and justice; he can cause his brother spiritual death. Scandal constitutes a grave offense if, by action or omission, he deliberately leads another to a grave offense."

2287 "Whoever uses the power at his disposal in a way that leads others to do evil is guilty of scandal and responsible for the evil he has directly or indirectly fostered. “It is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom they come!” (Lk 17:1).

2483. "Lying is the most direct offense against truth. To lie is to speak or act against the truth in order to mislead. By damaging man's relationship with truth and with his neighbor, lying offends the fundamental bond between man and his word with the Lord."

2485. "Lying is condemnable by its very nature. It is a profanation of the word whose purpose is to communicate known truth to others. The deliberate intention to mislead one's neighbor by words contrary to the truth constitutes an offense against justice and charity. The culpability is greater when the intention to deceive risks having disastrous consequences for those who are led astray from the truth."

2486 "Lying, being a violation of the virtue of truthfulness, is a true violence done to others. It attacks their capacity to know, which is the condition of all judgment and all decision. It contains in its germ the division of minds and all the evils that this engenders. Lying is disastrous for all society: it undermines trust among people and tears apart the fabric of social relations.".

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Photo: AFP.