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COMMANDMENTS - XIV
An Occasional Column of Episcopal Comment
by Bishop Fabian W. Bruskewitz S.T.D.
SEVENTH
The seventh commandment of God requires human beings to respect the goods
of their neighbors and to practice "justice and charity in the care
of earthly goods and the fruits of men's labor." This ancient commandment
of God forbidding stealing (Exodus 20:15; Deuteronomy 5:19) was reiterated
by our Lord's own words in the course of His sojourn among us (Matthew 19:18).
The Catechism of the Catholic Church reminds us that God thus prohibits
us from unjustly taking or keeping the goods of our neighbor. This commandment
"for the sake of the common good, requires respect for the universal
destination of goods and respect for the right to private property."
It demands of Christians, in addition, that they strive "to order this
world's goods to God and to fraternal charity."
The seventh commandment also requires men to practice the cardinal virtue of justice, which is defined in simple terms as that virtue which inclines one to give to each what is his due. Scholars usually divide the concept of justice into individual (commutative justice) and social justice. Commutative justice regulates the relationships of one human being to another person, either another individual or some corporation or collectivity. Social justice is called legal justice when it concerns what an individual owes to the State, and is called distributive justice when it concerns what the State owes to individuals. Social justice also involves the wider picture of such things as the moral aspects of social living, of economic activity and arrangements, etc. In a very broad sense the virtue of justice involves the virtue of religion, which is, of course, giving God the worship, obedience, consideration, and devotion which is due to the Creator and Redeemer of the human race.
THEFT
In a direct way, by the seventh commandment God forbids theft, which is
the taking of another's goods against his or her reasonable wish. A type
of theft is borrowing something without the owner's consent. Even if the
borrower intends to give it back, it is still a sin of "temporary theft".
The sin of theft also includes getting something on loan with the owner's
consent, but then refusing to restore and repay the loan as agreed upon.
It is also sin of theft to run up a charge account that one foresees will
never be able to be repaid, or living so extravagantly that it makes the
repayment of just debts rendered impossible. It is also a sin of theft to
engage in business fraud or purposely to write bad checks.
It is permissible to borrow something with an owner's presumed consent, provided that the owner cannot conveniently be consulted, and one could in good conscience assume that the owner would consent were he or she available. To act morally in such cases, however, the borrower could not conceal the loan and would be bound to tell the owner as soon as conveniently possible about the loan.
It should be remembered
that authors and inventors have a right in the natural law to the fruits
of their labors and genius, hence exclusive rights to their plans, songs,
plays, manuscripts, designs, discoveries, etc. It is a sin of theft to take,
use, or publish such things without the owner's consent, even if they are
not protected by civil laws with patents, copyrights, etc. Like all sins
of theft, such stealing or cheating requires previous restitution as a
condition for forgiveness by God.
NOT KEEPERS
Lost objects do not automatically become in Christian morality the property
of the finder. One who finds a lost object is bound morally to make a good
faith attempt to find the owner, with an expenditure of effort and expense
proportionate to the value of the object. For instance, a found pencil worth
twenty cents might require the finder only to ask a few persons nearby about
it, while a precious diamond ring might require inquiries with the police,
ads in newspapers, etc. Before giving a lost object back to its owner, the
finder would have a right to ascertain with reasonable certitude the authenticity
of the claim and also to demand compensation for any expenses incurred in
caring for the object and in searching for the owner. Usually it is morally
safe to follow the civil laws in such matters.
Only after a reasonable amount of time and effort has been used, may a finder be assumed to be the new owner of a lost object. However, even after any period of time when a rightful owner would appear, an owner's claim, if legitimate, would require the finder to surrender the object to him or her. The general moral principle is that "a thing always calls out to its rightful owner" ("res clamat ad dominum").
Abandoned property, however, does not carry the same rights to a former owner as lost property. It can be legitimately appropriated by anyone who first comes upon it.
POSSESSOR
One who did not actually steal, but who knowingly possesses another's property
unjustly is morally bound to restore the goods or their value, (if they
have been destroyed or lost) to the true owner at once. If one is in doubt
about an object which is in his possession, even if it was purchased by
the possessor, one must make a thorough and sincere investigation about
the matter. If the doubt still persists, the possessor may licitly retain
the article or goods.
One who knowingly cooperates in theft or in causing unjust damage to the property of others, even if he does not actually perform the evil action himself, commits a sin of theft and is morally bound to restitution along with the thief. This cooperation can consist in supplying another with the means, encouraging or urging him, advising him how to go about it, covering up for him, any kind of enabling, etc.
All Christians should strive to develop and form a tender and correct conscience about property matters, that is, about obeying the seventh commandment and practicing justice. This is particularly difficult in our modern American culture, which is materialistic and hedonistic, and in which cheating and stealing are not uncommon in schools, workplaces, offices, gambling events, sports fields, etc.
