Loans and interests: Lending in Moravian Parishes before and after the Encyclical Vix pervenit
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2025 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | European Journal of Science and Theology |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| web | http://www.ejst.tuiasi.ro/issue.html |
| Keywords | interests; usury; loans; church |
| Description | The Roman Catholic Church’s approach to the permissibility of interest has been a perennial source of misunderstanding and confusion among economists and some historians alike. The main reason for this is a misunderstanding of Church documents, especially the specific category of loan called mutuum and its distinction from other types of contracts. Another source of misunderstanding is the often-difficult documents of the magisterium and the statements of theologians, which can lead to ambiguous interpretations. This article aims to clarify the approach of ecclesiastical institutions to the issue of the permissibility of interest through the customary lending practices of ecclesiastical institutions. Although the probe into the credit economy of parishes in the Moravian region is relatively small in scope due to the fragmentary survival of archival material of an economic nature, it fits entirely within the context of other, similarly oriented studies that document the long-term credit involvement of ecclesiastical institutions and the legitimization of the receipt of interest. If we read the texts of theologians and magisterium through the lens of common practice, we get an indisputable and long-standing consistent picture of the Church’s teaching on the permissibility of interest. |