There
are two new church leaders on the world scene: Patriarch John X of Antioch and now
Pope Francis I of Rome. Coming from
different parts of the world and different churches that are undergoing
entirely different experiences (the Church of Antioch is experiencing direct
persecution by the ‘Free Syrian Army’ and hostility throughout the Moslem
world, while the Church of Rome has experienced an increasing secular antagonism),
one would assume they would have different message and dissimilar priorities.
Here
are a couple of pull quotes which demonstrate that such is not the case, the
first from John X’s first official statement and the second about Francis I
from a Roman Catholic site:
Our institutions belong to the Church, that is to the believers.
They are for the good of the believers and are not supposed to be for the individual
interests. They are part of the vineyard of the Lord who says in the Gospel, "son, go today
and work in my vineyard" (Matt 21 : 28). This blessed work is addressed to our people who need
assistance, our youth who are working to build their future, our elderly who want to spend
the rest of their lives in happiness and bliss, our orphans that they may grow in an atmosphere of
tenderness, love, and stability. The aim of investing in our institutions is not
for material gain or economic growth; it is primarily spiritual: it is a service to our neighbour.
Today, more than ever before, human beings are falling under the
pressure of harsh circumstances, conflicts, economic interests, world commerce and technological
change. Today, human beings are dealt with as
machines, not as persons. This fact increases their spiritual toils and their ethical problems. Social life has changed into a
life of isolation.
We have therefore to offer a new and correct vision in addressing
the affairs of this world, by working on improving the administration of the Patriarchal
properties and lands, by developing their investments, by keeping all of the possessions within the
framework of our religious law, harmonizing its administration with the
expectations of the Church and the welfare of the community.
And in order for our philanthropic institutions, schools,
university, and hospitals, to shine with the divine light, that is always present in them, each
of these institutions, be it small or large, should seek to have a clear vision of its service. It
should define its raison d'etre, and have a clear plan of action leading to the realization of its
goals according to a well studied methodology elaborated by specialists. The specialists are
expected to gather the necessary data, to analyze it, to explain it, and to crystallize it in
a manner that it can serve everyone, that we may repeat with the Apostle, "therefore be
careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as the wise" (Eph 5: 14).
Pope
Francis said in his homily that mercy, is the key lesson and the Good News
proclaimed this Sunday. “Mercy is the Lord’s most powerful message,” he said.
Speaking
without a prepared text, Pope Francis said: “If we are like the Pharisee before
the altar, who said: "Thank you, Lord, for not making me like all the
other men, and especially not like that fellow at the door, like that
publican…,’ well, then we do not know the heart of the Lord, and we shall not
ever have the joy of feeling this mercy.”
“It
is not easy trust oneself to the mercy of God, because His mercy is an
unfathomable abyss – but we must do it!”
Pope
Francis continued: “He has the ability to forget... He kisses you, He embraces
you, and He says to you: ‘Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now, on, sin
no more.’ Only that counsel does He give you.”
Pope
Francis concluded: “We ask for the grace of never tiring of asking pardon, for
He never tires of pardoning.”
Both
hierarchs are talking about service.
Sound revolutionary? In the
modern era, yes.
Here
in the US ‘charity hospitals’ and other free services that were once the
staples of large religious communities have been drowned out by state-run
facilities that had the deep pockets that only taxation can have. Government enterprises made charities ‘redundant,’
and so church-run facilities got squeezed out of the picture through state
competition and the costly hand of regulation.
Basically,
politicians love to curry favor by handing out goodies and telling everyone how
much better they do things. There is
only one problem: it’s not working.
The
state enterprise of social services is necessarily secular, yet a great deal of
human wounding is spiritual. Addictions
and profound moral distress cannot be treated by a secular institution. There are limits to what non-religious
institutions can do. So, rather than
treating problems with medicine and prayer, which the religious charities once
did, doctors up the doses and send people on their way.
At
the same time, the seemingly ‘bottomless pit’ of government agencies funding
(actually there is a bottom to the pit, and it is called your pocket) has
allowed many agencies to spring up with lots of well-paid functionaries that
are usually never held accountable for their actions.
Charities
are held accountable, both by donors and by the state. In the case of church-run facilities, many of
those who work for them are inspired to forego higher salaries for the sense of
service they receive in their ministries.
So, charities not only do their work better, but cheaper.
World-wide,
state-run mental health facilities, like those treating addictions, are
expensive flops. Governments are going
bankrupt trying to run these institutions, which aren’t known for very good
success rates and have become money-laundering operations for politicians and
employee unions. Yes, when you vote for
the guy who gives you the best raises, it is money-laundering…
Church
communities have felt less and less of an imperative to do real charity work because,
after all, we are already paying oodles of taxes to do the same thing,
right? This makes religious groups more
and more self-oriented. Evangelization
is now done through entertainment than through service to those in need.
So,
we see a downward spiral in church involvement in the US, because many young
people are on to the selfishness of modern religion and figure that it is
easier to be totally selfish than try to look like you dig other people once a
week while really resenting them.
This
is why you get ‘special children’ like Mr. Mumford who want nothing to do with
a group of people that challenge his singularity…
Love
the music… I just wish he’d grow up a bit more. We'll get to him later.
You
can’t serve others without being around them and identifying with them. Once you do that, then you can join together
and serve even those outside the community, which is really what Christians are
called to do.
Churches
must get out of the self-centered business of calling their own people ‘lost
sheep’ and actually go find the really lost ones in the alleys and
crack-houses. We should be offering real
services, because Christian charities can offer people God and medicine.
Government-run
social services have their place, but certainly not at a national level. Local administration is the key, as well as
smaller size and genuine accountability.
If every level of government has their own hand-out program, who’s
watching the system? Right now, nobody
is watching anything, and we are going bankrupt while the problems they promise
to fix continue marching on.
I am
glad to see Patriarch John and Pope Francis giving much the same messages. We can only hope that the rest of the bishops
in both Sees take these messages seriously and reclaim their rightful roles as
ministers to all people.
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