Catechism of the Catholic Church

Life in Christ 543 IN BRIEF 2247 “Honor your father and your mother” ( Deut 5:16; Mk 7:10). 2248 According to the fourth commandment, God has willed that, after him, we should honor our parents and those whom he has vested with authority for our good. 2249 The conjugal community is established upon the covenant and consent of the spouses. Marriage and family are ordered to the good of the spouses, to the procreation and the education of children. 2250 “The well-being of the individual person and of both human and Christian society is closely bound up with the healthy state of conjugal and family life” ( GS 47 § 1). 2251 Children owe their parents respect, gratitude, just obedience, and assistance. Filial respect fosters har­ mony in all of family life. 2252 Parents have the first responsibility for the education of their children in the faith, prayer, and all the vir­ tues. They have the duty to provide as far as possible for the physical and spiritual needs of their children. 2253 Parents should respect and encourage their children’s vocations. They should remember and teach that the first calling of the Christian is to follow Jesus. 2254 Public authority is obliged to respect the fundamen­ tal rights of the human person and the conditions for the exercise of his freedom. 2255 It is the duty of citizens to work with civil authority for building up society in a spirit of truth, justice, solidarity, and freedom. 2256 Citizens are obliged in conscience not to follow the directives of civil authorities when they are contrary to the demands of the moral order. “We must obey God rather than men” ( Acts 5:29). 2257 Every society’s judgments and conduct reflect a vi­ sion of man and his destiny. Without the light the Gospel sheds on God and man, societies easily be­ come totalitarian.