“Thou shalt not steal” is the seventh of the 10 Commandments, but it seems unpopular and generally ignored in this day and age, and we do not consider stealing a serious sin.
Today, the Church concludes the celebration of the Season of Creation—a period between the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation on September 1 and the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi on October 4. Caring for creation is all about observing the Seventh Commandment; we should not plunder the world entrusted to our care by God.
During his general audience on 7 November 2018, Pope Francis observed: “Our world has sufficient resources to meet the primary needs of all its inhabitants, yet so many members of our human family continue to suffer extreme want and even starvation for lack of sound economic decisions inspired by solidarity and justice.”
Hence any abuse, misuse, and excess use of nature is wrong. Simply put, it is stealing.
The world belongs to everyone. Therefore, to have anything in excess—be it property, money, clothing, food or comforts—and not sharing blessings when others do not have enough is sinful. It is nothing less than stealing.
During the conclave of 2013 when Jorge Mario Cardinal Bergoglio of Argentina, was elected pope, Cláudio Cardinal Hummes of Brazil, whispered into his ear: “Don’t forget the poor.” And he never did.
Pope Francis began his pontificate by choosing the name of a saint who gave up all his riches and opted to be poor in imitation of his Master.
The Bishop of Rome shares more than a name with St. Francis of Assisi. Over the past seven years, he has challenged his fellow bishops, priests and faithful with his witness of empathy for the poor, the refugees, the abused, the oppressed and the migrants.
The mission and message of Pope Francis mirror those of his beloved saint who lived over 800 years ago. Through his encyclical, Laudato Si: On the Care of Our Common Home, the pope provided a re-reading of the teachings of the saint from Assisi for the modern world. He called on “every person living on this planet” to restore the beauty and goodness of our Mother Earth which God created for human beings.
Five years on, the pope once again looks to his patron saint for inspiration as he presents a new encyclical, Fratelli Tutti, on fraternity and social friendship. It is no coincidence that the title, in Italian, comes from St. Francis himself (Admonitions, 6, 1: FF 155). It is to be released today, October 4, in Rome on the saint’s feast day and was signed by the pope during his visit to his tomb in Assisi yesterday.
The theme of fraternity and social friendship points to caring for one another.
Perhaps the new encyclical could be a sequel to Laudato Si’, gently reminding us that having excess while others have too little is a way of stealing. Jose
