The Pope: if necessary, the Church goods are to be sold to help the poor
Message to the conference on the decommissioning of unused places of worship: “Change should not be welcomed with anxiety but as a sign of the times that requires us to adapt.
vatican city
“Following the thought of the ecclesial Magisterium”, one can elaborate “almost a theological discourse on cultural goods, considering that they have a part in the sacred liturgy, in evangelization and in the exercise of charity”, the Pontiff writes in the message read by Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi at the opening of the conference organized by the Pontifical Council for Culture, in collaboration with the Italian Episcopal Conference at the Pontifical Gregorian University.
The “common sense of the faithful”, first of all, “perceives for the environments and objects destined for worship, the permanence of a sort of imprint that does not end even after they have lost that destination” Francis says. Moreover, “ecclesiastical cultural goods are witnesses of the faith of the community that has produced them over the centuries, and for this reason, they are in their own way instruments of evangelization that are alongside the ordinary instruments of proclamation, preaching and catechesis” with an “original eloquence” that “can be preserved even when they are no longer used in the ordinary life of the people of God, especially through a proper exhibition in museums, which not only consider them documents of art history, but give them almost a new life, so that they can continue to carry out an ecclesial mission”.
The cultural heritage “is aimed at the charitable activities carried out by the ecclesial community,” the Pope continued, who stressed the traditional iconography that represents the Roman martyr Lorenzo in the act of selling some precious ritual furnishings and distribute the proceeds to the poor: “This - the Pope said - constitutes a constant ecclesial teaching which, while inculcating the duty of protection and conservation of the Church’s goods, and in particular of cultural goods, declares that they do not have an absolute value, but in case of need they must serve the greater good of the human being and especially in the service of the poor. Your conference is now well placed, therefore. The observation that many churches, needed until a few years ago, are no longer necessary, because of a lack of faithful and clergy, or because of a different distribution of the population in cities and rural areas - Jorge Mario Bergoglio stressed - should be welcomed into the Church not with anxiety, but as a sign of the times that invites us to reflect and requires us to adapt”.
“This reflection, started some time ago on the technical level in the academic and professional sphere, has already been addressed by some episcopates”, the Pope adds. “The conference will certainly give suggestions and indicate lines of action, but the concrete and final choices will be up to the bishops. To them I strongly recommend that every decision be the result of a choral reflection conducted within the Christian community and in dialogue with the civil community. Decommissioning must not be the first and only solution to think about - the Argentinean Pontiff underlines - nor must it ever be carried out with scandal on the part of the faithful”.
“If necessary, it should be included in the ordinary pastoral planning in good time, be preceded by adequate information and be as shared as possible”, Francis writes, who concludes by explaining that “even the building up of a church or her new destination cannot be dealt only from a technical or economic point of view, but must be evaluated according to the spirit of prophecy: through it, in fact, passes the witness of the faith of the Church, which welcomes and values the presence of its Lord in history”.
21 comments:
Gee, I kind of get the impression Francis is unconcerned about the decline of Faith, the watering-down of doctrine and practices as evidenced by the sharing of communion with protestants by German bishops, the confusion, and so on.... been fabulous having him as pope...
One of my seminary classmates was sent to his home town in far northern New Hampshire to combine the existing four Catholic churches into one. The loss of the timber industry over time meant that any young or younger person who wanted to make a good living had to look elsewhere for opportunities.
The same story played out in most of the big cities whose population skedaddled to the suburbs in the 50's and 60's. That Suburbia Boom sucked everything - residents, businesses, congregations, manufacturing - away from the urban areas. 10 or 15 or 20 Catholic churches could not be supported by the tiny remnant of folks left "downtown."
Good pastoral planning often includes, these days, how a diocese will dispose of real estate if and when it is no longer needed or can't be supported. The same kind of planning has to go on in business these days. Everyone fretted when the factories that produced running boards for automobiles closed or, before that, when all buggy whip makers went out of business.
Sounds like an alibi for Vatican Disaster II!!
So it’s like a business. If too many people show up we might turn them away to meet the fire code. And the last few decades have been more of a “right sizing” exercise and are not a commentary on our praxis. We now cate to a more elite and sophisticated clientele. Perhaps we should put gilded arches in front and change our name to “McCarrick’s”.
In the City of Chicago, they are closing many Catholic Churches because there are so many lapsed Catholics living in that City on the very doorsteps of these Catholic Churches. But instead of blaming our lousy liturgies or teaching (or lack thereof) let's blame urban sprawl !!!
In general, church buildings close because people leave the church, not because they leave the area. And people leave the church because the Novus Ordo has driven them away in droves; furthermore it was the death knell to vocations. Why is that everyone except the hierarchy can see this?
Based on data from the US Census Bureau for 2000-2010: "Massive Core City Loss: The historical core city of Chicago lost but 200,000 people, and fell to a population of 2.7 million, the lowest count since the 1910 census. The population is down 925,000 from 1950 and at the current rate would drop at least 1 million from the 1950 peak by the 2020 census. Chicago is at risk of joining London and Detroit as the only two historical core municipalities in modern times that have lost more than 1 million people."
in 1960, the Archdiocese of Atlanta had 30,840 Catholics. In 1998 it was 900,000. Currently the number is 1.2 million.
