Law Commons^™

Property And Moral Responsibilities: Some Reflections On Modern Catholic Social Theory, Lucia A. Silecchia

Texas A&M Journal of Property Law

Professor Eric Claeys’s forthcoming book, Natural Property Rights, offers a deep perspective on property rights principles. However, while the law tends to focus—as I believe it must—on property rights, rights are inextricably intertwined with duties or responsibilities. The natural rights framework for property is, as Claeys says, “good enough for government work.” It reflects a principled way for the government to allocate property rights and use the law to protect them.

However, it is necessary to look beyond what is desirable for government to protect through law. Other sources propose parameters for reasoned use of property with an emphasis …

Clerical-Collar Crime: How Church Members Deal When Church Leaders Steal Church Property, Preslie B. Grumbles

Texas A&M Journal of Property Law

Christian churches will lose an estimated $59 billion worldwide to embezzlement in 2022. Embezzlement and other white-collar crimes are property theft crimes characterized by the violation of another’s trust. This Comment names white-collar crimes committed exclusively by church leaders or officials “clerical-collar crimes.” Distinguishing clerical-collar crime from white-collar crime gives weight to and promotes future consideration of the unique problems that arise when church leaders and officials commit clerical-collar crime.
Although clerical-collar crime is subject to civil and criminal liability, this Comment focuses solely on victims’ experiences in bringing civil claims against perpetrators of clerical-collar crime in Texas and leaves …