Universal destination of goods explained

The universal destination of goods is a concept in Catholic theology, by which the Catholic Church professes that the goods of creation are destined for mankind as a whole, but also recognizes the individual right to private property.

Teaching

The Catechism of the Catholic Church says:^[1]

In 1967, Pope Paul VI wrote in the encyclical Populorum progressio:^[2]

The Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church states:^[3] Pope Francis included commentaries on this concept in his 2015 encyclical letter, Laudato si',^[4] where he refers to "the common destination of goods",^[5] and in his 2020 encyclical, Fratelli tutti.^[6]

Notable uses of the term

Thomas Banchoff of Georgetown University in the USA noted in an article in The Tablet in September 2023 that, since the 1891 publication of Leo XIII's Rerum Novarum, "Catholic Social Teaching has been organised around core principles including human dignity, the common good, subsidiarity and the universal destination of goods".

See also

• Catholic social teaching
• Fratelli tutti § Private property
• Lockean proviso

Notes and References

1. Web site: The Catholic Church. 1992. The Catechism of the Catholic Church I. The Universal Destination and the Private Ownership of Goods. The Vatican.
2. Web site: Paul VI. Populorum Progressio, item 23. 13 February 2009.
3. Web site: Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church. 2020-10-09. www.vatican.va.
4. Web site: 2016-02-23 . Property and People: The ongoing relevance of an oft-forgotten church teaching . 2023-07-25 . America Magazine . en.
5. Pope Francis, Laudato si', Chapter 2, section 6, accessed 13 August 2023
6. Pope Francis, Fratelli tutti, paragraphs 119-120, published 3 October 2020, accessed 30 December 2023