Read the Catechism in a Year
The Seventh Commandment: You shall not steal.
How did the Church's social teaching develop?
Catholic social teaching was a response to the economic problems of the nineteenth century. Whereas industrialization had led to an increase in prosperity, the ones who profited from it were primarily factory owners, while many people sank into poverty as laborers with practically no rights. From this experience Communism drew the conclusion that there was an irreconcilable opposition between labor and capital, which must be decided by class war. The Church, in contrast, advocated a just balance between the interests of the laborers and those of the factory owners.
The Church recommended that not only a few but everyone should benefit from the prosperity recently made possible by industrialization and competition. She therefore supported the development of labor unions and advocated protecting laborers from exploitation through legislation and government assurances and insuring them and their families against sickness and emergencies. (YOUCAT question 439)
Dig Deeper: CCC section (2421) and other references here.
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