The 7th C challenge

By Fr. ROY CIMAGALA, roycimagala@gmail.com
February 18, 2012

I’m referring to the 7th commandment of the Decalogue and the huge challenge it poses.

In the Catechism, we are told that this commandment of “You shall not steal,”  “requires respect for the universal destination and distribution of goods and the private ownership of them, as well as respect for persons, their property and the integrity of creation.” (Compendium 503)

It also adds: “The Church also finds in this commandment the basis for her social doctrine which involves the correct way of acting in economic, social and political life, the right and the duty of human labor, justice and solidarity among nations, and love for the poor.”

In whatever way we read this point, we cannot help but realize that the commandment covers a large area of our life, nothing less than all the aspects involved in our relation with the material world in which we live. Stealing can indeed take many forms and we need to be more familiar with the more subtle and insidious ones.

We have to work hard on this commandment. The world’s development is going in an accelerated pace, population is growing and more and more people need to be educated and evangelized.

I must say that the idea of the universal destination and distribution of goods, for example, is not well known, not to mention the other equally important parts of the commandment.

Can we honestly say that we are working toward this universal destination and distribution of goods? How come there are many people in the brink of such inhuman poverty and misery, while a few are wallowing in luxury?

Are we aware of the specific relevant areas in this matter that have to be attended to with a certain sense of urgency, since the situation literally cries up to heaven for help?

How do we make this requirement of universal destination and distribution of goods compatible with the equally important right to private property? How do we keep ourselves from the evils of atheistic socialism, on the one hand, and selfish, individualistic capitalism, on the other?

What laws are we making in this regard, what social and cultural norms and practices are we instituting to guarantee this ideal? In the face of this need, is the ongoing impeachment process in the Senate worth its time and money?

At the moment, I think that the trial is way deep into its absurdest stage, with shameless politicians taking advantage of the people’s resources and patience just to do their grandstanding and pursue their personal political goals, instead of facing the real problems of the country.

The 7th commandment also talks about the social doctrine of the Church and touches on the burning issues of the day, like what to think and do about global warming, or is it now climate change?, mining and other environmental issues, and the many other issues like intellectual property rights, social justice, etc.

We need to be pro-active in this regard, and not simply reactive, just waiting for things to happen or issues or controversies to explode, which ideologues of various colors and leanings exploit. There has to be continuing evangelization and formation, done in season and out of season, as St. Paul said, using now all the modern means we have at hand.

The social doctrine of the Church, while it has its stable core and spirit, is actually a dynamic doctrine, always open and sensitive to new developments and insights that we can gather along the way. It blends the old and the new, the traditional and the modern.

In this regard, I just hope that our Church leaders are agile and flexible enough to flow with the times without compromising the essence of humanity and Christianity. I believe there had been instances where some pronouncements of some of them worried me a bit because of what I thought were rigid, narrow-minded statements. Anyway, sometimes mistakes have to happen before the truth comes out.

Churchmen should be most careful when making public interventions regarding temporal issues and affairs. This caution should not hinder them in making those interventions which nowadays are becoming more and more important. But they have to make sure that all sides are heard and properly evaluated.

The affirmations of our faith should always be respectful of the legitimate inputs coming from the sciences and the opinions of people, whoever they may be. Thus, Church leaders should always keep their ears on the ground even if they keep their heart up in heaven.