šŸ•Šļø CatechismAI
Catechism Paragraph 2409
Part 3: LIFE IN CHRIST
Section 2: THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
Chapter 2: YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF
Article 7: THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT

Even if it does not contradict the provisions of civil law, any form of unjustly taking and keeping the property of others is against the seventh commandment: thus, deliberate retention of goods lent or of objects lost; business fraud; paying unjust wages; forcing up prices by taking advantage of the ignorance or hardship of another.[191]

The following are also morally illicit: speculation in which one contrives to manipulate the price of goods artificially in order to gain an advantage to the detriment of others; corruption in which one influences the judgment of those who must make decisions according to law; appropriation and use for private purposes of the common goods of an enterprise; work poorly done; tax evasion; forgery of checks and invoices; excessive expenses and waste. Willfully damaging private or public property is contrary to the moral law and requires reparation.

šŸ“š Footnotes

[191] Cf. Deut 25:13-16; 24:14-15; Jas 5:4; Am 8:4-6.