J
jackdack
Guest
I was recently reading the Catechism when I read, for the first time, the paragraph about our obligation to make reparations for things we have stolen (2412). However, I had a question about how to apply this to a particular situation. When I was little, on a couple of occasions, I sneaked into movies in a movie theater without paying for them. I know that I should now pay for the movies I stole, but I’m not sure how to go about it. The money paid for each movie ticket goes through a complex division process, with little bits of it going to many different people–to the theater, but also to the studio, the distributors, some of the artists or actors involved, etc. The exact amount of what goes to whom is different for each movie, and is probably impossible for a movie theater to recreate several years after the fact. Therefore, I’m at a loss as to who to give the money to, since it’s not as simple as sending a check to a movie theater.
When I confessed this sin to a priest, he told me to estimate the amount of money that I saved by sneaking into movies and donating it to charity, which I did. Do you think that be enough to fulfill my obligation to make reparations, or should I do something else?
When I confessed this sin to a priest, he told me to estimate the amount of money that I saved by sneaking into movies and donating it to charity, which I did. Do you think that be enough to fulfill my obligation to make reparations, or should I do something else?