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Here I Come to Save the Day
March 20, 2012 | 9 comments
A Further Perspective
Street Smarts
What Pope Francis meant when he said, “The place for Christ is in the street.”
As the world gets to know Pope Francis, much of the early focus has been on his humility and simplicity. It’s a counter-intuitive tale of one of Latin America’s most significant bishops living in modest lodgings, cooking his own meals, and riding the crowded public transportation system in Buenos Aires. Even the small but telling gesture of paying his own hotel bill after the Vatican conclave drew media attention.
As a priest and archbishop he went into the poorest parts of Argentina to minister to the people. He said this in a 2008 homily: “Today the place for Christ is in the street… The Lord wants us like Him; with an open heart, roaming the streets of Buenos Aires and carrying his message!”
His vision of engagement with the poor runs deep. Pope Francis has spoken eloquently about the need to treat poor people as “subjects” and not mere “objects” of the state or the economy. In a presentation in September 2009 titled Las Deudas Sociales (Social Debts/Obligations), Cardinal Bergoglio said:
[W]e cannot truly respond to the challenge of eradicating exclusion and poverty if the poor continue to be objects, targets of action by the state and other organizations in a paternalistic and aid-based sense (asistencialista), instead of subjects, [in an environment] where the state and society create social conditions that promote and safeguard their rights and allow them to build their own destiny.
Here he identifies a core insight in how we should engage with the poor — as partners always remembering that they are the protagonists of their own development. Poor countries are not a place for experiments by government technocrats or international agencies. The main question is not how we can solve poverty, but instead, what are the foundations that allow people in the developing world to create prosperity for their families and communities so they can flourish as human beings.
Pope Francis has also emphasized the moral foundations of the economy. As Cardinal Archbishop of Buenos Aires, he spoke about the social nature of the economy and stressed that it must be grounded in morality that puts the human person, and not profit or economic growth, at the center:
The Church’s social doctrine holds that it is possible to live in authentic human relationships of friendship and sociability, in solidarity and reciprocity within economic activity, and not only outside it or “after” it. The economic sector is not ethically neutral, inhumane or antisocial by nature. It is an activity of man, and precisely because it is human, it has to be articulated and institutionalized ethically.
Here Francis underscores a truth too often obscured. People tend to think of economics in mathematical terms, divorced from ethical concerns. But this is a misunderstanding. Economics is the study of human interaction in the marketplace, and human beings are moral agents, thus economics has an intrinsic moral dimension. When economic decisions and policies are made in an ethical vacuum, when economic thinking is guided by the simplistic fiction of man as a radical individual or a utility maximizer (homo economicus), when the moral and psychological complexity of homo sapiens is thus eclipsed, it is bad for society in general, and acutely bad for the poor in particular.
It is also noteworthy how Francis highlighted the social nature of markets. We can be inclined to equate markets with images of pinstriped bankers on Wall Street smoking cigars, but markets are much more than that. Markets are networks of human relationships where people come together to meet needs and solve the problems nearest to them, and support their families and communities.
Thus, the goal of development as it’s understood by the Catholic Church is not simply boosting GDP but, as Benedict XVI and John Paul II emphasized, human flourishing — growth that allows people to live according to their dignity as persons created in the image of God, with an eternal destiny.
And this is the vision of Pope Francis, which rejects any path that reduces the poor to “objects” or “targets.”
(The translation of Francis’ works are by the Acton Institute.)
Photo: UPI
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Appleby| 3.18.13 @ 7:03AM
Ronald Reagan once said that if every church in America took responsibility for ten poor families or individuals, poverty in America would be eliminated by next Sunday. The secret is to find out what's making them poor, and help them overcome that circumstance by doing something personally (instead of just sending them a cheque). Actually, there is a model for this program: the Mormon Church has been doing exactly this since its foundation. Between their model and the one created by the Salvation Army, private business and charitable organizations ought to be able to get a program up and running by the end of the year. IF THEY WANT TO. The problem is of course that the ObamaCrats are far more interested in destroying these programs than implementing them. How can they have a revolution if we go around eliminating all the starving angry proletariat they depend on as their shock troops?
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markenoff| 3.18.13 @ 1:29PM
But private programs would probably not given them as much as the government does and might actually require them to change their behavior.
nathan| 3.18.13 @ 9:00AM
We are focusing too much on the economics and not enough on the spiritual side of this. For Christians here, there should NEVER be charity without evangelism. NEVER 100 years from now it won't make a difference if someone is living in material poverty. The ONLY thing that will matter is if they know Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. Look at Job, reduced to absolutely nothing but praising God anyway knowing that heaven awaited him. Any or all of us can be reduced to Job like conditions tomorrow but if we know Christ as our Savior, then we know this is transitory and the eternity in heaven awaits. As Christians our primary obligation is not elevate people out of material poverty but out of spiritual poverty. Paul is right when he wrote Timothy regarding charity but it must at all times come with the message of eternal life. By all means give money to people on the streets but wrap a New Testament around it. By all means help those less fortunate but ensure that the message of the Risen Savior is part of that outreach. We see so many around us so well off but not knowing Christ they are so much worse off than the poor person who is one with Christ. What truly profit a man if he gains the whole world and lose his soul.
