CATHOLIC WORD BOOK - Knights of Columbus, Supreme Council

norms corresponding to man’s nature by
which he orders his conduct toward God,
neighbor, society and himself. This law,
which is rooted in human nature, is of
divine origin, can be known by the use of
reason, and binds all persons having the
use of reason. The Ten Commandments are
declarations and amplifications of natural
law. The primary precepts of natural law,
to do good and to avoid evil, are
universally recognized, despite differences
with respect to understanding and
application resulting from different
philosophies of good and evil. (2) Divine
positive law: That which has been revealed
by God. Among its essentials are the twin
precepts of love of God and love of
neighbor, and the Ten Commandments.
(3) Ecclesiastical law: That which is
established by the Church for the spiritual
welfare of the faithful and the orderly
conduct of ecclesiastical affairs. (See Canon
Law.) (4) Civil law: That which is
established by a socio political community
for the common good.
Liberalism: A multiphased trend of
thought and movement favoring liberty,
independence and progress in moral,
intellectual, religious, social, economic
and political life. Traceable to the
Renaissance, it developed through the
Enlightenment, the rationalism of the
19th century, and modernist and
existentialist related theories of the 20th
century. Evaluations of various kinds of
liberalism depend on the validity of their
underlying principles. Extremist positions
— regarding subjectivism,
libertinarianism, naturalist denials of the
supernatural, and the alienation of
individuals and society from God and the
Church — were condemned by Gregory
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XVI in the 1830s, Pius IX in 1864, Leo
XIII in 1899, and St. Pius X in 1907.
There is, however, nothing objectionable
about forms of liberalism patterned
according to sound principles of Christian
doctrine.
Liberation Theology: Deals with the
relevance of Christian faith and salvation
— and, therefore, of the mission of the
Church — to efforts for the promotion of
human rights, social justice and human
development. It originated in the
religious, social, political and economic
environment of Latin America, with its
contemporary need for a theory and
corresponding action by the Church, in the
pattern of its overall mission, for human
rights and integral personal and social
development. Some versions of liberation
theology are at variance with the body of
church teaching because of their
ideological concept of Christ as liberator,
and also because they play down the
primary spiritual nature and mission of the
Church. Instructions from the
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
— “On Certain Aspects of the Theology of
Liberation” (Sept. 3, 1984) and “On
Christian Freedom and Liberation” (Apr.
5, 1986) — contain warnings against
translating sociology into theology and
advocating violence in social activism.
Life in Outer Space: Whether rational life
exists on other bodies in the universe
besides earth, is a question for scientific
investigation to settle. The possibility can
be granted, without prejudice to the body
of revealed truth.
Limbo: The limbo of the fathers was the
state of rest and natural happiness after