Why, even if he has written an encyclical on goldurned tree-huggin',

[Joe Chi Minh]

Papa Francesco is not a dirty, 'pinko' Commonist, but merely iterating the Church's teaching from as far back as the early Fathers, indeed, Moses and the Decalogue.

Below, is a brief excerpt from an article by Mark Shea, entitled, The Catholic Church and the Common Good: An Unbroken Line of Tradition. It featured the other day in The Catholic Exchange, and seems to me a very knowledgeable and insightful - not to say, topical, conspectus - of the issue. Below it is the link.

"The guiding principle here is simple:

“Christian tradition has never recognized the right to private property as absolute and untouchable: ‘On the contrary, it has always understood this right within the broader context of the right common to all to use the goods of the whole of creation: The right to private property is subordinated to the right to common use, to the fact that goods are meant for everyone.’”

Systems that make water available at a profit are fine, just as long as those who cannot pay for this elementary and fundamental right are not cut off. In such cases, some other way of covering the cost must be found.

Does the Church, then, teach that a perpetual welfare state of parasites should be established? Of course not. The principle way the poor are to have a share in the common good is, as we have already seen, through work at a living wage. And what is a living wage?

A living wage fulfills four criteria:

1. Families, in general, seem to be living at a standard of decency appropriate to their society;

2. They do so without working undue hours;

3. They do so without wives being forced to work outside the home or children forced to work inappropriate hours or under inappropriate conditions (if they choose to do so, that’s another story);

4. They do so without undue reliance on government support or consumer credit.

That is the goal. But in this fallen world, the goal is often not met. Therefore, the community must help those who cannot find the means to access necessary goods such as food, shelter and water."

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http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/the-catholic-church-and-the-common-good-an-unbroken-line-of-tradition/

[Warpy]

1. There is a great series on UK television at You Tube

called "The Tudor Monastery Farm." It's well worth the 6 hour watch, 3 historians running a tenant farm on monastery land for a year to figure out just what went into it, detailing the reciprocity between the monastery and the farmers it employed to generate its income and the farmers, themselves. It gives a glimpse into just what a disaster the destruction of the system during Henry VIII's reign was

The church recognizing and enforcing the commons is not a new idea, it's a very old one.

[Joe Chi Minh]

2. Thanks for this, Warpy. (eom)