Now all of you go out and be desciples for the Christ who died on the cross for you. Charity yes, but only with evangelism.
PJ| 3.18.13 @ 9:12AM
In total agreement with you. BTW Mother Teresa observed that the greatest poverty existed in the 1st world countries in the form of spiritual poverty as you well stated.
My only concern with this Pope Francis is that he doesn't forget the spiritual poverty of the rich as he preaches the necessity to take care of the needs of the poor.
gibbons et al.| 3.18.13 @ 10:11AM
Mr. Miller, I beg to differ. I think Pope Francis will emphasize the following:
"Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me."
What precisely did Christ mean? Are we to take his word literally, or is this one of those rare instances when we are to"interpret" his words vaguely and metaphorically?
nathan| 3.18.13 @ 10:41AM
Paul talks about this doesn't he? He says in Timothy I think and this is mentioned more than once, if you have bread, what really more do you need?
How far are Christians today prepared to go to be true desciples of Christ? What most Christians are, mostly myself included are Sunday go to meeting Christians. Yes, we show up for Sunday services, maybe even Sunday evening if your church has one, you "tithe" even though there is no reference to tithing in the New Testament (no there isn't), you may "briefly" say grace at meals but do any sort of evangelism, share your faith with your colleagues at work? Take any real risks regarding your Christianity? Do evening devotions with your family where you read the Bible and pray as a family? Some of y0u do but the vast percentage of Christians today simply don't. Spend a few moments talking to that street person asking for money about Christ? Don't have time, have some place to go? Talk about Christ at work? Don't want to violate agency/company policy. Talk about politics/sports? All the time. Christ? When was the last time you did that? A year ago? Yes you're going to heaven, but how many are you trying to bring others home with you? Sure you "evangelized" for Romney last year, did you spend equal time talking about Christ?
And honestly I'm guilty of this too. But maybe we use the new Pope, whether you're catholic or not to re-prioritize our lives.
SUBVET| 3.18.13 @ 5:59PM
This might be a bit off topic......anyone see the Bible on the history channel Sunday night ? If so notice who the devil resembled in looks ? Ya ...right on kinda resembled bath house boy.
Today all over twat-er and the social media the left is demanding that the history channel change the image.
I say to bad.....don't like it don't watch.
usamale| 3.18.13 @ 11:33AM
Jesus also said " The poor you will always have with you." Taken out of context it is easy to twist any of his sayings into ones agenda! My favorite was read yesterday,"Jesus wept", it begs the question then as to when is the last time you wept, if you wish to be like Jesus.
The crux of the matter is that no one ever left poverty as a result of an abivilant hand out, but because the handout was given with conditions of self improvement from the recipient. God has blessed many, many with riches both temporal and spritual, they are not to throw those gifts away but are to use and share those gifts
Stormzeye| 3.18.13 @ 11:59AM
Jesus was more concerned about those who were "poor in spirit" than the poor. This Pope must not forget those who are poor in spirit in the highest levels of government and business. Focusing on the poor is nothing but Chavezism and is certainly not Christian. It is materialism and socialism at its worst.
Recusant| 3.18.13 @ 4:14PM
You note Matthew 5:3 and utterly forgot Luke 6:20.
The reason why government programs do not work is that government cannot give dignity.
nathan| 3.18.13 @ 12:05PM
I'll suggest something to you. All of us as we drive around through urban areas see people at traffic lights asking for money. They have signs saying they're veterans, have families, any number of things to get us to give them something. We're probably all aware of the MSNBC story about the lady who looked crippled on Fifth Avenue, got people to give her money, she was followed back to her SUV where she underwent an amazing transformation.
For the people on the street corners, we have 30 seconds sir. I'm not going to get him into a shelter, I'm not going to direct him to a rehab center, I'm not going to do as you indicate "condition my handout on self improvement from the recipient". Not in 30 seconds, not with the light turning green, not with me not likely to see him ever again. Unless . . .
I put the 1/2 dollars inside a New Testament along with a one page set of instructions on how to become a Christian, three bullet points in fact. That right then and there is the only way through the Holy Spirit I have any hope of changing him in 30 seconds. No other way. And if I see the famous Fifth Avenue lady, well I don't care if she's playing me, because players need Christ too.
gibbons et al.| 3.18.13 @ 1:46PM
"Jesus Christ was a man
Who traveled through the land
Hard working man and brave
He said to the rich, "Give your goods to the poor."
