“How I would like a Church that is poor and for the poor.” Pope Francis
“A Church that is poor, and for the poor — that is Francis’ desire. He begins with a challenge to the Church, not to the world.
What does Francis mean for the Church to be poor, and for the poor? In the first and most obvious sense, it means a simplicity in deportment and lifestyle. Soon after his election he wrote to the bishops of Argentina, thanking them for their support and good wishes — and asking them not to come to Rome for his inaugural Mass, but rather to give the money it would cost to the poor.
It is a challenge to the Catholics in affluent countries to live more modestly, avoiding indulgence and luxuries in order to be able to be more generous in sharing with the poor. It is even a more profound challenge, in that it raises the question of whether the Church can fully proclaim the life and message of Jesus if it becomes shaped by a culture of comfortable affluence.
Francis’ call for a Church that is poor goes farther than mere material restraint and generous almsgiving. Francis warned the cardinals on Thursday about allowing the Church to become something other than she is – namely the proclaimer of Christ’s gospel in full.”
Raymond J. de Souza on Pope Francis’ comments to the journalists in Rome on Saturday, as cited in his National Post article, March 18, 2013.