Was what Robin Hood did morally right?

[Cayleigh]

Dear Friends in Christ,
Please allow us to introduce ourselves. We are Mrs. Bustillo’s 5th grade class. We have begun a study on the 10 Commandments and how to make them relevant in our daily lives. Recently, we watched the Disney version of the movie, Robin Hood and have been reflecting on whether or not his actions were in line with God’s teachings. Many of us believe that some of his actions were good and bad, but we need some help discerning if Robin Hood’s example would be one that we should follow if we were in the same situation with an oppressive leader that was stealing from the poor. Please help us! We would love to know the TRUTH so that we may be followers of Christ at all times, and so that we may share what we learn with all around us! Thank you so much for your time in advance! We will be happily, excitedly awaiting your reply, and if it could come soon, we’d really appreciate it since school gets out for the summer on May 22nd.

 

[Fr.Charles_Grondin]

Let’s look at what the Catechism has to say on this:

2408 The seventh commandment forbids theft, that is, usurping another’s property against the reasonable will of the owner. There is no theft if consent can be presumed or if refusal is contrary to reason and the universal destination of goods. This is the case in obvious and urgent necessity when the only way to provide for immediate, essential needs (food, shelter, clothing . . .) is to put at one’s disposal and use the property of others.

Stealing is wrong because it unjustly takes what rightly belongs to another person. However if someone stole my ipod and I took it back when they weren’t looking, you could hardly say that I stole the ipod.
The character of Robin Hood exists in a society where the poor are being stolen from by the sheriff and the rich. It is actually the sheriff and the rich, in this particular set of circumstances, who are the one’s stealing. In these stories Robin Hood is actually reclaiming things that have been stolen from the poor.