Introduction to Part I: Acquiring Wealth

Money is a touchy subject. Even within Catholic circles, money is one topic that ruffles feathers regardless of how you slice it. Whether we’re talking about investing in the stock market, giving money to the homeless, giving a full tenth of our income to the local parish, or the nature of spiritual poverty, there are different sides who will get upset one way or the other. Even so, here we go.

Many of us were taught by our parents never to discuss finances. Yet, Jesus talks endlessly about money: building wealth, paying taxes, supporting the Temple, cheating taxpayers, investing, paying and forgiving debts, giving everything to the poor, and the list goes on. Whether we like it or not, money, its possession, distribution, and use are everywhere in the Scriptures. This is because money is a major part of our lives. It is with money that we obtain the essentials for living. It is with money that we negotiate the exchange of goods and services with our employer, the grocer, the automechanic, the babysitter, the government, and beyond. Our societies could not operate without money. This is so much the case that economic collapse generally means social collapse.

So if we use money all the time, why is it so uncomfortable to talk about? Perhaps we have a subconscious sense that money is evil, or even that to talk about money would show a love for money which, St. Paul says, is the root of all kinds of evils (1 Tm 6:10). Whatever the reason, it is important to shed some light on key points of disagreement on money issues from the treasury of Catholic tradition.

In the first part of this issue, we focus on the acquiring of wealth. The first half zeroes in on usury—the charging of interest on a loan—by presenting a few passages from the Scriptures, two canons from mediaeval councils, a letter by Thomas Aquinas, and an eighteenth-century encyclical. In every case, usury is roundly condemned, which should give Catholic bankers cause to reflect on how we do business. It certainly provides one reason why Catholics with surplus wealth should use it to support those in need with interest-free loans (yes, I hear the disgruntled voices of many a wealthy Catholic).

The second half presents excerpts from Leo XIII’s groundbreaking encyclical Rerum Novarum, the one that started the trend of what have been called “social encyclicals.” Leo holds nothing back as he critiques the position of the socialists of the late-nineteenth century (and today), while also identifying key problems with the way capitalists were (and in many cases still are) operating. He upholds the right to private property, advocates for healthy working conditions, promotes God’s right to be worshipped on Sunday, and introduces teaching on just wages—which he declares “must be enough to support the wage earner in reasonable and frugal comfort” (yes, I hear the disgruntled voices again).

Now, before we move on to the issue, if you like what we are doing and want to support us, you can do so through your prayers, by sharing our content, or by signing up for a paid subscription on Substack.

Aaron P. Debusschere
Editor