The business of the Church

Late last year, the Catholic News Agency carried this story I am quoting as is: “Pope Francis condemned priests and laity who turn their parishes into a ‘business’ by charging for things such as baptisms, blessings and Mass intentions – calling it a scandal that’s hard to forgive.

‘“It is interesting: the people of God can forgive their priests, when they are weak, when they slip on a sin, the people know how to forgive them,” the Pope told mass attendees in the Vatican’s Saint Martha guesthouse on Nov. 21.

‘“But there are two things that the people of God cannot forgive: a priest attached to money and a priest who mistreats people. This they cannot forgive! It is scandalous…’

“The Pope centered his homily on the day’s Gospel from Luke in which Jesus turns over tables and drives out those who were selling things inside the temple, saying it is a sacred place meant for prayer and not for business.

“While the many people who went to the temple to pray were good and searched for God, they were forced to pay in order to make an offering, the Pope explained, noting that although the temple was a sacred place to these, ‘there was corruption that scandalized the people.’

“He recalled the biblical story of Hannah, the mother of Samuel, who was a humble woman who went to the temple and whispered her prayers in silence, while the priest and his two sons were corrupt and exploited the pilgrims who came.

‘“I think of how our attitude can scandalize people with unpriestly habits in the Temple: the scandal of doing business, the scandal of worldliness,’ the Bishop of Rome said, observing how many parishes have a price list readily available for baptisms, blessings and mass intentions.

“The Pope then recounted the story of a young couple who were part of a group of college students he led shortly after being ordained. When they decided to get married, they went to their parish to ask for the civil ceremony and mass together.

“When they asked, the couple was told that they couldn’t have the mass in addition to the ceremony because the time slots for the ceremony were limited to only 20 minutes, the couple needed to pay for two time slots in order to have the mass as well.

‘“This is the sin of scandal’ the pontiff explained, and alluded to the scripture passage where Jesus tells those who cause scandal that it is ‘better to be thrown into the sea.’

“When those who manage God’s temple and its ministry, including both priests and lay people, become businessmen, ‘people are scandalized. And we are responsible for this. The laity too! Everyone,’ the Roman Pontiff continued.

“Preventing scandal is the responsibility of everyone, he said, because if we see this business-mentality going on in our parishes we need to have the courage to say something to the priest.

‘“It is scandalous when the Temple, the House of God, becomes a place of business, as in the case of that wedding: the church was being rented out.’

“Pope Francis noted how when Jesus made his whip and started driving the people out of the temple it was not because he was angry, but rather because he was filled with the wrath of God and zeal for his house.

“Jesus, he said, has “an issue with money because redemption is free; it is God’s free gift, He comes to brings us the all-encompassing gratuity of God’s love.’

“So when a church or a parish start doing business it’s like saying that salvation is no longer free, the Pope explained, which is why Jesus takes his whip out in order to purify the temple of the corrupt.’” End of story.

Wow! The earthly boss of our bishops and priests couldn’t be clearer on a sensitive matter concerning the business of the Church. Being a human organization operating in the here and now, the Church needs to sustain itself with something as mundane as money. 

It is in the how to get its sustenance where the problem lies. The other side of the coin was also tackled by Jesus in the Gospel in Matthew 10:7-11:

7And preach as you go, saying, `The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying, give without pay.

9 Take no gold, nor silver, nor copper in your belts, 10no bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor a staff; for the laborer deserves his food. 11 And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it, and stay with him until you depart.

It is also clearly said by Jesus: the worker deserves his sustenance.  The worker of God must not be overly-concerned with material things, but the people of God must never fail in their duty to give the worker of God what he needs to sustain himself.  We, the Church, have the duty to pray for the work of spreading the gospel and support it with our material resources.

I know it is easier said than done. I imagine the practice of having a menu of church services with corresponding prices exists out of necessity. But it is also true that the modern Catholic laity here, as a rule, had not been too generous in contributing to the support of the church.

This is so different from other Christian churches where tithing is an established practice. In one such church I am familiar with, Christ Commission Fellowship or CCF, they were able to build in Ortigas Center an impressive main sanctuary building that rivals local convention centers without going into a centavo of debt.

The Iglesia ni Cristo is also a good example of how its members generously support their church. I was in Temecula in Southern California last month and I saw a large INC church building like many we have here in the country.

Of course they also have the Philippine Arena and related facilities that seems far from the mission of a church. I heard another religious leader in Davao, someone named Quiboloy, is building an arena to rival that of the INC’s.

A race to build a modern Tower of Babel isn’t the way to go but the resources these churches have show that church members have what it takes to support the workers in God’s vineyards. Imagine if Catholics were as generous with their church!

Belinda Olivares-Cunanan, my mentor in the business of writing columns, pointed out something that is also true about financing God’s workers in the Catholic Church. Ms. Cunanan wrote in her blog: “But secular priests and religious also have to live in decent surroundings and incur medical expenses, etc. which they have to get from fees charged by their dioceses. Such fees, I agree, should be adjusted for the poor and the needy, even exempting them from such payments.

“When my husband was SSS chair years back, he saw for himself how needy some retired secular priests were, unlike those in religious orders who are taken cared of by their institutions. I know for a fact that my husband was talking seriously with some secular priests about an SSS insurance program for them, especially for their retirement.

“The priests were very grateful for this idea which they need badly. Unfortunately General Cunanan was stricken ill and couldn’t follow through on that idea. But an SSS pension plan is great for the seculars.”

Perhaps the problem of the local Catholic church is that it is seen as unseemly rich… one of the bigger shareholders in Bank of the Philippine Islands with enough shares for a board seat… large landholdings and inept financial management. They lost control of Monte de Piedad and Philippine Trust Co., two old and respected financial institutions through bad banking practices.

But I guess, the most important challenge is for our priests and bishops to show they can handle money a lot better than our government officials. A recent scandal in Paranaque does not help. In Rome, Pope Francis is cleaning up the Vatican Bank and the Roman Curia.

At least in our parish in Greenmeadows, it seems the parish priests we have had since I joined the community over 30 years ago proved good stewards. We consistently saw physical improvements for the church building including eventually having the fairly large church fully air conditioned. Outreach activities to the poorer areas of the parish are also being done.

I personally believe we ought to compensate our priests like we do any professional… monthly stipend, health and retirement benefits and even further training. This is possible if we all contribute our share to the church finances.

In the end, people just want to know where their money is going and our religious leaders must do better than our government leaders.

I see CCF able to do it. So should our Catholic bishops and priests.

Boo Chanco’s e-mail address is [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @boochanco