Catechism of the Catholic Church: Article 7:The Seventh Commandment
In Brief
2450"You shall not steal" (Ex 20:15; Deut 5:19). "Neither thieves, nor the greedy . . ., nor robbers will inherit the kingdom of God" (1 Cor 6:10).
2451The seventh commandment enjoins the practice of justice and charity in the administration of earthly goods and the fruits of men's labor.
2452The goods of creation are destined for the entire human race. The right to private property does not abolish the universal destination of goods.
2453The seventh commandment forbids theft. Theft is the usurpation of another's goods against the reasonable will of the owner.
2454Every manner of taking and using another's property unjustly is contrary to the seventh commandment. The injustice committed requires reparation. Commutative justice requires the restitution of stolen goods.
2455The moral law forbids acts which, for commercial or totalitarian purposes, lead to the enslavement of human beings, or to their being bought, sold or exchanged like merchandise.
2456The dominion granted by the Creator over the mineral, vegetable, and animal resources of the universe cannot be separated from respect for moral obligations, including those toward generations to come.
2457Animals are entrusted to man's stewardship; he must show them kindness. They may be used to serve the just satisfaction of man's needs.
2458The Church makes a judgment about economic and social matters when the fundamental rights of the person or the salvation of souls requires it. She is concerned with the temporal common good of men because they are ordered to the sovereign Good, their ultimate end.
2459Man is himself the author, center, and goal of all economic and social life. The decisive point of the social question is that goods created by God for everyone should in fact reach everyone in accordance with justice and with the help of charity.
2460The primordial value of labor stems from man himself, its author and beneficiary. By means of his labor man participates in the work of creation. Work united to Christ can be redemptive.
2461True development concerns the whole man. It is concerned with increasing each person's ability to respond to his vocation and hence to God's call (cf. CA 29).
2462Giving alms to the poor is a witness to fraternal charity: it is also a work of justice pleasing to God.
2463How can we not recognize Lazarus, the hungry beggar in the parable (cf. Lk 16:19-31), in the multitude of human beings without bread, a roof or a place to stay? How can we fail to hear Jesus: "As you did it not to one of the least of these, you did it not to me" (Mt 25:45)?
Notes
186 Ex 20:15; Deut 5:19; Mt 19:18.
187 Cf. Gen 1:26-29.
188 GS 69 § 1.
189 Cf. GS 71 § 4; SRS 42; CA 40; 48.
190 2 Cor 8:9.
191 Cf. GS 69 § 1.
192 Cf. Deut 25:13-16; 24:14-15; Jas 5:4; Am 8:4-6.
193 Lk 19:8.
194 Philem 16.
195 Cf. Gen 1:28-31.
196 Cf. CA 37-38.
197 Cf. Mt 6:26; Dan 3:79-81.
198 Cf. Gen 2:19-20; 9:1-4.
199 GS 23 § 1.
200 GS 76 § 5.
201 Cf. CA 3.
202 Cf. SRS 1; 41.
203 Cf. CA 24.
204 Cf. GS 63 § 3; LE 7; 20; CA 35.
205 GS 65 § 2.
206 Mt 6:24; Lk 16:13.
207 Cf. CA 10; 13; 44.
208 CA 34.
209 Cf. GS 64.
210 Cf. Gen 1:28; GS 34; CA 31.
211 2 Thess 3:10; Cf. 1 Thess 4:11.
212 Cf. Gen 3:14-19.
213 Cf. LE 27.
214 Cf. LE 6.
215 Cf. CA 32; 34.
216 Cf. LE 11.
217 CA 48.
218 Cf. CA 37.
219 Cf. LE 19; 22-23.
220 Cf. CA 48.
221 Cf. Lev 19:13; Deut 24:14-15; Jas 5:4
222 GS 67 § 2.
223 Cf. LE 18.
224 Cf. SRS 14.
225 SRS 9.
226 Cf. SRS 17; 45.
227 CA 28; cf. 35.
228 Cf. SRS 16.
229 Cf. CA 26.
230 Cf. SRS 32; CA 51.
231 SRS 47 § 6; cf. 42.
232 Mt 5:42; 10:8.
233 Cf. Mt 25:31-36.
234 Mt 11:5; cf. Lk 4:18.
235 CA 57; cf. Lk 6:20-22, Mt 8:20; Mk 12:41-44.
236 Eph 4:28.
237 Cf. CA 57.
238 Jas 5:1-6.
239 St. John Chrysostom, Hom. in Lazaro 2,5:PG 48,992.
240 AA 8 § 5.
241 St. Gregory the Great, Regula Pastoralis . 3,21:PL 77,87.
242 Cf. Isa 58:6-7; Heb 13:3.
243 Cf. Mt 25:31-46.
244 Cf. Tob 4:5-11; Sir 17:22; Mt 6:2-4.
245 Lk 3:11.
246 Lk 11:41.
247 Jas 2:15-16; cf. 1 Jn 3:17.
248 CDF, instruction, Libertatis conscientia , 68.
249 Deut 15:11.
250 Jn 12:8.
251 Am 8:6; cf. Mt 25:40.
252 P. Hansen, Vita mirabilis (Louvain, 1668).