Everyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple
The closing words of today's gospel seem to ask the impossible. But notice, it is not saying we have to sell them, give them away or not have them but to renounce them.
As always the teaching of the Church preserves a precarious balance. On the one hand we believe the Universal destination of the goods of the earth; "The goods of creation are destined for the whole human race." On the other hand, we believe in a right to private property. As the catechism says, "The ownership of any property makes its holder a steward of Providence, with the task of making it fruitful and communicating its benefits to others, first of all his family." God is always the true owner and we are the stewards of all of it.
Today, as we pray for all those newly elected to office, the catechism regarding this matter says clearly that "Political authority has the right and duty to regulate the legitimate exercise of the right to ownership for the sake of the common good." As touch on yesterday it is both a right and a duty.