So they laid Jesus Christ in his grave."
Woody Guthrie-"Jesus Christ"
gibbons et al.| 3.18.13 @ 1:50PM
The scriptures themselves paint a portrait of Jesus, who, if alive today, would be destroyed daily by the responders on Am Spec.
Jesus Christ repeatedly said that God's kingdom belongs to the poor. From Luke 6:20: Looking at his disciples, he said: "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
Do those words sound like the words of someone who would support the actions of the executives at Enron or any of those companies that went under in 2008 thanks to the rollback of regulations by the Bush administration? Do those words sound like they offer support for the wholesale greed that marks capitalism? How about this one from Mark 5:30? "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
gibbons et al.| 3.18.13 @ 1:52PM
And Christ said, "I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." Also, check out Matthew 19:23-24 for this little item. Go to Matthew 21:31 for this: "Which of the two did what his father wanted?" "The first," they answered. Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you."
Ryan| 3.19.13 @ 8:46AM
Is that a call for government action?
markenoff| 3.18.13 @ 3:24PM
Do they sound like the words of someone who would support the bailout of the UAW at the expense of teacher's and police officer's unions in the GM and Chrysler bailouts? Do they sound like the words of someone who would support the loaning of hundreds of millions of dollars to Solyndra to insulate the millionaire Democrat contributing investor? Do they sound like the words of someone who would ignore the disappearance of over a billion dollars of investors money when MF Global went bankrupt? Do they sound like the words of someone who would support the killing of unborn babies in the womb?
markenoff| 3.18.13 @ 3:24PM
That's awfully simple theology.
markenoff| 3.18.13 @ 1:31PM
Are you selling your computer so you can give the proceeds to the poor?
I don't have the character to be perfect. I have sinned and fallen short.
markenoff| 3.18.13 @ 1:32PM
But you are saved by grace alone, right? Trying to get into heaven by doing good works...sounds awfully Catholic to me.
nathan| 3.18.13 @ 2:00PM
The senior pastor at the church we attend addressed this once. Can you get into heaven through works alone? Yes. But you have to be PERFECT at it. Since the last perfect human walked the planet 2,000 years ago, that means all of us are incapable of getting into heaven on actions alone. We are saved by faith only, as the verse says not through works lest any man should boast. But our "works" as Christians are an outward manifestation of that faith. And let's face it there are any number of Christians, take me for example, who for 40+ years, did virtually nothing to further the cause. Again a Sunday morning Christian. Going to an evangelical church has through God changed me. Am I where I want to be? No. Am I far beyond where I was six years ago? Yes. Do I know where I want to be a year from now? Yes.
But in answer to your question/comment, if any of us think doing good will get us into heaven, it won't. The Bible is so very clear on that starting with John 3:16. We "do good" not to get heaven, not to become Christians, but because we are Christians, so that Christ might be seen through us. It should never be about us, always about Him. But I can't say this enough, evangelism has to be part of any charity we do. 100 years from now for all us the only thing that matters is not our material poverty, who won the election, but our decision to accept or reject Christ.
markenoff| 3.18.13 @ 3:18PM
So doing good works is not necessary to get to heaven.
Michele San Pietro| 3.18.13 @ 10:26AM
This is simply a great Pope.
SUBVET| 3.18.13 @ 10:42AM
MSP.........the pope may be a great man but the system will control him.
Sound familiar ?
fmm| 3.18.13 @ 11:42AM
So he is a believer in the underlying principles of the Constitution of the USA.
Real Deal| 3.18.13 @ 11:59AM
There is another old saying, "You can lead a horse to water but you cannot make him drink."
We talk about poverty and the poor as if they were all once wealthy and only hard luck has brought them low. For some, too many in today's America, this is true. For most others it is a result of their choices, if they refuse to adopt the habits of sucessful people they will always be poor. No amount of preaching, charity, or volunteerism will change this. They have to want to change their lives, and often Government programs are designed to make them stay impoverished and dependant in order to have a reliable voting bloc.
The government is an enabler, charity and charitable organizations can often be an enablers as well.
There are many things the church and charities can provide to help those that want to help themselves. Education, access to classes on life skills, role models, health care, etc. However you will never eliminate poverty because some people choose it. We also will always have the "poor" because that is a relative term, there will always be those that have more and those that have less.
markenoff| 3.18.13 @ 3:25PM
Rub salt on the inside of his lips and he will drink.
Ronsch| 3.18.13 @ 12:25PM
Sadly (as a FMR Catholic) I have to disagree with the Holy Father on the idea of "subjects." While I understand he disparages the ideas of human beings as "objects", subjects of a ruler have never, ever truly been free to pursue their destinies.
markenoff| 3.18.13 @ 1:36PM
Agreed. Poor choice of words. I wonder how it came out in Spanish or Latin?
