Read the Catechism in a Year
Day 271 - Respect for Human Dignity
The Fifth Commandment: You shall not kill.
Why does the Fifth Commandment protect the physical and spiritual integrity of a human being as well?
The right to life and human dignity form a unity; they are inseparably connected to each other. It is possible to put a person to death spiritually also.
The commandment “You shall not kill” (Ex 20:13) applies to both physical and spiritual integrity. Every seduction and incitement to evil, every use of force is a serious sin, especially when it occurs in a relationship of dependency. The sin is especially evil when the dependence of children on adults is involved. This means not only sexual abuse, but also spiritual seduction by parents, priests, teachers, or educators who lead their charges astray from values, and so on.
How should we treat our body? The Fifth Commandment forbids also the use of violence against one’s own body. Jesus expressly demands that we accept and love ourselves: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Mt 22:39).
Self-destructive acts against one’s own body (“body piercings”, cutting and so on) are in most cases psychological reactions to experiences of abandonment and a lack of love; hence they call first and foremost for our sincere and loving response. Within the context of organ donation, it must be made clear, however, that there is no human right to destroy one’s own God-given body. (YOUCAT questions 386-387)
Dig Deeper: Corresponding CCC section (2280-2287) and other references here.
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