THE CHURCH OF THE POOR AND THE CHURCH FOR THE POOR

THE CHURCH OF THE POOR AND THE CHURCH FOR THE POOR

Alex Tuscano

Pope Francis has come 800 and odd years after St. Francis of Assisi. Relatively long period has passed between the great reformer Pope John XXII and the Pope Francis. His choice of name, Francis of Assisi for himself is the announcement of his mission for the Papacy.

St. Francis of Assisi emerged at a time when the Church needed reform.  The Cross in the Church of St Damiano urged Francis to repair the Church which was falling in ruins. Jesus meant not the building of St Damiano's church, but the Church, the people of God.

During the times of St. Francis the Church was a militant Church. After triumphant Byzantine entry into the humble, persecuted Church of the early Christians the Church entered the mode of celebration and projecting Christ the King. Crucifixes used to be studded with diamonds. Monarchies were assuming leading role in the Church. It helped the Church to spread across in a rapid way. The militant Church was more a religion of power than the faithful following the life of the Gospel.

Emergence of St Francis of Assisi brought back to the centre of the Church the Jesus of Nazareth. By his first crib Francis reminded the Church that Jesus was born in a manger. The human Jesus, poor Jesus, the self emptying, kenosis of Jesus was brought to the forefront.

Today the Church Pope Francis has found is also in a deep crisis. For the Europeans Christianity is matter of culture. Wearing a cross round the neck is a symbol of cultural identity rather than a religious and spiritual aspiration. The majestic churches are empty.  Many of them are turned into museums or halls for cultural programmes. The monasteries and seminaries are turned into home for the aged. There are no vocations to the priesthood, much less to the religious life. Youngest religious nuns or priests are in their early seventies. There are no priests to celebrate Eucharist for a few Christians who believe in going for Sunday masses. The paedophilia scandal has hit the sky.  Priests have become unpopular.

Church has also become a political and financial power.  Vatican is a recognized sovereign state having its ambassadors all over the world. It has the best communication system.  Even during primitive stage of communication what was promulgated in The Vatican reached the remotest villages and tribal hamlets.  This is a power of tremendous organization and dedication.  It needs to be hailed on one side.  But on the other side it is an indication of tremendous power and a tight grip on the entire Catholic world, without direct political and military control.  Church excels in its capacity of mobilizing money from the remotest corner of the world.  Vatican bank is perhaps the richest bank on earth.  But it is also rocked by scandal of financial irregularity.

In the face of women's awakening and quest for gender equality there is a demand for women priests.  The protestant Church has heeded to this. Along with women priests there is cry for married priests.  In the light of rampant sex scandal paired with acute shortage of priests this demand seems to be justified.

Pope Francis has begun on the right foot. He speaks of “Poor Church for the poor”.  He knows poverty and the struggle of the poor.  He was caught in the midst of political crisis that sprang from the powerful to stamp out the revolt of the poor against injustice and exploitation.

If Pope Francis calls the Church poor it reflects his desire that the Church should be poor. But it is by no means a poor Church given its wealth and power.

The Church is conceived as a second Israel, the people of God, the people with whom God made a covenant and Jesus sealed this new covenant with his blood “This cup is the new covenant in by my blood.  Whenever you drink it do it in memory of me” (1Corinthians 11:25-26).

Who were the people of God?  In the Old Testament it has been made clear again and again.  It is the poor, the oppressed, those who are treated unjustly.  They are the people of God.

The Old Testament is based on the theology of ‘the people of God’, a history of the oppressed people struggling successively to reach the kingdom of justice, love and brotherhood.

Moses appeared in the midst of the people as their leader.  He fought with Pharaoh and led the people out of slavery into the land of freedom. God made a covenant with these poor slaves who had nothing left to carry with them.  These people became the “people of God”.  “You shall be my people and I will be your God”.

The Prophets who spoke in the name of God sided with the poor and for justice. They condemned exploitation of the poor.  The Bible gives the prophet more prominence than it gives to the kings of Israel. 

Prophets Hosea, Jeremiah, Ezekiel were strong against the evils in the kingdom of Israel.  Prophet Isaiah declared himself as the one sent by God.  He announced as “The spirit of the Almighty Lord is with me because He has anointed me to deliver good news to humble people.  He has sent me to heal those who are broken hearted, to announce that captive will be set free and prisoners will be released … to comfort all those who grieve.”   It was Isaiah, who challenged the authorities in the Jewish society by asking them, “Yahweh asks what you mean by crushing my people”.  The phrase ‘my people’ is synonymous to the ‘chosen people of God’.  Here we see that the poor, the suffering and the exploited came to be identified with ‘the people of God’.

The language of Prophet Amos against the rich who lived by exploiting the poor is unparalleled.  He exposes the crimes of Israel against the poor.  “How terrible it will be for you who sprawl on ivory beds surrounded with luxury, eating the meat of tender lambs and choice calves.  You sing idle songs to the sound of the harp, and you fancy yourselves to be great musicians, as King David was.  You drink wine by the bowlful, and you perfume yourselves with exotic fragrances, caring nothing at all that your nation is going to ruin.  Therefore, you will be the first to be led away as captives.”  “The people of Israel sell the righteous for money and the needy for pair of sandals.  They stomp the heads of the poor into the dust.  They push the humble out of the way… You have turned justice into something deadly and what is righteous into poison.  Listen to this message, you cows of Bashan who live on Mount Samaria.  You women oppress the poor and abuse the needy. You say to your husbands, “get some wine! Let us Drink!”  Israel, you hate anyone who speaks out against injustice.  You are disgusted by anyone who speaks the truth.  You trample the poor and take their wheat from them for taxes.  You build houses from hand cut stones, but you will not live in them.  You plant beautiful vineyard but you will not drink their wine.  I know that your crimes are numerous and your sins are many.  You oppress the righteous by taking bribes.  You deny the needy access to the courts.”

On January 15, 588 BC, King Nebuchadnezzar attacked Jerusalem and destroyed the Jerusalem Temple, the centre of Israelites.  The monarchy came to an end. The Israelites were taken as prisoners in the Babylonian captivity.  All this happened because the kingdom did not live up to the covenant made with God by honouring justice.  They spent long years in Babylon.  Many settled down there and established big businesses and became rich.  They did not long to return to Israel, their homeland.  Only those who worked as wage earners, who were poor and did not have permanent shelter in Babylon, returned to their homeland, Jerusalem.  These people, the holy remnant, eventually were considered ‘the people of God’.

Pope Francis’ focus time and again is on building a "poor church for the poor", “the poorest, the weakest and the least important". Time and again the Pope has urged his fellow church men to leave their comfort zones and reach out to those who live at the margins of society. He demonstrated his desire to be with the people on the margin by washing the feet of 12 juvenile in mates, including two girls, during a visit to a Rome prison during the holy week.  Responding to the scandal in the Vatican bank Francis recalled that neither St. Peter nor St. Paul had any bank accounts. When Peter had to pay taxes, the Lord sent him to the sea to catch a fish and find the money in the fish.

Francis has repeatedly denounced consumerism and what he called the "culture of waste" of modern economies. He had been denouncing capitalism time and again for it focuses exclusively on profit.  He says that he is engaged in a spiritual fight for renewal and salvation.