|Catechism of the Catholic Church| IntraText - Text II. Human
Freedom in the Economy of Salvation 1739 Freedom and sin. Man's
freedom is limited and fallible. In fact, man failed. He freely
sinned. By refusing God's plan of love, he deceived himself and
became a slave to sin. This first alienation engendered a
multitude of others. From its outset, human history attests the
wretchedness and oppression born of the human heart in
consequence of the abuse of freedom. 1740 Threats to freedom.
the exercise of freedom does not imply a right to say or do
everything. It is false to maintain that man, "the subject of
this freedom," is "an individual who is fully self-sufficient
and whose finality is the satisfaction of his own interests in
the enjoyment of earthly goods."33 Moreover, the economic,
social, political, and cultural conditions that are needed for a
just exercise of freedom are too often disregarded or violated.
Such situations of blindness and injustice injure the moral life
and involve the strong as well