Moral Obligation to Protect Family?

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md2lgyk

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A member of my parish is adamant that his house and vehicles must never be locked. His reasoning is that is it is wrong to become too attached to the things of this world and it would be meaningless to him if any were stolen. I don’t necessarily disagree with this, but he has a wife and three small children. He doesn’t seem to grasp that someone breaking into his home might want to harm them.

Doesn’t a Catholic have a moral obligation as head of the household to ensure the safety and security of his family? I don’t expect this person to obtain any effective means of self defense, but shouldn’t he at least lock his doors for their sakes?
 
md2lgyk said:
A member of my parish is adamant that his house and vehicles must never be locked. His reasoning is that is it is wrong to become too attached to the things of this world and it would be meaningless to him if any were stolen. I don’t necessarily disagree with this, but he has a wife and three small children. He doesn’t seem to grasp that someone breaking into his home might want to harm them.

Doesn’t a Catholic have a moral obligation as head of the household to ensure the safety and security of his family? I don’t expect this person to obtain any effective means of self defense, but shouldn’t he at least lock his doors for their sakes?
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At least while the family is at home, especially at night when all are asleep. I can remember several well-publicized cases where children were kidnapped right out of their beds at night. Elizabeth Smart and Deanna Seifert are two good examples. Elizabeth was found alive; Deanna was not. Both were taken by men that their families knew, and as your friend is going around telling his acquaintances of his new policy, he’s basically telling anyone with such a mind that his kids are unguarded.
 
md2lgyk said:
A member of my parish is adamant that his house and vehicles must never be locked. His reasoning is that is it is wrong to become too attached to the things of this world and it would be meaningless to him if any were stolen. I don’t necessarily disagree with this, but he has a wife and three small children. He doesn’t seem to grasp that someone breaking into his home might want to harm them.

Doesn’t a Catholic have a moral obligation as head of the household to ensure the safety and security of his family? I don’t expect this person to obtain any effective means of self defense, but shouldn’t he at least lock his doors for their sakes?
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In this day and age he’s insane to do that. I keep my car and home locked at all times for safety reasons. Would he want to live with the guilt if something happened to his family. Who cares about possessions this is about personal safety.
 
In my area, we recently had a serial rapist who attacked stay-at-home moms. In both reported cases, the moms left with their children on a daytime walk, leaving their houses unlocked. The rapist then entered and hid, and when the moms came back, he raped them. Something else to think about.
 
I know the Catechism speaks directly to self defense. Does it address this issue as well? I couldn’t find anything specific.
 
Well I guess it all depends on where you live… I grew up where nobody locked their doors… very convenient if you left laundry out on the line… neighbors went and got your laundry and put it in your house for you! Never locked our cars either.

Now where I live… very rarely do I lock the house… but we do the the cars when we go to the next town over. Except in the winter… I would rather someone be able to find shelter if they need it than worry about being safe…
 
I can see not locking the car, because to me I just wouldn’t care that much if someone took it…

But not lock the house??? I think anyone who goes to sleep at night, WITH CHILDREN in the house, and leaves the doors unlocked, is a few bricks shy of a load. It’s cuckoo.
 
I think this falls under “stewardship,” which IS covered by Catholicism.

The Lord gives us each a measure of material, earthly goods.

The key concept is that these goods are from the LORD. He gives them to us because He knows, in His wisdom, that these various good will help us to get to heaven and to fulfil our vocation and calling here on this earth and thus help others, especially our families, to get to heaven.

The Lord wants us to take care of what He has given us. We should not be careless or wasteful with the gifts of the Lord, and we should not spurn them as meaningless.

As for the non-material gifts–wife and children–these are also from the Lord, and again, we are charged to care for those that He has given us.

If the man wants to develop the virtue of detachment, he should employ the time-honored methods that the Holy Mother Church has give us–fasting and almsgiving.

