“And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the money changers, and the chairs of them that sold doves. And He saith to them: It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but you have made it a den of thieves.” Mat 21:12-13
One of the great money changers of all-time, Mayer A. Rothschild, once said “Let me issue and control a nation’s money and I care not who writes the laws”. Seems like the bishops of Western nations, with a wink from the current papacy, have a slightly modified motto: “Let me receive and use a nation’s money and I care not what laws they write”. The German bishops are happy to go on their “synodal way” to collect from German taxes, Canadian bishops were happy to receive monthly COVID support payments from the “burning Catholic churches is understandable” Canadian government, and American bishops were quite happy to receive US Aid from one of the most anti-life governments in American history. Is it possible that these governments would expect anything in return for their generosity? Surely they would never expect our prelates to aid the killing of unborn children, the killing of the elderly, the mutilation of children, sex-trafficking, or to affirm all religions are willed by God. And yet…
Nearly 500 years ago, many prelates got comfortable with the idea of selling indulgences. While it may have began with benevolent intentions, like building churches and schools, it quickly turned into another money change scheme. It got so large, that when the inevitable explosion came, half the Church was splintered. All it took to set it on fire was a post-it note on the doors of a church in Wittenberg, a city ironically also from Germany. Financial and sexual scandals have consequences, and not in vain did our Lord say, ” how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God”. Mk 10:23
Prior to Pope Benedict’s resignation, the Vatican’s SWIFT code mysteriously stopped working. This in effect prevented the Vatican from changing money. Not long after, the Pope resigned and almost like a miracle, the system suddenly began to work again. Around the same time, a certain Cardinal Pell was accused and convicted of a crime he did not commit, leading to him having to leave his post at Vatican Bank. Amazingly, not only did the system come back up, but funds to US bishops nearly doubled. Cardinal Ted McCarrick had saved the day. Given his amazing talents and high connections, this same cardinal was then asked to broker a deal with the government of China. Again, the great cardinal was successful, this time able to grant the communist regime in China the ability to appoint bishops, showing that the separation of Church and State can indeed be overcome in our modern world. This same cardinal, affectionately known as “Uncle Ted”, was later convicted of sexually abusing teenage boys…
Has the Bride of Christ ran away to the arms of the State and left her Groom at the altar? Have we chosen a “captain to lead us back to Egypt” as the people of Israel wanted after the Exodus? (Numb 14:1-5). Deliverance from slavery wasn’t good enough for the people, because it wasn’t accompanied with “milk and honey”. For them, it was better to live by bread alone in the midst of the world’s kingdoms, than to die in the wilderness with God. These temptations continue today, as did in the gardens and mountains of Israel. Peter Kreeft once remarked that “the first bishop to accept a government grant was Judas”. For bishop Judas, the Church was wasting money on expensive oils when the preferential option would have been to help the poor (Jn 12:5). For bishop Eli, it was more important to be inclusive of his perverted and unrepentant sons than to admonish them (1 Sam 3:12-13). In July 1773, the bishop of Rome, Clement XIV, ordered the suppression and abolishment of the Society of Jesus, so as to have peace with the growing and “enlightened” secular powers of Europe. In his words, this decision was for the “good government of the Church”. Less than 20 years later, the French Revolution came. Wisely did St Bernard of Clairvaux warned that “the road to hell is paved with good intentions”.
St Francis De Sales was the bishop of Geneva, the epicentre of Calvinism at the time. His diocese was very poor and Mass attendance very low, not surprisingly, given that simply being seen at a Catholic church or speaking to a priest, could have severe social and economical consequences, if not worse. His own father did not want him to pursue religious life, and even the Holy Father wanted him to be a bishop in a more prominent diocese. With time, Francis De Sales reputation as a holy and wise churchman grew and thousands of people returned to the Church. Royal families and nobles sought him for advice. The French king was eager to bring him to Paris – the dream offer for any prelate. Francis De Sales however, did not want to leave his flock and so did not accept the prestigious appointment. The king wanted to help St Francis and knowing of the economic challenges of the Geneva diocese, offered him a large monthly stipend to support him with his efforts. For most, this would’ve been seen as a blessing from high above, but for Francis, this offer caused a serious dilemma: if he accepts, he might risk losing his independence from the king and his government. If he denies the offer, he might offend the king and risk losing the good will between them. St Francis decided to thank the king, and asked him to open an account in the name of his diocese and put the funds there. Whenever he needed the funds, he would withdraw from the account. The king accepted and was happy. St Francis de Sales would go on with his ministry and bring over 40,000 souls back to Christ, never making a withdrawal from the king’s account.
It is easy to point the specks in the Church’s eyes, especially when it logs people like me within its midst. St Paul however, reminds us that we ourselves are a temple (1 Cor 3:16-17). With this in mind, is it possible that the cleansing of the temple applies not only to the institutional Church but also to the domestic Church? Have we made our own homes and kept them with Caesar’s coins? More importantly, have we allowed Christ to overturn us and cleanse our own hearts? St Paul tells us that it is “no longer I who lives, but Christ who lives in me” – this makes us living tabernacles! Our temple is adorned with the faith and works we decorate it with. “For no other foundation can any one lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any one builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— each man’s work will become manifest; for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work which any man has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward.” (1 Cor 3:11-14).
Money is not evil but love of money is, and there is little that is more destructive than envy and greed. Just as permanently open mouths run the risk of being stuffed with both healthy and poisonous food, permanently open doors also make no distinction between friend or fiend. Jesus once asked what kind of father would give his hungry children rocks to eat – today one may ask, what kind of father would deny his children a safe place to sleep? The Vatican has been wise to build walls and employ guards to protect its treasures. One ought to do the same to protect our treasures, namely our children, 300,000 of which have disappeared in the US alone. The outcome of permanent open mouths, open minds, open doors, open borders, open jails, and open liturgies is an orgy of openness so wide, it closes any possibility of commitment to anyone or anything. It is not surprising that in the open society, marriages and priests are always in shortage, for they both require fidelity to an unchanging oath.
We control the strings of our purses, strings that presumably are there to open and close them. Hoarding money from any source without scrutiny harms both the individual layman and the institutional Church. Would we personally accept funds from the local drug dealer or pimp to purchase a baby crib? Neither should the Church. Spending money without any discernment is equally harmful – fattened calves do not await most of us, following financial ruin. Golden calves won’t do either. Our daughters are not for sale and neither is the Church, the Bride of Christ. Let us pray that our ecclesial fathers exercise greater prudence and discernment regarding the funds they hoard, and work to bring the open hand of the Church to the altar, where her Groom awaits. Two open hands awaiting to be eternally closed in love, as in a sort of Divine holding of hands. It’s called render to God what belongs to God.
St Joseph, pray for us.
Roberto Freire
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