This is from over on Patheos about private property, theft & our duty to the common good:
I am surprised how adamantly some Catholics deny that life’s necessities are human rights. However, the overwhelming evidence from the Magisterium is that things like food, water, clothing, and shelter are basic human rights. We cannot deny these from anyone. We cannot leave the poor without these things. I want to go over a few magisterial teachings then give some explanation. […]
The Church through her leaders has repeatedly explained that these three basic necessities are human rights. […]
The Catechism (2408): “The seventh commandment forbids theft, that is, usurping another’s property against the reasonable will of the owner. There is no theft if consent can be presumed or if refusal is contrary to reason and the universal destination of goods. This is the case in obvious and urgent necessity when the only way to provide for immediate, essential needs (food, shelter, clothing . . .) is to put at one’s disposal and use the property of others.”
You can read more over there.
