Restitution and finding owner

[dmm2405]

I’m in my mid-20’s now, but I’ve recently remember barn breaking windows intentionally as like a 6 or 8 year old on my grandparent’s farm trying to be like the “cool kid.”

I’m fairly certain my grandparents rented the farm. They moved away like 15 years ago. How much of an effort does one need to undertake on finding the original owner (assuming my grandparents didn’t have to pay for it…if they ever noticed it…again…barn windows)?

I mentioned it in confession, and he said if I couldn’t find the owner I could donate to charity. However, I’m stuck on how much effort I should put into finding the owner. A google search was kind of sketchy. Do I drive the 9 hours to look up property records or is that kind of over kill?

 

[dshix]

Overkill and not necessary. Donate to charity.

 

[dmm2405]

Related questions.

Do you have to pay interest (in real terms…adjusted for inflation) on the estimated value of the damage from the time it was done unto today?

I’ve paid interest on other things as a form of penance, but it wasn’t a big deal as the amount was small and the time frame short. A 15-year plus time frame can double or triple the value… $450 in damage can turn into $1,200 if you include interest. That would be more burdensome than paying $20 instead of $10 for those two ice cream snakes a buddy a Dairy Queen wrongly gave you without payment 7 years ago

Also, would I have to interview my grandparents or my parents if they had to pay for the windows assuming they found out? or is that not required.

 

[underacloud]

Overkill and not necessary. Donate to charity.

Massive overkill.

You were 6 years old. This sin (if it was that given your age) was forgiven a long time ago.

You don’t even know if any restitution is owed. The barn may never have been repaired, may have been torn down, may have been renovated anyway, etc.

I assume from your wording, when the priest said that you “could donate to charity”, that the priest did not require this of you as part of your penance. So, if it makes you feel better, by all means make a donation to charity. Either way, it’s time to move on.