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1. A short commandment… yet immense
The Fifth Commandment — “You shall not kill” — seems, at first glance, one of the clearest and simplest. Many people think: “I have never killed anyone, so this commandment has nothing to do with me.” However, the teaching of the Church, illuminated by Sacred Scripture and deepened by Tradition, shows us that this precept goes far beyond physical homicide.
The Fifth Commandment protects human life in all its dimensions: bodily, spiritual, psychological, and social. It defends life from conception to natural death, but also the dignity of the person, the integrity of body and soul, and love of neighbor.
Jesus raises this commandment to a radical depth when He says:
“You have heard that it was said to the men of old, ‘You shall not kill; and whoever kills shall be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment” (Mt 5:21–22).
Therefore, not killing also means not destroying, not despising, not wounding, not harming, not abandoning, not hating.
2. Human life: a sacred gift from God
Life does not belong to us. It is a gift from God, and He alone is its Lord. To attack human life is, at its core, a rebellion against the Creator.
The Church teaches clearly:
- Every human life is sacred
- Every person has an inviolable dignity
- No one may decide who deserves to live or die
This applies to the unborn, to the sick, to the elderly, to the disabled, to the poor, to the enemy, to those who think differently.
3. Grave and direct sins against human life
🔴 1. Voluntary homicide
- Killing a person directly and deliberately
- Ordering someone to be killed, hiring hitmen, ordering unjust executions
- Actively participating in a murder
🔴 2. Abortion (a most grave sin)
- Directly or indirectly causing the death of an unborn child
- Consenting to, facilitating, financing, or promoting abortion
- Pressuring another person to have an abortion
- Morally justifying abortion
- Doctors or healthcare workers who cooperate in abortions
- Politicians or legislators who promote abortion laws
🔴 3. Euthanasia and assisted suicide
- Causing the death of a sick or elderly person “out of compassion”
- Helping, advising, or facilitating suicide
- Justifying euthanasia as a “dignified death”
- Withholding basic care in order to hasten death
🔴 4. Suicide
- Voluntarily attempting against one’s own life
- Planning, attempting, or seriously desiring to take one’s own life
(The Church always distinguishes subjective culpability, but the act itself is gravely disordered)
4. Sins against physical integrity and health
⚠️ 5. Physical violence
- Striking, wounding, torturing
- Domestic abuse
- Physical abuse of children, the elderly, or dependents
- Violence in fights, assaults, or brawls
⚠️ 6. Psychological abuse
- Systematic humiliation
- Threatening
- Emotional manipulation
- Deliberately causing suffering through words or silence
- Destroying another person’s self-esteem
⚠️ 7. Hatred and desires for revenge
- Wishing someone’s death
- Rejoicing in another’s misfortune
- Deliberately harboring resentment
- Feeding thoughts of revenge
5. Sins of speech against the Fifth Commandment
Words can also kill.
🗣️ 8. Grave insults
- Calling someone names with contempt
- Dehumanizing others through words
- Publicly ridiculing someone
🗣️ 9. Curses
- Wishing evil upon others
- Invoking misfortune upon someone
🗣️ 10. Calumny and defamation
- Unjustly damaging a person’s reputation
- Destroying someone’s honor or good name
6. Sins of omission: killing through indifference
Sin is committed not only by what is done, but also by what is left undone.
⚖️ 11. Refusal to help
- Failing to assist someone in danger
- Ignoring those in need when one is able to help
- Passing by without concern in the face of another’s suffering
⚖️ 12. Abandonment
- Abandoning children, parents, or spouse
- Neglecting the care of the weak
7. Sins against one’s own life and body
⚠️ 13. Self-destruction
- Drug addiction
- Alcoholism
- Serious abuse of the body
- Unnecessary risk-taking behaviors
⚠️ 14. Grave negligence regarding health
- Refusing necessary care without just cause
- Endangering one’s own life or the lives of others through recklessness
8. Social and structural sins against life
🌍 15. Injustices that kill
- Extreme labor exploitation
- Indifference toward poverty
- Systems that marginalize and exclude
🌍 16. Promotion of the culture of death
- Supporting ideologies that relativize life
- Normalizing abortion, euthanasia, or violence
- Mocking the value of human life
9. For the examination of conscience: concrete questions
Before going to confession, ask yourself sincerely:
- Have I despised the life of others or my own?
- Have I harbored hatred or resentment?
- Have I wounded others with words or silence?
- Have I been indifferent to suffering?
- Have I justified abortion or euthanasia?
- Have I physically or psychologically abused others?
- Have I responsibly cared for my life and health?
- Have I promoted peace or conflict?
10. Christ, Lord of life
The Fifth Commandment is not only a prohibition, but a call to love. Christ came so that we might have life in abundance (Jn 10:10). To defend life is to love as He loves.
Every confession is an opportunity for healing, reconciliation, and choosing life once again.
“Choose life, that you and your descendants may live” (Dt 30:19).
