Part Three: Life in Christ › Section Two of Part Three: The Ten Commandments ›› CHAPTER 2: You Shall Love Your Neighbour ››› Article 7: The Seventh Commandment

› IN BRIEF

Questions and Answers

2458. What is the seventh commandment? (CCC 2401) The seventh commandment is: “You shall not steal.”
2459. What does the seventh commandment forbid, what does it command? (CCC 2401) The seventh commandment:
1. forbids unjustly taking or keeping the goods of one’s neighbour
2. commands justice and charity in the care of earthly goods and the fruits of men’s labour.
2460. What does the seventh commandment require for the sake of the common good? (CCC 2401) For the sake of the common good, the seventh commandment requires respect for:
1. the universal destination of goods
2. the right to private property.
The common good is the good of society.
2461. What does the universal destination of goods mean? (CCC 2402) The universal destination of goods means that the goods of creation are destined for the whole human race.
2462. Why is the earth divided up among men? (CCC 2402) The earth is divided up among men to assure the security of their lives.
2463. Why is the appropriation of possessions legitimate? (CCC 2402) The appropriation of possessions is legitimate, because it:
1. guarantees the freedom and dignity of persons
2. helps them to meet the basic human needs and the needs of those in their charge.
2464. How should man regard the external goods he legitimately owns? (CCC 2404) Man should regard the external goods he legitimately owns as things that can benefit others as well as himself.
2465. How should the goods of production be used? (CCC 2405) The goods of production should be used in a way that will benefit the greatest number.
2466. How should the goods for use and consumption be used? (CCC 2405) The goods for use and consumption should be used with moderation, reserving the better part for others.
2467. Which cardinal virtues help to respect persons and their goods? (CCC 2407) The cardinal virtues that help to respect persons and their goods are:
1. temperance: to promote moderate attachment to this world’s goods
2. justice: to preserve our neighbour’s rights and render him what is his due.
2468. What is theft? (CCC 2408) Theft is usurping another’s property against the reasonable will of the owner.
There is no theft if consent can be presumed or if refusal is contrary to reason and the universal destination of goods.
2469. To what extend must promises be kept and contracts observed? (CCC 2410) Promises must be kept and contracts observed to the extent that the commitments made in them are morally just.
2470. What are the three types of justice? (CCC 2411) The three types of justice are:
1. commutative justice
2. legal justice
3. distributive justice.
2471. What is commutative justice? (CCC 2411) Commutative justice is the justice that regulates exchanges between persons and between institutions in accordance with a strict respect for their rights.
Without commutative justice no other form of justice is possible.
2472. What is legal justice? (CCC 2411) Legal justice is the justice that concerns what the citizen owes in fairness to the community.
2473. What is distributive justice? (CCC 2411) Distributive justice is the justice that regulates what the community owes its citizens in proportion to their contributions and needs.
2474. In virtue of which kind of justice is restitution of stolen goods required? (CCC 2412) Restitution of stolen goods is required in virtue of commutative justice.
2475. When do games of chance or wagers become immoral? (CCC 2413) Games of chance or wagers become immoral when they deprive someone of what is necessary to provide for his needs and those of others.
2476. Why does the seventh commandment forbid the enslavement of human beings? (CCC 2414) The seventh commandment forbids the enslavement of human beings, because this is a sin against the dignity of persons and their fundamental rights.
2477. Why does the seventh commandment enjoin respect for the integrity of creation? (CCC 2415) The seventh commandment enjoins respect for the integrity of creation, because creation is destined for the common good of past, present and future humanity.
2478. Why does man owe kindness to animals? (CCC 2416) Man owes kindness to animals, because they:
1. are God’s creatures
2. are surrounded by God’s providential care
3. bless God and give Him glory by their mere existence.
2479. To whose stewardship did God entrust the animals? (CCC 2417) God entrusted the animals to the stewardship of men.
2480. What is the social doctrine of the Church? (CCC 2419) The social doctrine of the Church is the ecclesiastical teaching on the laws of social living.
2481. Why is the Church concerned with the temporal aspects of the common good? (CCC 2420) The Church is concerned with the temporal aspects of the common good, because they are ordered to God, the sovereign Good and our ultimate end.
2482. In which time did the social doctrine of the Church develop? (CCC 2421) The social doctrine of the Church developed in the nineteenth century.
2483. Why did the Church’s social doctrine develop? (CCC 2421) The Church’s social doctrine developed, because the Church encountered modern industrial society with its new methods of production, its new concept of society, the state and authority and its new forms of labour and ownership.
2484. What is the triple content of the Church’s social teaching? (CCC 2423) The triple content of the Church’s social teaching is:
1. principles for reflection
2. criteria for judgment
3. guidelines for action.
2485. Which aspects of capitalism does the Church refuse? (CCC 2425) The aspects of capitalism that the Church refuses are:
