CATECHISM

Q. What is the seventh Commandment?
A. The seventh Commandment is, ‘Thou shalt not steal’.
Steal. To take away unjustly anything belonging to another.

Q. What does the seventh Commandment forbid?
A. The seventh Commandment forbids all unjust taking away, or keeping what belongs to
another.
All unjust taking away. This may be done in several ways, viz., by theft or robbery; or by
fraud, which consists in all kinds of cheating in buying or selling, in passing an inferior
article as one of good quality, as in the case of bad money. We may also take away
unjustly, by neglecting or performing carelessly any duty for which we are paid; by
unjust lawsuits; by usury, which is demanding too high an interest for one’s money, and
by wilfully destroying another’s property.
Keeping what belongs to another. This may be done by refusing to give back what we
have taken from another; by not restoring things left in our care; by refusing to pay our
just debts; by not taking means to find out the owner of anything we may have found; by
buying or receiving goods which we believe to have been stolen, viz., ill-gotten goods.

Q. Is all manner of cheating in buying and selling forbidden by the seventh
Commandment?
A. All manner of cheating in buying and selling is forbidden by the seventh Commandment, and
also every other way of wronging our neighbour.
Cheating. Deceiving or defrauding; being dishonest in ones actions; imposing upon
others.

Q. Are we bound to restore ill-gotten goods?
A. We are bound to restore ill-gotten goods if we are able, or else the sin will not be forgiven; we
must also pay our debts.
Restore. To give back again, to make satisfaction. Restoring things obtained unjustly, or
the value of them, is called restitution, which we are bound to make if in our power,
under pain of sin.
Debt. What one person owes to another.

Q. Is it dishonest for workers to waste their employer’s time or property?
A. It is dishonest for workers to waste their employer’s time or property, because it is wasting
what is not their own.