1 John 3:17 NASB
But whoever has the world’s goods,
and sees his brother in need
and closes his heart against him,
how does the love of God abide in him?
It is well known with how decisively the Church fathers have reminded the wealthy of their duties to support the needy.
Thus says Ambrose: ‘You do not give to the poor of your own property, but you give back to him what belongs to him. For you save, for yourselves alone, what has been given as common property, for the use of all. The earth belongs to all people and not only to the rich’.
This means that private property does not confer an absolute and unconditional right to anyone.
No one should keep the goods he does not need, only for his own enjoyment, while others have a need of it, and lack what is necessary.
In short: “According to the traditional doctrine of the Church fathers and the great theologians, property rights should never be used to the detriment of the common good.”
In the event of a conflict ‘between the acquired rights of private individuals and the basic needs of the community’, it is the task of the public administration to ‘endeavor to resolve these conflicts with the active cooperation of individuals and social groups’.
Twitter: @SchoemakerHarry
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