I propose to articulate my reflection under three angles: the Church as subject of evangelical poverty; poverty as preferential option of the poor; poverty as “Churches in a state of service”

The Church as subject of evangelical “poverty”

Poverty is a constitutive dimension of the Church that expresses her Christological connotation. 

The most impressive aspect in the life of Christ is that of seeing the prophetic mission of evangelising the poor being actuated in him, not only affectively –with the heart detachment from earthly goods, but also effectively: Christ made himself poor.

Yves Congar, one of the greatest experts of Vatican 2 would state: “Sure, we must not make of Jesus an indigent: the family of Nazareth was one of artisans who lived of their work. However, Jesus would be unintelligible if we detached him from Bethlehem and from the cross. The interior aspect, namely the aspect of spiritual disposition, and the external one of effective impoverishment, appear to be inseparable. It is not possible to pursue a simple poverty of spirit that is not translated into a form of exterior impoverishment. If it is Christian poverty lived like that of Christ, it is inseparable from a communion with the poverty of the world” (Y. Congar, Chiesa e povertà, (Church and poverty) Ave, Rome 1963).

What can this Christological conception of poverty mean at practical level for the life of the Church?

A first meaning concerns the aspect of material goods. The Church follows the poverty of Christ if she entrusts her own security and the efficacy of her evangelising action to the presence of God and the action of Grace, more than to material means, possessed goods, the support of political power, the guarantees derived from different covenants and concordats. Therefore, she considers the material resources as mere instruments; she limits herself to what is necessary and eliminates the superfluous an the pure image. 

Speaking of the Italian Church, for instance, the whole lay out of the 8% bound with the new Concordat, undoubtedly implies some positive aspects, such as economic tranquillity for the priests consenting more freedom in their ministry, the realisation of an equal distribution among the clergy….The present system, however, is not one of the best, because it implies some risks for the pastoral work: to relieve the Christian communities of their contribution for the maintenance of the clergy; to nurture the image of the priest  as a “guaranteed man” and, somehow, more privileged than many who live in flexibility and precarious conditions; there is also the risk of giving the image of the church as a rich and powerful reality, since she disposes of many economic means; a Church that probably might have more difficulty to side or to appear siding the poor.

The consecrated persons, due to their radical choice of life, should urge the Church to regain an increased evangelical coherence. However, to do it, they should be and appear as realities that have made the choice of poverty. In fact, we should not forget the reminder of the Council to the religious about not giving to their vow of poverty a too much “individual” and “spiritualistic” meaning. It is true that the vows are “personal”, but it is equally true that they are pronounced in the religious community, and the community is the most eloquent “sign” for the people. The Council says, “Let them try to give a collective testimony  of poverty and let them share part of their goods for the needs of the Church and for the support of the poor, whom all the religious are supposed to love with the love of Christ (….). Despite the right of possessing all that is necessary for the temporal life and the charitable works (….) let them  avoid every appearance of luxury, of excessive profit, of accumulation of Goods”  (Perfectae caritatis, 13).

A second meaning of poverty of the Church is the acceptance of one’s own weakness considered not as a limit to be suffered, but as a source of strength. The Church has been represented by Jesus as “weak subject under the images of “salt and leaven” (Matthew: 5, 33). The leaven is a tiny quantity if compared to the dough of bread. Similarly the salt: we do not eat it because it hides itself and disappears: if it is just a little quantity, it gives taste, if it is too much it becomes uneatable. The strength of the Church is in her acceptance to be a minority; an authentic minority, drawing her strength from God and destined to give meaning to the world.

In this sense the Church is poor today: both under the numeric profile, namely with regard to the population of the world, as well as for the type of the message which is not much attractive: the doctrine of the cross, the proposal of the beatitudes; similarly the insufficiency  and deficiencies of the clergy (ever scarcer vocations) and of the Christians(scandals, bad examples, incoherence). The Church is called not so much “to accept her own weakness” as to love it, to consider it as a stimulus to place her fatigue in God alone, to accentuate her prophetic dimension made up by holiness. We historically see that God knows how to arouse figures of saints in all moments of crisis: Francis in the period of crusades; St. Charles after the tragedy of Protestantism, St. Vincent de Paul in coincidence with the corruption of the Church; John the XXIII in full climate of secularisation. 