Bee here:
Good. Let's start in Rome. I think that Bernini altar or Michaelangelo's Pieta should fetch a magnificent sum.
And then we can sell off all the Cardinal and Papal apartments, including the Pope's Motel, and he can just get a room in someone's house. I mean, how much room can a Pope who owns nothing need?
Then get rid St. Peter's itself. Who needs that big ol' church anyway? And the Pope should dress in street clothes, just like priests here do.
Then maybe he should get a job at least part time, maybe at a fast food restaurant or as a tour guide in a museum, so he can give at least part of his earnings to the poor.
Get with it Pope Francis. Show us the way!
God bless.
Bee
Bee here:
And then there's this from Church Militant:
"The U.S. bishops' meeting in Baltimore earlier this month cost the American laity dearly.
Church Militant estimates that in total, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' (USCCB) Fall 2018 General Assembly cost upwards of $1 million or more.
Instead of choosing to meet at a Church-owned property, USCCB planners chose the four-star Baltimore Marriott Waterfront hotel for the gathering."
https://www.churchmilitant.com/news/article/bad-optics
The Pope needs to send the USCCB a memo on his using Church money for the poor, not for themselves.
God bless.
Bee
I'm unaware of any diocese selling church property and using the proceeds for the poor. They either use the proceeds to pay off legal settlements or put it in their general fund. The poor is never a priority until it comes time for the second collection.
Anonymous Kavanaugh,
Thanks for the laughs. I live in Chicago and know the city FAR better than you. Data can be deceiving, and how you are attempting to use it, paints a false picture as to why parishes are closing. There are many White/Hispanic neighborhoods LOADED with Catholics who no longer go to Church!!! Case in point: St. Adalbert's modeled after St. Paul's Outside the Walls in the Pilsen neighborhood closed because the Catholic neighborhood no longer supported the parish. That dynamic is found throughout many neighborhoods in Chicago.
what concerns me is how when parishes are combined the authorities insist on keeping the most hideous "modern" gym churches and selling the architectural gems, who need Romanesque when we can have church in the round
Fortunately the artistic treasures of the Vatican, which would include Michaelangelo's Pieta, cannot be sold; they are part of the patrimony of the Italian state and of Europe as a whole. They have a notional value of 1 euro per item. The Vatican merely looks after them.
Oh god. This papacy is like a tacky version of The Shoes of the Fisherman. But Anthony Quinn played it better. So Francis is saying the Church should sell of all her assets. That might be the one statement that will get the cardinals off their butts and do something about this man. They were silent as he degraded the papacy every day by his coarse behavior and offensive/uncharitable/vulgar remarks. They did nothing while Francis was silent when entire nations abound indeed Christ by embracing gay “marriage’. They do nothing while he promotes sacraligious communion among unrepentant adulterers, Protestants, practicing homosexuals etc. They do nothing as he stands there and publicly scolds and humiliates them at ever turn. But now he is trying to get their money. These cardinals may not give a dam about the Catholic Faith or the souls entrusted to their care. But if there is one thing I know beyond a shadow of a doubt is that they love their money and their creature comforts. If Francis try’s and take those away well that just might be game over for old Frankie.
John Nolan,
That is an interesting fact I did not know. Is the Vatican Art being part of the patrimony (I am surprised that some eager beaver in Europe has not denounced that "sexist" term!!) of the Italian state and Europe derived from the Concordat with Mussolini or is that from Italy being a member of the EU?
TJM
It is indeed written into the Lateran Treaty of 1929 which established the Vatican City State. The pope may give a small item from the treasury to a foreign head of state (diplomatic gifts are customary) subject to the approval of the Italian government. But he can't sell any of it.
The idea of a European cultural patrimony is part of the agenda of the European Commission, although it shouldn't need bureaucratic definition.
John Nolan,
Thanks for your response. Well for all of his evil deeds, Mussolini must have foreseen we would get a pope like Francis one day.
Two words come to mind Judas Iscariot
Bee here:
John Nolan: The information about the treasures of the Vatican is very interesting...and very illuminating too, given that Pope Francis must know these facts as well, and so, what he basically is saying is it's other people's church valuables that are to be disposed of for the sake of the poor, but the really good stuff, which he "looks after" as head of the Church, can't be sold.
Why does this remind me of the socialists who come to power (like Castro or Lenin or Maduro of Venezuela) who live in very rich surroundings with all the trappings of wealth and privilege, while everyone else is squeezed for their last penny and told they owe it to "the poor"?
God bless.
Bee
So what if a meeting of the Bishops costs $1 million and is held in a four star hotel?
Just like the jewel encrusted vessels, the finest silks and damasks, the gold and silver threaded vestments, the precious gems adorning the precious mitres, the finest laces and linen - -it's all for the greater glory of God...
Bee here:
Gee, Poor Judas, I hope you're being sarcastic...
I pointed out the cost of the meeting because of Pope Francis' statement: "...if necessary, the Church goods are to be sold to help the poor."
God Bless.
Bee
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