TYPES OF LAWS Chapter 5 of Textbook

ETERNAL LAW  According to St. Thomas Aquinas the eternal law “is nothing other than the plan of divine wisdom as directing all acts and movements”  Put briefly it is the cosmic order established by God  This eternal law is primordial (existing from the beginning of time  Thus it is the foundation of all law  It is intrinsic, since it orders the universe internally by means of God’s providence  It is universal because it applies to every creature  Dignitatis Humanae has this to say about eternal law:  “The supreme rule of life is the divine law itself, the eternal, objective and universal law by which God out of his wisdom and love arranges, directs and governs the whole world and the paths of the human community. God has enabled man to share in this divine law, and hence man is able under the gentle guidance of God's providence increasingly to recognize the unchanging truth (3)”

NATURAL LAW  According to St. Thomas Aquinas natural law is “nothing other than the rational creature’s participation in the eternal law.”  The natural law is the eternal law as it applies to human life.  Veritatis Splendor says:  “But God provides for man differently from the way in which he provides for beings which are not persons. He cares for man not "from without", through the laws of physical nature, but "from within", through reason, which, by its natural knowledge of God's eternal law, is consequently able to show man the right direction to take in his free actions. In this way God calls man to participate in his own providence, since he desires to guide the world — not only the world of nature but also the world of human persons — through man himself, through man's reasonable and responsible care. The natural law enters here as the human expression of God's eternal law. (43)”  Natural law has two basic characteristics:  Universality  It applies to everyone and is written into the heart of each human person  Immutability  It does not change

NATURAL LAW vs. PHYSICAL LAW  It is important to distinguish the natural law from the laws of nature (physical law)  Laws of nature are descriptions of the behavior of the material universe, not laws in the proper sense of the term  Physical laws can be thought of as mechanical, whereas natural law is willed  Natural law, however, is the command that human reason gives regarding what actions should be done  Natural law is not imposed upon us like physical laws are, we choose to obey the natural law

POSITIVE LAWS  A positive law is one promulgated (made known) by those who have the proper authority to communicate it to society.  There are three types of positive laws:  Divine Positive Law  Ecclesiastical Positive Law  Civil Positive Law

DIVINE POSITIVE LAW  Divine Positive Law (also known as Revealed Law) is the law as revealed by God.  Examples of this are:  The Ten Commandments  The teachings of Jesus  An example are the Eight Beatitudes

ECCLESIASTICAL POSITIVE LAW  Ecclesiastical Positive Law is the law that governs the Church in the organization of the hierarchy, in liturgical and penitential practices, and in other matters.  These laws can be found in the Code of Canon Law  Examples include:  Fasting during Lent  Catholic Marriage Laws

CIVIL POSITIVE LAW  Civil Positive Law consists of laws enacted by civil governments for the common good of some particular sector of society or an entire country.  Examples include:  Traffic laws  Litter laws  Zoning laws  Tax laws  Et cetera

What makes a civil law just?  St. Thomas Aquinas says that a law is just if it corresponds to the natural law.  If it does, then it has the power to bind us in conscience, and to disobey such a law would be a sin.  There are 3 conditions that need to be met for a law to be just  1 – It must promote the common good  This consists of 3 essential elements  Respect for and promotion of the fundamental rights of the person  Prosperity, or the development of the spiritual good of society  The peace and security of the people  2- The burdens the law imposes on society must reflect an “equality of proportion”  This means that the burden of the law’s fulfillment must be shared by all members of society, not just some  3 – All authority comes from God  No human authority can declare what is morally evil and morally good  This is why laws allowing slavery, abortion, euthanasia, divorce, and gay marriage are immoral