Fr. Jorge Mario Bergoglio |
I’ve been thinking about writing
about the new Pope from Argentina ever since his election a few weeks ago.
Despite some carping from typical quarters, Pope Francis I seems to have gotten
off to a good start. His choice of name, simplicity of lifestyle, and concern
for the poor has elicited worldwide applause.
Nevertheless, I worry that many of
his early fans might turn against him when he cannot fulfill all their
expectations. No one man can do it all and ever since Vatican II Catholics have
been continually reminded that the world’s problems are everyone’s
responsibility. It was probably always wrong for the laity to think that
everything was up to the clerical leaders of the Church, but in the last few
decades it has become increasingly difficult for the ordinary person to say,
“why don’t they, meaning the clergy, do something about this or that?”
Still, it is clear that the Pope
can play a major role. Pope Francis I has already expressed his belief that the
poor should be a major concern of the Church but why should his attitude be a
surprise to anyone, or regarded as a step in a new direction?
But how are the
poor to be helped? I think some of the early plaudits for the Pope came from
those who believe that the Catholic Church has vast financial resources or
assets that could be sold or used to benefit the poor. It’s as if they want
Michelangelo’s Pieta to be auctioned off and the proceeds used to benefit the
needy. Or, perhaps they believe
that chalices and other religious articles should be melted down and sold for
cash.
A recent news article in a local
newspaper gave front-page attention to the disparity between rich and poor even
in the United States. The article focused on the plight of a single mother
living with her four young children in low income housing in Greenwich,
Connecticut, one of the richest communities in America.
Here is her story in a nutshell.
She grew up in a household without her father. She claims that as a young girl
she was sexually abused by her mother’s boyfriend. She became a rebellious
teenager and traveled with a bad crowd. She had a baby out of wedlock at around
the age of 15, and when she turned 18 both she and the baby were kicked out of
the house by her mother. Since then she has always looked for work and tried to
better herself. Somehow, she managed to take classes but ran up a student loan
debt of about $25000.
At the same time she found a new
boyfriend and they quickly had three more children even though he did not have
a good job. Recently she had a fight with the boyfriend and kicked him out of
her apartment even though she still claims to love him. It would appear that he
has no intention of supporting his children. Of course, they never bothered to
marry.
How does she survive? She lives in
low income subsidized housing in Greenwich at a cost of $50 per month. It would
be difficult for an ordinary person to find a rental in Greenwich for less than
$2000 per month. As a resident of Greenwich, her children can attend one of the
best school systems in the country at virtually no cost to her, especially
since she pays no taxes. She gets about $650 per month in food stamp
assistance. She and her children are most likely eligible for free medical care
under Medicaid.
Let’s add it up. She gets housing
assistance worth about $24000 per year. If her four children had to go to a
private school, it would easily cost about $15000 each or $60000 per year. She
gets almost $8000 per year for food stamps. A medical insurance plan comparable
to Medicaid would easily cost over $10000 per year for a family her size.
I’m not blaming this young woman
or others in similar situations. She has had a hard life and with little
apparent guidance or assistance. In fact, she seems always to have looked for
work, and she certainly had the smarts to find housing in Greenwich, a choice
she made so that her children could grow up in a community largely free of
crime and drugs.
But how is the Pope or any other
religious leader to help her? She certainly could use more income but it would
appear that more than anything else she could have benefitted from some
spiritual or moral guidance during her lifetime. Did anyone ever tell her that
bedding down with a man who lacked both the will and the skill to support a
family was a bad idea?
More than a dispenser of alms the
Pope has to be a spiritual and moral leader. One of the things that I have
found most objectionable about the press coverage of the new Pope is the way in
which his election is being used as a kind of slap at his two predecessors,
John Paul II and the recently retired Benedict XVI. By implication, it would
appear as if they did little to help the poor.
If that is the case, why are the
fastest growing and most dynamic parts of the Catholic Church found in the
poorest areas of the world? Why, for example, is Catholicism growing by leaps
and bounds in Africa despite often vicious persecution? Maybe the poor of the world,
who are not so fortunate as to live in Greenwich Connecticut, have looked to
the previous Popes as liberators. It can be argued that by his efforts to bring
freedom to his native land of Poland, Pope John Paul Ii did more for the
world’s poor that any Pope in history.
Just go to this link and view the
Polish company of Les Miserable performing “One More Day” in a Warsaw mall that
looks like it could be the Mall of America. Before the Pope’s initiative,
Poland was one of the poorest countries in Europe. Maybe the people at the
Mall turned out to be a little more materialistic than the Pope might have
desired, but they are no longer poor. Video can also be viewed below.
Thank you for posting, as too often the public looks for the negative side of things. You are clear in saying the woman profiled could use some spiritual direction.
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading and for the comment.
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