The Church experiences her own weakness also in the crisis of vocations. We might be tempted in this case to widen the conditions of welcoming the candidates: on the contrary we should rather be more demanding in the choice and stricter in discipline. Today’s youth are ready to spend themselves for great and binding causes (see the growth of vocations to the contemplative life). Vocations flourish in the humus of faithfulness to the Word of God and of authentic testimonies of life; after the martyrdom of Monsignor Romero in San Salvador, vocations to priesthood keep on increasing; John Paul II has been able to conquer the souls with his suffering more than with his assemblies beyond the oceans.

The quantitative weakness of priestly vocations could become a stimulus to give up clerical ways of pastoral management, by giving more value to the laity. Moreover, we must avoid the risk of shutting up ourselves into a feeble spirituality of intimacy destined to a few, to the usual faithful aged persons concentrated in devotional pilgrimages; we are called to open  the Christian community to the “mission” in far off territories. John Paul II would say, “Church, do get out of yourself to find yourself anew”. The leaven and the salt become meaningful when they disappear in the dough and in the victuals.

The consecrated persons, above all those who work in the field of pastoral action, can help the Church also in this second area of poverty. They can be effective with their proposals as much as they will have positively faced the emerging problems of vocational crisis with innovating and courageous choices. 

Preferential choice of the poor

The second angle of ecclesial poverty is given by the preferential option of the poor, after the example of the Lord.

It is our duty to evidence first of all the motives of this option. This is not dictated by even legitimate sociological reasons: the will of favouring equality by giving more to those who have less; not even by causes of pastoral opportunities: to increase the credibility of the Church thus more easily reaching the far off persons. The choice is dictated exclusively by Christological motives, namely by faithfulness to Christ. The Church is called to opt for the poor because she is the sacrament of Christ and it is Christ who made this choice. The least ones are an evangelical, messianic category.

In his visit to the synagogue of Nazareth, Jesus applied to himself the words of Prophet Isaiah that identified the Messiah with the words, “The Spirit of the Lord is one me, because he anointed me to proclaim the good news to the poor; he sent me to proclaim freedom to the prisoners, sight to the blind and to set the oppressed free (…). Today this Scripture is fulfilled” (Luke 14,18-21).

In Matthew 25, 31-46, Jesus presented the service to the poor as a condition of salvation. Commenting this text, Cardinal Martini writes, “This page tells us, without half terms, that there is a unique possible way of salvation: that of rendering some essential and primary services to the Lord, the Son of man: and that this mysterious Lord is present in the least of our brothers. Speaking of the sick, the hungry, thirsty, imprisoned and migrated persons, Matthew uses expressively the word “the least of my brothers”. Therefore, Christ in loving the poor becomes the reason and the model of the Christians and of the Church.

Without stopping to reflect on the poor and the least ones, I limit myself simply to remind that the poor do not end with the economic categories, though the economic aspect has had almost always a determining relevance of persons and families in difficulties. The Biblical and Christian traditions transmit to us the list of 14 works of mercy, 7 corporal and 7 spiritual, so as to tell us that Christian love must embrace the whole person and the believers must be ready to become poor, to renounce to their well-being, to their comforts and time, in order to offer a helping hand to those in difficulties. 

Moreover, we need to remember the double dimension of poverty. Poor is one who does not possess sufficient resources to live a dignified life and to ensure his own development; poor is also he who is not capable of collaborating for the common good, thus experiencing marginalisation, social exclusion, insecurity and uselessness. Paul VI rightly defined the poor as those who count nothing, whose opinion is not listened to; those for whom the decisions are taken, without ever thinking that it is up to them to take decisions at least decisions concerning themselves”.

To opt for the poor is by its nature a proclamation of faith: it is the same as to say with facts that the person –every person, including the least one- is at the centre of everything: he is there for the Lord as well as for us.

The specific aspect of our theme is the ecclesial option of the poor.  Ecclesial option –of the diocese and of the single parishes- means that the preferential option of the poor is not a “sectarian” problem, namely specific of the charitable area, but it is “transversal” to all the pastoral sectors and touches the very style of our pastoral commitments. The Christian communities are to be considered as people on a journey, moving all together and measuring their steps with those of the weakest

Therefore, it concerns the catechesis: who are the least in this area? Who is the one who needs the proclamation most? Who is the most ignored person? It concerns also the administration of the Sacraments of the Christian initiation, particularly the sacrament of matrimony. Do we see discriminations in the management of these celebrations? Do the poor truly feel to be treated at par? It concerns also the construction and possibility of entering the sacred edifices of pastoral use: are they comfortable also for the aged and the disabled? It concerns the composition of the Pastoral Councils: do we have in them the presence of persons with modest learning or persons who live in particular uneasiness? What about our commitment to the poor of the third world? Finally it concerns the social services managed by the Church: Nursery schools, primary and middle schools, socio-sanitary services, sports services….:are they opened to all, also to those with few means, or are they reserved only for those who can pay?