I suggest that this man isn’t truly interested in developing detachment at all, otherwise, he would have already GIVEN his material goods away. I suggest that he is actually seeking the attention of man, because when all his goods are stolen and his wife and children are harmed, he will receive a great deal of attention from the community, both inside and outside of his parish. He should give his material goods away anonymously NOW instead of waiting for the inevitable thefts and physical attacks.

I’m not sure what he should do with his wife and children, since he can’t “give them away,” but if I were his wife, I would LOCK HIM OUT of the house and tell him through the LOCKED WINDOW that “sleeping out on the lawn with no TV, no bedding and no supper will help you to develop true detachment from material goods! Goodnight, honey!”
 
md2lgyk said:
A member of my parish is adamant that his house and vehicles must never be locked. His reasoning is that is it is wrong to become too attached to the things of this world and it would be meaningless to him if any were stolen. I don’t necessarily disagree with this, but he has a wife and three small children. He doesn’t seem to grasp that someone breaking into his home might want to harm them.

Doesn’t a Catholic have a moral obligation as head of the household to ensure the safety and security of his family? I don’t expect this person to obtain any effective means of self defense, but shouldn’t he at least lock his doors for their sakes?
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This what the CCC has to say on self-defense.
Legitimate defense
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2263 The legitimate defense of persons and societies is not an exception to the prohibition against the murder of the innocent that constitutes intentional killing. "The act of self-defense can have a double effect: the preservation of one’s own life; and the killing of the aggressor. . . . The one is intended, the other is not."65
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2264 Love toward oneself remains a fundamental principle of morality. Therefore it is legitimate to insist on respect for one’s own right to life. Someone who defends his life is not guilty of murder even if he is forced to deal his aggressor a lethal blow:
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If a man in self-defense uses more than necessary violence, it will be unlawful: whereas if he repels force with moderation, his defense will be lawful. . . . Nor is it necessary for salvation that a man omit the act of moderate self-defense to avoid killing the other man, since one is bound to take more care of one’s own life than of another’s.66
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2265 Legitimate defense can be not only a right but a grave duty for one who is responsible for the lives of others. The defense of the common good requires that an unjust aggressor be rendered unable to cause harm. For this reason, those who legitimately hold authority also have the right to use arms to repel aggressors against the civil community entrusted to their responsibility.
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From the bolded portion, I would think a husband and father has the grave duty to lock his home. Self-defense starts with keeping the intruder at bay.

I am an advocate of gun ownership for self-defense. But self-defense requires warning. Locked doors, and an alarm or guard dog, are a pre-requisite to self-defense. You must be aware of the intruder to defend your family.

God Bless
 
Sierrah said:
In this day and age he’s insane to do that. I keep my car and home locked at all times for safety reasons. Would he want to live with the guilt if something happened to his family. Who cares about possessions this is about personal safety.
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Amen. There’s a word for people who ignore reality: nuts.
 
md2lgyk said:
A member of my parish is adamant that his house and vehicles must never be locked. His reasoning is that is it is wrong to become too attached to the things of this world and it would be meaningless to him if any were stolen. I don’t necessarily disagree with this, but he has a wife and three small children. He doesn’t seem to grasp that someone breaking into his home might want to harm them.

Doesn’t a Catholic have a moral obligation as head of the household to ensure the safety and security of his family? I don’t expect this person to obtain any effective means of self defense, but shouldn’t he at least lock his doors for their sakes?
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While we should not be attached to the things of this world, that is so true, by leaving them unprotected (house, car, etc), we sort of tell God in a way…‘I don’t care about these blessings you have given to me so I’m not going to protect them in any way.’ It’s important to appreciate what God has blessed us with, but not to the point where we attach ourselves to the blessings, more than to God. But, I view all of my earthly items as blessings from God, and thus I should take some care in insuring that I’m not taking these blessings for granted.

Just my :twocents:
 
Cat said:
I think this falls under “stewardship,” which IS covered by Catholicism.
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My thoughts exactly.

The parable of the three servants who were each given money illustrates this point. Clearly, God expects us to take care of the earthly treasures He’s given us.
 
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