What is Natural Law, and how does it influence Catholic moral decision making?

• A. A secular legal code independent of God.
• B. Rational participation in God’s eternal law accessible to reason; it informs moral norms toward human flourishing and the common good.
• C. A set of arbitrary social customs.
• D. Only about natural sciences.

Answer: (B)

Natural Law is the rational participation of human beings in God’s eternal law, accessible to human reason. It provides objective standards for discerning which actions promote human flourishing and the common good. In Catholic moral decision making, reason reads the order of creation to identify the basic goods and the proper ends of human life, guiding choices toward what truly helps people grow in virtue and harmony with others. Revelation then clarifies and deepens this natural understanding, but Natural Law itself remains universal and not dependent on any culture or secular code. It is not a secular legal code independent of God, not simply arbitrary social customs, and not reducible to natural sciences; rather, it grounds moral norms in the realities of human nature and God’s plan for creation.