The contributions of the religious are important also in this aspect. It should be a privilege for the consecrated persons to transmit their own tension of “poor persons at the service of the poor” to the entire community. This, of course, requires that they first offer the example of realising this perspective within their own communities. For instance the weakest ones: how are the aged, the less learned and the sick sisters treated in the ordinary management of the Institute and the strategic choices of the Congregation? Is there any gratitude for the life spent by the one who today is disabled? Is there any attention paid to them, to listen to their opinion at least on what concerns their own being? How do we face the risk that the criterion of efficiency and productivity may finish by becoming dominant even in the religious life?

Another experience that strengthens the religious for an eventual contribution to the parish comes from the testimony of their service. Almost all the congregations with a certain historical tradition were founded with the perspective of serving the poor: nursery and primary schools, hospitals. How much of this charism has been kept? Are our schools, clinics, centres of social aggregation characterised by priority choices of the poor?

A Church in a state o service

The third dimension of ecclesial poverty is that of feeling as Church at the service of humanity: disowning oneself and feeling to function uniquely for the salvation of the world. Two are the ways that the Church can follow today in her mission of service to humanity.

The first way is to function as a “critical conscience” before the civil society, economy, politics, by recalling the values that are in danger “because of the ethical persistence, derived from the prevailing interests and power. The Church has the duty of offering her own contribution (…) so that the demands of justice may become intelligible and politically realisable” (Deus caritas est, 28).

Let us think of the theme, so much debated during the recent years, on the authenticity of the family founded on matrimony between man and woman. Let us consider the more recent theme on human life and abortion: it immediately bounces before the eyes of the believers, even of many lay persons, the contradiction between the duty-bound and right commitment –supported also by lay forces- against the penalty of death and the indifference before the massacre of millions of innocent human beings through the practice of abortion. Much zeal for the just defence of life is shown by the same persons who have caused serious crimes and by their indifference before the suppression of millions of innocent lives.  

Let us think also of the many people who have been suffering, and are still suffering, of poverty for decenniums in one of the richest countries of the world like Italy. Their presence was denounced by the joint relation between Caritas Italian and Zancan Foundation. Naturally the Church, in recalling these human values tarnished by political and economic choices, cannot expect applauses. In fact, her interventions “disturb the manoeuvres”. No servant is in the attitude of expecting applauses. However, it is always important to fulfil one’s service well.

The second way of serving man and society is that of offering the State a contribution of social and concrete services within the Welfare National Plan. We can build up the common good by speaking, but even more by doing.

Benedict XVI speaks of this in his encyclical letter Deus caritas est, when, after reminding us that this type of presence is part of the millenary tradition of the Church, and is, therefore, one of her rights-duties, poses the problem on the specific identity of the ecclesial services. How do they distinguish themselves from the services of the State or of the social forces? How do they enter the saving mission of the Church? The Holy Father answers indicating four characteristics: 

- the readiness in answering the need. We could say that the Church must express a prophetic capacity in discovering and catching the new needs:

- the professional competence: we could paraphrase it saying that “to do good is not enough: we must do it well”, and this implies first of all the permanent formation of the operators;

-the attention of the heart: “They must not limit themselves to carry on their service with competence…but they must devote themselves to others with attentions suggested by the heart, so that (the patients) may experience the richness of humanity” (Deus caritas est, 31/A).

- the commitment to the rights of the poor: “The common voice of the Christians is required for the development of the world, for the respect of the rights and needs of everyone, especially of the poor, the humiliated, the undefended” (Deus caritas est, 30/B).

In synthesis, the Church is expected to propose herself as a model and forerunner of a true service to man as well as of constructing a new quality of life.

Thanks to the vow of poverty, the religious can be of noteworthy help to the Church also in this area, to the end of living the identity of a poor Church in the reality of service. They will be effective if they are the first to realise social, educational and sanitary services in line with the indication of the papal encyclical, and will move with an open attention towards the poor and the needy in the territory, highlighting also the world dimension of problems. Thus, by working all together, the Church and the religious will realise a transfer of evangelical values from the level of a simple evangelical witness to that of animation of the civil society.

Giuseppe Pasini
President of the Foundation Emanuele Zancan
Via Andrea Memmo, 49 - 35122 Padova