POPE RAMPS UP CHARITY OFFICE TO BE WITH POOR
That was a headline in the November 29th Post Dispatch. Pope Francis is making headlines like this
almost every week now. What a
concept. He wants church members to use
the instruction book written by people who knew or at least heard about a man
named Jesus centuries ago. They call him
the Christ and people who follow his vision Christians. From what I’ve read about this man they
admire so much, he chose to help people in need rather than pursue an occupation
that would have provided him with a comfortable lifestyle. He might even have been able to afford all
the hallmarks of status like owning a sports team or building a chain of stores
using tax credits and slave labor.
But he chose to do what Pope Francis is now telling his man
at the Vatican who is in charge of charitable works. Go out and find the poor. The archbishop in charge of doing good for
people is quoted in the PD article as saying:
“The Holy Father told me at the beginning: ‘You can sell your desk. You won’t need it. You need to get out of the Vatican. Don’t wait for people to come ringing. You need to go out and look for the poor.’”
Which made me think of some incredibly brave volunteers who
venture into the streets and alleys of downtown St. Louis when it’s cold enough
to freeze to death. A few years ago, a
social worker organized these Winter Outreach volunteers when one of her
clients froze to death in a bus stop shelter.
I happen to know one of the volunteers and have been collecting blankets
and other items for about four years, or, as they used to say in North Dakota
before global warming, “four
winters.” These are the true
Christians although I’ve never asked them if they even go to church. It doesn’t really matter. They are “religious” in the best sense of the
word.
I saw on the news the other night that the Red Cross was
helping a family who lost their home in a fire.
That got me to wondering who helps people who lost their homes to
corporate greed and bank fraud? Who
helps those people who lost their jobs because of the Great Recession? It’s nice that a family who lost a home to
fire gets help, and the Red Cross is a wonderful organization. Don’t get me wrong. I’m glad they help people who need it. But there are hundreds of families without
homes in St. Louis, and they survive by finding food at churches and sleeping
behind dumpsters in alleys. The city
authorities don’t want them spoiling the fun of visitors to downtown going to
ball games or concerts. So they keep
them out of sight. Keep moving them
around. They close a park here and a
park there. They make it illegal to feed
folks outdoors with no place to live.
But it’s okay to feed the pigeons.
Pope Francis made quite a stir last week when he claimed
that “unfettered capitalism” kills not only our bodies but our souls. Wow.
That’s one brave Pope. I wonder
if the cardinals who elected him are having second thoughts? No one else at that level of authority dares
to criticize the “free market.” I had
never thought about “Thou shalt not kill” quite that way before, but he’s
right. There are sins of commission and
sins of omission. Shooting someone is
an obvious crime. But what about when we
let people freeze to death? What about
the children living in cars or abandoned buildings? What kind of
life will they have? What have we
killed in their little hearts and minds?
Another story on the local news last week was about a middle
aged man who had been brutally beaten by his mother when he was too small to
defend himself. He found a “family” in a
gang and did some terrible things to other human beings. After doing prison time, he now lives with
damage to his body from gunshot wounds and years of drug abuse. That wouldn’t be much of a story for
television, but he now spends his time urging young kids not to follow his
path. And here’s the kicker. His story was going to air the next night
right after “Survivor.” Really? Survivor?
Am I the only one who sees the irony here?
When the weather forecasters tell us to bundle up because of
freezing temperatures, I wonder what the people living outdoors do to “bundle
up.” I’m thankful that there are so
many organizations collecting coats, food and other necessities this holiday
season. It really helps a lot. But I wonder why we separate ourselves from
those in need? The vast majority of us
are glad to share our bounty as long as we don’t have to actually mingle with
the poor. This is what makes Pope
Francis so newsworthy. He himself shared
meals with the homeless when he was archbishop of Buenos Aires. He sought out those who needed
comforting.
John Lennon encouraged us to “Imagine.” That’s not easy for an old cynic like
myself. But I’m going to imagine bishops
and other leaders of faith communities going out on a freezing cold night with
the St. Louis Homeless Winter Outreach volunteers. Their Facebook page tells when they will be heading out and
where to meet. If you have a van, that
would be nice. I wonder how many church
vans sit idle on cold nights? I wonder
how long before we decide as a society that every human being deserves food and
shelter without having to beg for it. We
are caught in a trap of our own making.
We run each other down to get the lowest price on a flat screen
television and call that “holiday shopping.”
It’s going to take someone with a lot of clout to turn our attention
back to what’s really important. That
might just be the new Pope. Imagine
that.
