Ownership of Land in the Social Teaching of the Church

27. Continuing on the path indicated by Sacred Scripture, the Church has developed its social doctrine over the centuries, issuing authoritative and fundamental documents illustrating its fundamental criteria for judgment and discernment, as well as orientations and instructions to guide choices.

In the social teaching of the Church, the process of the concentration of landholdings is judged a scandal because it clearly goes against God's will and salvific plan, inasmuch as it deprives a large part of humanity of the benefit of the fruits of the earth.

Perverse inequalities in the distribution of common goods and in each person's opportunities for development, as well as the dehumanizing imbalances in individual and collective relationships brought about by such a concentration, are the cause of conflicts that undermine the very life of society, leading to the break-up of the social fabric and the degradation of the natural environment.