I was reading with interest Claire de la Cruz’s email where she opined for priests to be taxed and/or undergo a lifestyle check. She even mentioned a priest who has been living in sheer luxury.
Way back in the early 90s the Church in the Philippines, after convening for a plenary council participated by priests, nuns, and lay people, came up with a radical approach or vision: Church of the Poor. This came at a time when people have been living in abject poverty and, at the same time, have fallen prey to the exploitation of the high and mighty. The council’s participants thought that the Church has to do something for these people who represent a large proportion of its membership. The Church must fight for their welfare.
This vision has been blurred every time we hear news of priests not living up to their vocation. It’s a shame to think that there are members of the clergy who do not walk their talk. These men, sad to say, have caused a scandal among believers and a wound in the Mystical Body of Christ. Come to think of it, Jesus was a model of poverty. Needless to say, He was born in a manger and later on lived from one place to another because some envious king thought that the world couldn’t accommodate them both. He worked as a carpenter which obviously is not a lucrative job. When He began preaching He depended on the goodness of people who would welcome Him and His followers in their abodes or give them financial assistance. He even mentioned that foxes and birds that have their own homes, while He doesn’t have a place to lay His head. And when He died, His tomb was actually somebody else’s.
Why have some men of the cloth become too materialistic? Could it be that they were deprived of possessions during their pre-ordination years? Did they equate the priesthood with money? Or have they been spoiled by the “Amen” parishioners – those who are too “cooperative and generous” to priests? We could only guess and, sympathise.
If the Church wishes to show to its poor members that it is their defender and friend then it’s high time for an examination of conscience or a lifestyle check as Claire has proposed. In one of my email messages to Bob Garon, an ex-priest himself, I voiced out a similar view. He told me that lay people must demand priests to live their calling. It’s useless to keep silent or do any cover up.
This is one concern that, I hope Benedict XVI, our newly-elected pope, will look at. I pray too that he will whip the Church into shape - that includes punishing erring priests and rewarding those who have been true to their remit – making it live like Christ who identified Himself with the poor.
In the mean time, for as long as we see priests making a business out of their ministry, then “Church of the Poor” will remain a farce.
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