Thomas Aquinas once said that because of the communal nature of goods, theft based upon need and out of someone elses superabundance was not theft because in a sense, the poor were only taking what belonged to them. While I have always disagreed with this notion and still do for reasons that would take much too long to talk about here, I believe that Thomas made this state with the implication that if everyone loved their neighbor as themselves those in need would never have to steal. While I dont condone this womans actions I do not on any level judge her, for I have never been in such need that I felt I would have to steal my food. Whats most important here is that the officer understood the travesty of anyone feeling they needed to steal food to survive. When thefts like this occur it is a direct reflection of our failure as a society to care for those in our midst and those who are suffering. This is not to say that the woman was blameless because she did indeed attempt to steal the eggs, but in this rare and beautiful example of a society acting as it should, we find a heart for God and a heart for the people that God loves that has long ago outgrown the selfishness of our modern ideas about what we should do with the money we earn. To quote Pope Francis, the social function of property and the universal destination of goods are realities which come before private property (Evangelii Gaudium section 187)
Posted on: Thu, 11 Dec 2014 13:03:38 +0000
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