JimH| 3.18.13 @ 12:57PM
This article, dealing with a religious subject seems the most appropriate place to post this link just seen at Drudge. Art imitating life?
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....ds-newsxml
markenoff| 3.18.13 @ 1:15PM
"Catholic elected Pope. Women, Minorities Hardest Hit.”
Dimitry_Aleksandrovich| 3.18.13 @ 1:52PM
Yes the meat and potatoes of the Roman Catholic faith is the core doctrines and traditions on matters of faith and morals. With that said you cannot divorce the Catholic faith from its social doctrine which I believe is also essential to the Christian mission. The social teachings of the Church tell us that there is dignity in the poor, dignity in labor and its better to store up treasures in Heaven than on Earth. In the late 19th century the Roman Catholic Church officially blessed responsible labor unionism as a means of protecting the dignity and general welfare of man at a time when industrialization was uprooting the traditional agrarian culture in both North America and Europe and exploitation of the working class was pushing them towards embracing socialism and communism. I commend the new Pope Francis the First for his intentions to continue the great traditions of the Roman Catholic Church as a champion of social justice.
Theo Prinse| 3.18.13 @ 6:13PM
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....z2NlwvpCk9
Like Syria and Egypt Argentine was flooded with German nazi's like dr. Mengele and Adolf Eichmann with the help of the Roman Catholic Church operation Odessa. On November 10th 2010 Cardinal Bergoglio was interrogated on his role in the 30.000 murders under the Videla regime.
Just a short time ago the catholic Maxima Zorreguieta from Argentine married to the silly Prince of the Netherlands paid a huge sum of tax payers money to then cardinal Bergoglio.
The father of Maxima Zorreguieta is under investigation for his role as Argentine minister of agriculture under Jorge Videla in the 30.000 murders as well.
It took four rounds to elect Bergoglio as pope only to help the Reyes Catolico in the Netherlands Maxima Zorreguieta's father's investigation in a cover up in exchange for gaining a catholic monarch in the Netherlands.
One can even argue that both the Zorreguita's and the cardinal Bergoglio are helping one another not to be prosecuted for genocide.
Theo Prinse| 3.18.13 @ 6:14PM
The Dutch Orange family and their dubious choices
The fact that the Dutch future queen once or regularly made substantial donations to the former Cardinal Bergoglio of Buenos Aires and that this cardinal behind closed doors was interrogated regarding his participation in crimes against humanity during the Videla regime, which include two of his Jesuit priests who disappeared, casts a dubious - to say the least - image on the way the current Oranges choose their family relatives.
Of course it is to Maxima to give freely money or donate to matters which she considers that these are worth, but having in mind the dubious role that Cardinal Bergoglio has played during the so-called "Dirty War", is again not really wise of this supposedly future queen
Theo Prinse| 3.18.13 @ 6:14PM
But this is not all. It is established that Maxima had a job in the laundry money bank where her father Jorge Zorreguieta was the chief director. The money that went through laundry came from the Mexican drug cartel. It can not be that father nor daughter knew nothing about this, especially after the bank had to close the doors after a judicial investigation.
It can not be denied that Maxima - through his function as chairman of an organization that mediates called Micro credits - knew nothing of the extreme profiteering that eventually had to be paid by the third world country citizens after accepting the credit from Zorreguieta.
Theo Prinse| 3.18.13 @ 6:15PM
Finally, as with regards to Maxima Zorreguieta of Orange (he he) it can not be denied that the Orange family was very well informed (by the Dutch secret service and the intelligence and banking community and last but not least the Dutch government at the time of Nelson Mandela friend and Anti Apartheid fighter minister president Wim Kok) and the questionable role that Jorge Zorreguieta played during the Videla regime.
After - we surely can assume - "gentle pressure from above" there are now 3 attempts to cover up interrogations of Jorge Zorreguieta by a Dutch court.
Theo Prinse| 3.18.13 @ 6:15PM
Without suggesting that Maxima (of Orange) can be held responsible for the crimes of her father and thus could be charged, it will surely be strange if the Netherlands would soon see a queen on the throne with an image that the average Dutch father or mother would not be pleased if their child would bring home such a daughter, let alone that such a woman could be the wife of the Dutch future king. Here we conveniently ignore the fact if Willem Alexander actually is a rightful heir to the throne.
Theo Prinse| 3.18.13 @ 6:15PM
If we furthermore also focus on the approval by Beatrix (van Amsberg - van Oranje) of the wife Mabel Los (Wisse Smit. daughter of Hendrik Cornelis (Henk) Los (1944-1978) Prince Friso, a woman who had made clear that her close ties with Bosnian top criminal Jotsa Jocic and later with drug dealer Klaas Bruinsma, then we must also ask whether - again - this choice applies for the outwardly displayed so called high moral standard of the Oranges family
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