Do I have to return something my friend stole but gave to me?

[NATEDAWG]

My friend took a plastic jersey barrier from an old factory. There was about a dozen of them, and I’ve never seen anyone near the factory. I use it a ton and my friend gave it to me because I wanted it, but I did not steal it myself. I am also a Catholic, but I use the barrier all the time and the factory has many more that they do not use. Would it be okay for me to keep this barrier?

 

[Michelle_Arnold]

No, it is not okay for you to keep property you know to be stolen. In this case, you did not just receive a stolen item, but you evidently expressed a desire for something that did not belong to you and thereby share some responsibility for the fact that your friend subsequently stole it. (Had you responded to the “gift” with horror, refused to accept it, and urged your friend to return the barrier immediately, you would not share that responsibility since you could merely have been admiring something belonging to someone else without intending that your friend “appropriate” it for you.)

I can only recommend that you return the barrier immediately, and consider seriously whether you should go to confession for covetousness and keeping stolen property.