The Catechism of the Catholic Church states: “Justice is the moral virtue that consists in the constant and firm will to give their due to God and neighbour.”
Pope Francis pointed out that justice is a virtue for the good coexistence of people. According to the Catechism, “Justice toward men disposes one to respect the rights of each and to establish in human relationships the harmony that promotes equity with regard to persons and to the common good. The just man, often mentioned in the Sacred Scriptures, is distinguished by habitual right thinking and the uprightness of his conduct toward his neighbour.”
The Holy Father described the characteristics of a righteous person: “The righteous person is upright, simple and straightforward. He does not wear masks, he presents himself for what he is and he speaks the truth.”
The righteous person “reveres laws and respects them, knowing that they constitute a barrier protecting the defenceless from the tyranny of the powerful,” said the Pope.
“The righteous person does not only think of his own individual well-being, but desires the good of society as a whole,” keeping watch over his own behaviour, so it is not harmful to others.
If he makes a mistake, he apologizes, sometimes going so far as to sacrifice personally for the community.
“He desires an orderly society, where people give lustre to the office they hold, and not the office that gives lustre to people.
He rejects special treatment and trading in favours, welcomes responsibility “and is exemplary in promoting legality.”
The righteous person “shuns harmful behaviour such as slander, perjury, fraud, usury, mockery, and dishonesty,” keeps his word, returns what he has borrowed, pay a fair wage, doesn’t make reckless judgments of his neighbours, “and defends the reputation and good name of others.”
Sins opposed to justice can be committed by deeds or by words. The most serious sin against commutative justice is the murder of another person, but other deeds against justice are inflicting bodily harm, theft, robbery and fraud. Sins against justice by words include insulting and injuring the good name of another (gossip and slander).
St. Ambrose said, “The rule of justice is plain: namely, that a good man ought not to swerve from the truth, nor inflict any unjust loss on anyone, nor act in any way deceitfully or fraudulently”
Religion and piety are related to justice: though we can never fully repay God, our parents, and our country, we repay them as much as possible by exercising the virtues of religion and piety.
The Catechism states: “Justice toward God is called the ‘virtue of religion.’” Regarding the First Commandment Father John Hardon wrote, “Positively, it prescribes the practise of the virtue of religion, and negatively, it forbids all sins that are contrary to religion.”
Religion opens God’s commandments to the human race and is “the moral virtue by which we are disposed to render to God the worship he deserves,” writes Father Hardon.
“Religion is often described as a composite of all the virtues that arise from our relationship to God as the author of our being, even as love is a cluster of all the virtues arising from our response to God as the destiny of our being.”
Religion and love are both “part of God’s demand on us and … part of his imperative will: religion because he is the alpha of our existence, and love because he is the omega for whom we exist and in whom alone our hearts can find rest.”
All the good things we have come from God. However, God usually gives us his gifts through other human beings. We are debtors to our benefactors, and the virtue of piety inclines us to render to parents and country the reverence and service that are their rights as the sources of life, education, and governance.
As we read in 1 Timothy 5:4, “Let them first learn to show godliness to their own household and to make some return to their parents, for this is pleasing in the sight of God.”
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正義的人尊重所有人的權利
天主教教理指出：「義德是倫理的德行，在於依循恆久和堅定的意願，給予天主和近人
所應得到的。」
教宗方濟各指出，義德是一種有助於人類和諧共處的德行。根據天主教教理：「對人，義德使人尊重每一個人的權利，奠定在人際關係中的和諧，因而促進人類之間的平等和公益。有義德的人經常在聖經中被提及，他們思念正直習以為常，對待近人公正不偏。」
教宗描述了一個正義人的特徵：「正義的人正直、單純、坦誠。他不戴面具，真實地呈現自己，並說實話…。正義的人尊崇並尊重法律，知道法律是保護弱者免受強權暴政的屏障。正義的人不只考慮個人的福祉，而是渴望整個社會的利益…。正義的人時刻檢視自己的行為，確保不會對他人造成傷害。如果他犯了錯誤，他會道歉…。在某些情況下，他甚至會犧牲個人的利益，將其奉獻給社會。他渴望一個有秩序的社會，人們為其工作單位增光，而不是其職位令人增光。他厭惡特殊待遇，不會以人情交易。他熱愛負起責任，並在推動合法方面成為模範…。正義的人遠離有害的行為，如誹謗、作偽證、欺詐、放高利貸、嘲弄和不誠實。正義的人信守承諾，歸還借來的東西，並公平地支付所有工人的工資：一個不理所當然地支付公平工資的人是不公正的。他小心地不對鄰居妄下斷言，並捍衛他人的名譽和美名。」
通過行為或言語可會犯違反義德的罪行。對於違反人與人之間權利的義德最嚴重的罪行就是謀殺他人。其他違反義德的行為還包括：傷害他人身體、偷竊、搶劫和欺詐。通過言語犯下的義德罪行則包括：侮辱和傷害他人的名譽（閒話和誹謗）。
聖安博說：「義德的準則很簡單：即好人不應偏離真理，也不應對任何人造成不公正的損害，更不應以任何方式欺騙或造假。」
宗教和虔敬與義德息息相關：儘管我們永遠無法完全回報天主、父母和國家，但我們可以通過實踐宗教和虔敬的德行儘量作回報。
天主教教理指出：「對天主，義德又稱為『虔敬的德行』。」關於第一條誡命，John Hardon神父寫道：「正面來說，是要求實踐虔敬的德行；相反是禁止一切與宗教相悖的罪行。那麼，虔敬的德行怎樣開啟天主十誡給人類呢？這是一種倫理德行，讓我們能夠將對天主的敬拜歸還給祂 … 宗教常被描述為所有與天主的關係中產生的德行的綜合體，甚至愛是被視為回應天主而生的種種德行，是我們生命的歸宿。宗教和愛都是天主對我們的要求，兩者都是祂至重要的旨意的一部分：宗教方面是因為天主是我們存在的原始，而愛方面是因為天主是我們為之存在的終結，只有在祂內，我們的心靈才能找到安息。」
我們所擁有一切的美好事物都來自上主。然而，天主通常透過其他人交祂的禮物給我們。我們是恩人的債務人，虔敬的德行促使我們向父母和國家表示尊敬和服務，這是他們作為生命、教育和治理之源的權利。
「他們就應先學着孝敬本家人，報答祖先，因為這是天主所喜悅的事。」（弟前5:4）
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