Who Said It?
"Christian tradition has never recognized the right to private property as absolute and untouchable."
Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, Sect. 177.
This document goes on to say, "'On the contrary, it has always
understood this right within the broader context of the right common to
all to use the goods of the whole of creation: the right to private
property is subordinated to the right to common use, to the fact that
goods are meant for everyone' [this is a quote from John Paul II]....
This principle is not opposed to the right to private property but
indicates the need to regulate it. Private property, in fact, regardless
of the concrete forms of the regulations and juridical norms relative to
it, is in its essence only an instrument for respecting the principle of
the universal destination of goods; in the final analysis, therefore, it
is not an end but a means.... Putting the principle of the universal
destination of goods into full effect therefore requires action at the
international level and planned programmes on the part of all
countries.... Private and public property, as well as the various
mechanisms of the economic system, must be oriented to an economy of
service to mankind, so that they contribute to putting into effect the
principle of the universal destination of goods. The issue of ownership
and use of new technologies and knowledge — which in our day constitute
a particular form of property that is no less important than ownership
of land or capital — becomes significant in this perspective. These
resources, like all goods, have a universal destination [emphasis
in original].... Looking after the common good means making use of the
new opportunities for the redistribution of wealth among the different
areas of the planet.... Thus a great deal of educational and cultural
work is urgently needed, including the education of consumers in the
responsible use of their power of choice, the formation of a strong
sense of responsibility among producers and among people in the mass
media in particular, as well as the necessary intervention by public
authorities." Sections 179, 283, 363, 376.
Now notice what this same document says preceding what I have quoted
above: "In the Church's social doctrine the Magisterium is at work in
all its various components and expressions. Of primary importance is the
universal Magisterium of the Pope and the Council: this is the
Magisterium that determines the direction and gives marks of the
development of this social doctrine. This doctrine in turn is integrated
into the Magisterium of the Bishops who, in the concrete and particular
situations of the many different local circumstances, give precise
definition to this teaching, translating it and putting it into
practice [emphasis mine]." Section 80.
In other words, the local bishops are to be working on a local level
to put into practice what this document continually calls "the universal
destination of goods," which is plainly another way of saying "the
redistribution of wealth," a basic tenet of socialism. This document is
particularly interesting in that it also calls for such redistribution
on a global level among nations.
What does the Bible say? "Let him that stole steal no more: but rather
let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he
may have to give to him that needeth" (Ephesians 4:29). Contrary to the
Pontifical Council's statement, the Christian New Testament, in this
Scripture and others, recognizes the right to private property as
absolute and untouchable. When Ananias donated part of the price of the
land he sold but lied by saying he was donating the entire price, Peter
said, "Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold,
was it not in thine own power [exousia—authority]?"
(Acts 5:4). If there were no right to private property as absolute and
untouchable there could be no such thing as stealing. The New Testament
also says, "For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not
kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou
shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly
comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as
thyself.
Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling
of the law" (Romans 13:10-11). Paul is here teaching, using Old
Testament commands as an example, that love fulfills all law. If we are
loving, we will not be stealing or even coveting. There is, of course,
more. The New Testament tells us to love our brethren, neighbors, and
enemies. It tells us to remember the poor, clothe and feed the naked and
destitute, care for widows and orphans, and so forth.
But these instructions are voluntary. The Bible nowhere gives the
poor the right to take the private property of others without their
consent. Of course, in a democracy, one way that consent can be given is
if the majority vote for a fund paid for with their taxes that would in
some way benefit the poor (welfare, job training, health care, etc.).
Such is a far cry from the pontifications coming out of the Vatican
attempting to legitimize theft in the name of an unbiblical, socialist
concept called the "universal destination of goods."
Copyright © 2011 Peter Ditzel