Published in the bulletin of Holy Ghost Catholic Church in Knoxville, TN, on the 3rd Sunday of Easter.
My dear Parishioners,
Peace! There are fourteen (14) “In Brief” articles in the Catechism of the Catholic Church addressing the Seventh Commandment of the Decalogue, ‘You shall not steal.’ The following is a reflection on CCC 2454.
God calls us to holiness by keeping His Commandments. We are called to a robust and dynamic not a minimalistic or simplistic reading or following of the Commandments. When considering the Seventh Commandment ‘You shall not steal’, the need for reparation and restitution as well as what constitutes a breach of justice are not so obvious if we limit or content ourselves to a simplistic reading.
The virtue of justice has us to give each that which is due, respecting the rights of others. When it comes to private property what is due to the owner is respect for the integrity of that property. Theft is against justice, against the right everyone has to not be robbed of one’s possessions. Not only is blatant theft forbidden but also the use of the goods of someone else, depreciating the value, without the consent of the owner. Saint Thomas Aquinas (+1274) citing Aristotle’s Ethics, highlights two parts of justice, namely commutative and distributive (ST II-II Q. 61, A. 1). Two other sorts of justice are also frequently mentioned, namely legal justice and social justice. Saint Thomas treats the different sorts of law (eternal, natural, human, divine,) as well as the common good which is so central to social justice (cf. ST I-II Q. 90–95). Saint Thomas was able to distinguish between a “good person” and a “good citizen,” the virtue of justice being exercised differently in each case, interpersonally and toward society as a whole (cf. ST II-II Q. 58, A. 5). We are called by God and His commandments to be both good people and good citizens.
Restitution and reparation are also parts of the Seventh Commandment ‘You shall not steal.’ Restitution is the act of returning something that was lost or stolen to the rightful owner or payment that is made to someone for damages, trouble and the like. Restitution is specifically called for in Sacred Scripture (cf. Exodus 22:3, 5–6, 11–12; Leviticus 5:16; 6:5; 24:14, 18, 21; Numbers 5:7) Commutative justice which regulates relations between individuals especially in respect to the equitable exchange of goods and the fulfillment of contractual obligations demands the restitution of stolen goods. Reparation is a form of making amends or giving satisfaction for a wrong or injury, making compensation for losses. The importance of reparation is made clear in Sacred Scripture (cf. Numbers 5:8; 2 Kings 12:16; Proverbs 14:9). History highlights the importance of equity and justice in the example of the overwhelming reparations demanded from Germany following World War I initially set at 226 billion Reichsmarks by the Treaty of Versailles (latter reduced to 132 billion) which was finally paid off after 91 years in 2010. Hitler had refused to pay the reparations, using them to rally Nazi sympathies.
God bless you!
Father John Arthur Orr