1. individualism
2. the absolute primacy of the law of the marketplace.
2486. What economical principles does the Church recommend? (CCC 2425) The Church recommends the following economical principles:
1. reasonable regulation of the marketplace and economic initiatives
2. a just hierarchy of values
3. a view to the common good.
2487. What is the purpose of economic activity? (CCC 2426) The purpose of economic activity is to provide for the needs of human beings.
2488. Within what limits must economic activity be exercised? (CCC 2426) Economic activity must be exercised within the limits of:
1. the moral order
2. social justice
3. God’s plan for man.
2489. Why is human work a duty? (CCC 2427) Human work is a duty, because it proceeds directly from persons called to prolong the work of creation by subduing the earth.
2490. How does human work in a certain way collaborate with Christ’s Redemption? (CCC 2427) Human work collaborates in a certain way with Christ’s Redemption by enduring the hardship of work in union with Christ crucified.
2491. How can human work be a means of sanctification? (CCC 2427) Human work can be a means of sanctification by:
1. offering a possibility to be a disciple of Christ
2. animating earthly realities with the Spirit of Christ.
2492. What is the task of the state in the economic life? (CCC 2431) The task of the state in the economic life is:
1. to guarantee security in the fields of freedom, property, currency, public services
2. to oversee and direct the exercise of human rights.
2493. What are the duties of the business leaders toward society? (CCC 2432) The duties of the business leaders toward society are:
1. to respond for the economic and ecological effects of their operations
2. to consider the good of persons.
2494. When is a wage just? (CCC 2434) A wage is just when it guarantees man a dignified livelihood for himself and his family, taking into account the state of the business and the common good.
2495. When is recourse to a strike morally legitimate? (CCC 2435) Recourse to a strike is morally legitimate, when it cannot be avoided or is necessary to obtain a proportionate benefit.
2496. When is recourse to a strike morally unacceptable? (CCC 2435) Recourse to a strike is morally unacceptable when it is accompanied by violence or when objectives are included that are not directly linked to working conditions or are contrary to the common good.
2497. Why is there a need of justice and solidarity among nations? (CCC 2437) There is a need of justice and solidarity among nations in order to overcome inequality of resources and economic capability on the international level.
2498. What gives the social question a worldwide dimension? (CCC 2438) Various causes of a religious, political, economic and financial nature give the social question a worldwide dimension.
2499. On what is the moral duty of rich nations toward the poor nations based? (CCC 2439) The moral responsibility of rich nations toward the poor nations is based on solidarity, charity and, if the prosperity of the rich has come from stolen resources, justice.
2500. How can the poor nations be helped? (CCC 2440) The poor nations can be helped by:
1. direct aid as a response to immediate needs
2. reform of international economic and financial institutions.
2501. What is fundamental for a full development of human society? (CCC 2441) Fundamental for a full development of human society is:
1. an increased sense of God
2. an increased self-awareness.
2502. Why should the laity intervene on their own initiative in political and social life? (CCC 2442) The laity should intervene on their own initiative in political and social life in order
1. to serve the common good
2. to conform the life of society to the Gospel and the teaching of the Church.
2503. By whom is the Church’s love for the poor inspired? (CCC 2444) The Church’s love for the poor is inspired by the Beatitudes, Christ’s poverty and His concern for the poor.
2504. What three types of poverty are there? (CCC 2444) There is material, cultural and religious poverty.
2505. What will the rust of gold and silver do to the rich according to Jas 5? (CCC 2445) According to Jas 5, the rust of gold and silver will be evidence against the rich and will eat their flesh like fire.
2506. What does St John Chrysostom say about our goods and the poor? (CCC 2446) St John Chrysostom (around AD 400) says about our goods and the poor: “The goods we possess are not ours, but theirs.”
2507. What are works of mercy? (CCC 2447) Works of mercy are charitable actions by which we come to the aid of our neighbour in his spiritual and bodily necessities.
2508. What are the seven spiritual works of mercy? (CCC 2447) The seven spiritual works of mercy are:
1. to counsel the doubtful
2. to instruct the ignorant
3. to admonish the sinner
4. to comfort the sorrowful
5. to forgive all injuries
6. to bear wrongs patiently
7. to pray for the living and the dead.
2509. What are the seven corporal works of mercy? (CCC 2447) The seven corporal works of mercy are:
1. to feed the hungry
2. to give drink to the thirsty
3. to clothe the naked
4. to ransom the captive
5. to harbour the harbourless
6. to visit the sick
7. to bury the dead.
2510. Of what is any kind human misery an obvious sign? (CCC 2448) Any kind human misery is an obvious sign of the inherited condition of frailty and need for salvation in which man finds himself as a consequence of original sin.
2511. Why are the poor the object of a preferential love on the part of the Church? (CCC 2448) The poor are the object of a preferential love on the part of the Church, because Christ identified Himself with the least of His brethren.