Copyright Laws and Restitution

  • Thread starter Thread starter Gabriel
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I just need to know one more thing. If I go to one priest, because I am ashamed to confess to another, am I abusing the sacrament?
If you do not have a confessor, than no. However, as you establish yourself in one parish you should aim to have one confessor.
 
Another thing (sorry). Where is it written that the priest has the final say on the matter of restitution? It is an important question to me.
 
You would do better to read the books and speak to a priest but here’s the CCC on the matter

http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p2s2c2a4.htm

Satisfaction

1459 Many sins wrong our neighbor. One must do what is possible in order to repair the harm (e.g., return stolen goods, restore the reputation of someone slandered, pay compensation for injuries). Simple justice requires as much. But sin also injures and weakens the sinner himself, as well as his relationships with God and neighbor. Absolution takes away sin, but it does not remedy all the disorders sin has caused.62 Raised up from sin, the sinner must still recover his full spiritual health by doing something more to make amends for the sin: he must “make satisfaction for” or “expiate” his sins. This satisfaction is also called “penance.”

1460 The penance the confessor imposes must take into account the penitent’s personal situation and must seek his spiritual good. It must correspond as far as possible with the gravity and nature of the sins committed. It can consist of prayer, an offering, works of mercy, service of neighbor, voluntary self-denial, sacrifices, and above all the patient acceptance of the cross we must bear. Such penances help configure us to Christ, who alone expiated our sins once for all. They allow us to become co-heirs with the risen Christ, "provided we suffer with him."63
 
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I do not think restitution requires buying all the media you copied. Besides, for most people who illegally copy music, games, and movies for their personal use, it would not be feasible because they don’t have that much spending money.

A more realistic (and lenient) view of restitution in this matter is to estimate how much you have actually harmed the media publishers. Question: If you had not illegally copied the stuff, how much would you have actually bought? That is how much they could have lost. The rationale for this “lenient” approach is that there is no direct loss to the publisher when you copy media illegally; they did not have to produce or package or web-host the illegal copies. Their losses are indirect, meaning they simply did not make the money they could have made by your purchases. So how much do you think that is?

In any case, I would follow the priest’s instructions regarding penance and restitution.

You have a lot of good questions. You should consider RCIA.
 
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