SINS THAT CRY TO HEAVEN 87 



in the phrase, "sins that cry to Heaven for ven- 

 geance." 



It goes without saying that every sin of this kind is 

 by its very nature mortal because it involves the trans- 

 gression of an important law with full advertence and 

 knowledge. 



The sins that cry to Heaven for vengeance vio- 

 late or suppress ( 1 ) the instinct of self-preserva- 

 tion, which tends to conserve individual life; (2) 

 the sexual instinct, which was instituted for the 

 perpetuation of the race; and (3) the social in- 

 stinct, which tends to the protection of private 

 property. 



a) Murder is the unlawful killing of a human 

 being with malice aforethought. This sin may be 

 direct or indirect, it may be committed against 

 oneself (suicide) or against another, even the 

 unborn (procuratio abortus, malicious destruc- 

 tion of the embryo or fetus). 1 The term murder 

 includes every species of unnatural cruelty, 

 such as exposing a child to the danger of death, 

 maltreating prisoners and slaves, engaging in 

 piracy, waging war without sufficient reason, and 

 killing another in the intellectual or moral sense, 

 i. e., robbing him of his good name by slander or 

 calumny. 



The unlawful killing of a human being with malice 

 aforethought is a terrible crime because it interferes 



1 Cfr. Codex luris Can., can. 2350, § 1. 



