Q. Does the commandment to honor parents apply to other authority figures?
A. Yes, the Catechism of the Catholic Church envisions that this commandment also applies to authority figures: “This commandment includes and presupposes the duties of parents, instructors, teachers, leaders, magistrates, those who govern, all who exercise authority over others or over a community of persons,” (CCC 2199).
It must be remembered that the Law of the Lord is not merely a list of punishable offenses, but principles of action that guide our behavior toward the good in any scenario, not just those literally represented. The Lord teaches us by His Law. In a similar way, the commandment against killing extends to other acts of violence. Not bearing false witness also bears witness against other acts of falsity, and so on.
The New Testament, likewise, suggests that we are called to work within legitimate human authority: “Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution.... Live as free men, yet without using your freedom as a pretext for evil; but live as servants of God,” (1 Pt 2:13, 16).
What links both family and country together under one commandment is the virtue of piety. This virtue is a part of justice by which we give to each one what is their due. A special duty is owed to those in care of our being and governance, without whom we could not exist and whom we will never be able to fully repay. This piety first and foremost belongs to God, whom all men rightly owe worship, but in a secondary way, to our parents and country for providing the principles for us to live and grow into who we are today.
Man is a social animal, says Aristotle, and none of us enters life by ourselves or for ourselves. Yet though these secondary recipients of our piety are fundamental, they are, of course, human and fallible. At times, they may wrongly demand things contrary to the natural law or the Gospel. Yet respect means “[We] should still not refuse to give or to do what is objectively demanded of [us] by the common good; but it is legitimate for [us] to defend [our] own rights and those of [our] fellow citizens against the abuse of this authority” (Gaudium et Spes, 74).
So let us continue to honor those who have given us everything we are. St. Paul notes that “This is the first commandment with a promise: that it may be well with you and that you may live long on the earth” (Eph 6:2-3). Piety, therefore, is integral to long-term human flourishing. If we do not respect what past generations have given us, why would the next generation respect what we are giving them? Without respect, we can generate no more than what we can make out of our own lonely generation, but with this generational respect, we can build on hundreds of generations of human flourishing and pass on what we have generated to thousands more. And thus, will God’s primordial command-promise to humanity be fulfilled: “Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it,” (Gen 1:28).
This question was answered by Fr. Joseph Wahlmeier, pastor of St. Mary Parish in Davey and instructor at St. Gregory the Great Seminary in Seward.
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