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"'Honor
your father and your mother' (DT 5:16; Mk 7:10).
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. 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 education of children. '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' Children owe their parents respect, gratitude, just
obedience assistance. Filial respect fosters harmony in all of family
life. Parents have the first responsibility for the education of their
children in the faith, prayer and all the virtues. They have the duty to
provide as far as possible for the physical and spiritual needs of their
children. 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. Public authority is obliged to respect the
fundamental rights of the human person and the conditions for the
exercise of his freedom. It is the duty of citizens to work with civil
authority for building up society in a spirit of truth, justice,
solidarity and freedom. 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). Every society's judgements and conduct reflect a vision of man,
societies easily become totalitarian."
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