it free from everything that could compromise its authentic dignity and its full realization. (Pope John Paul II to government leaders, 5 November 2000.) Human rights according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains that every person is equal to others and has human rights, and even lists various human rights. These include the right to life, vote, heed one's conscience, criticize those in authority, civil disobedience, enjoy the goods of the earth (food, water, etc.), private property, contribute to society, self-defense, regulate the production and sale of weapons, discontinue medical procedures, immigrate, choose a job and state of life, respect and good reputation, privacy, know and live by the truth, educate one's children, choose one's children's school, freedom of religion, and learn the Catholic faith. According to the church, the fundamental human right is the right to life. Pope John Paul II explained in Evangelium Vitae: "...the first of the fundamental rights, the right to life...the fundamental right and source of all other rights which is the right to life, a right belonging to every individual." Preferential option for the poor and vulnerable Jesus taught that on the Day of Judgement God will ask what each of us did to help the poor and needy: "Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me." This is reflected in the church's canon law, which states, "The Christian faithful are also obliged to promote social justice and, mindful of the precept of the Lord, to assist the poor from their own resources." Through our words, prayers and deeds we must show solidarity with, and compassion for, the poor. When instituting public policy we must always keep the "preferential option for the poor" at the forefront of our minds. The moral test of any society is "how it treats its most vulnerable members. The poor have the most urgent moral claim on the conscience of the nation. We are called to look at public policy decisions in terms of how they affect the poor." Pope Benedict XVI has taught that "love for widows and orphans, prisoners, and the sick and needy of every kind, is as essential as the ministry of the sacraments and preaching of the Gospel". This preferential option for the poor and vulnerable includes all who are marginalized in our nation