Pastors of the Rich
Yesterday, the polemical archbishop of Valencia, Antonio Cañizares, had a small car accident. Nothing more than a few scratches happened to anybody involved, but it seemed like his Boss was calling him out for some of the comments he had made a couple of days earlier. Monsignor referred to the wave of immigrants escaping war and poverty and called it a "Trojan horse" that we were welcoming. He stated that the Christian identity of Europe is being threatened, and that we should look at what is behind this massive migration, hinting that the objective is to "overrun" Europe with Muslim immigrants. He also mentioned that reports of poverty in Spain are exaggerated, and that he hasn't noticed more people begging in the streets.
But not all the poor are in the streets. Many of the poor are working poor, with job contracts of a week or two in which they earn less than minimum wage, which is just over six hundred euros a month and is not a living wage by any stretch of the imagination. Some of those poor that Monsignor doesn't see are children who are in school, trying to concentrate without having had breakfast, waiting for the school lunch, their only hot and complete meal of the day. Others are in community kitchens, many run by Caritas, the Catholic organization that Monsignor prefers to deafen his ears to. Statistics from Caritas, Eurostat, and other official organizations that follow numbers, all point out that poverty has increased in Spain. The total population at risk of poverty or social exclusion in 2014 was 29.2 percent, making Spain the poorest country in Europe behind Hungary, Latvia, Greece, Bulgaria, and Romania. And those who live in severe poverty, according to Caritas, were 6.4 percent in the year 2012, up from 3.5 in 2007. Severe poverty is supposed to be those who live with less than 307 euros a month. The percentage points look small, but they comprise three million people of the total population.
The archbishop of Valencia is removed from daily reality. Most in the Church hierarchy are. The former archbishop of Madrid, Antonio Rouco Varela, retired earlier this year. He moved to his retirement home, a luxurious flat owned by the Church which had a renovation done to it especially for him that cost almost two million euros. Others have spoken out against women, such as the archbishop of Granada, who had a book published, "Cásate y sé sumisa" (Marry and Be Submissive). He still thinks women should be treated like underage children and stay at home. This archbishop is costing the Church almost two hundred thousand euros a year. Among his expenses are a Visa Gold credit card, which he uses assiduously, two secretaries, and a chauffeur. As well as servants and cook.
And, of course, Monsignor Cañizares of Valencia reminded the reporters on the day he made those remarks, that the economy is recuperating. Recuperating? For whom? Many of the jobs created are insecure, lasting a couple of weeks or a month, disappearing for another two months, and then reappearing for three weeks. But always with different people signing the contract. Many families affected by the unemployment statistics have had to decide whether to pay the mortgage or the electricity or the gas. By the time they get to this, they've already gotten rid of the car and the cell phones. Last winter they showed on the news various families that couldn't turn on the heat because they couldn't pay for it. Others had to spend the evening with candlelight. Some had had the gas shut off and could only eat sandwiches at home. And that's not counting the thousands that lost their homes when the banks foreclosed. For these people, who have hit the bottom rung of the economic ladder, the recuperation is still years away.
There always has been and always will be extreme poverty and extreme wealth. The problem is that the differences are obscene. And the only thing that obscenity produces is anger and hatred that erupt in violence. World peace starts with reducing the gap between rich and poor. And not turning a blind eye, or chiding the poor for wanting things to change. If the Church is truly a church of peace and the poor, then it had better have a serious talk with some of its far-removed-from-reality leaders.
But not all the poor are in the streets. Many of the poor are working poor, with job contracts of a week or two in which they earn less than minimum wage, which is just over six hundred euros a month and is not a living wage by any stretch of the imagination. Some of those poor that Monsignor doesn't see are children who are in school, trying to concentrate without having had breakfast, waiting for the school lunch, their only hot and complete meal of the day. Others are in community kitchens, many run by Caritas, the Catholic organization that Monsignor prefers to deafen his ears to. Statistics from Caritas, Eurostat, and other official organizations that follow numbers, all point out that poverty has increased in Spain. The total population at risk of poverty or social exclusion in 2014 was 29.2 percent, making Spain the poorest country in Europe behind Hungary, Latvia, Greece, Bulgaria, and Romania. And those who live in severe poverty, according to Caritas, were 6.4 percent in the year 2012, up from 3.5 in 2007. Severe poverty is supposed to be those who live with less than 307 euros a month. The percentage points look small, but they comprise three million people of the total population.
The archbishop of Valencia is removed from daily reality. Most in the Church hierarchy are. The former archbishop of Madrid, Antonio Rouco Varela, retired earlier this year. He moved to his retirement home, a luxurious flat owned by the Church which had a renovation done to it especially for him that cost almost two million euros. Others have spoken out against women, such as the archbishop of Granada, who had a book published, "Cásate y sé sumisa" (Marry and Be Submissive). He still thinks women should be treated like underage children and stay at home. This archbishop is costing the Church almost two hundred thousand euros a year. Among his expenses are a Visa Gold credit card, which he uses assiduously, two secretaries, and a chauffeur. As well as servants and cook.
And, of course, Monsignor Cañizares of Valencia reminded the reporters on the day he made those remarks, that the economy is recuperating. Recuperating? For whom? Many of the jobs created are insecure, lasting a couple of weeks or a month, disappearing for another two months, and then reappearing for three weeks. But always with different people signing the contract. Many families affected by the unemployment statistics have had to decide whether to pay the mortgage or the electricity or the gas. By the time they get to this, they've already gotten rid of the car and the cell phones. Last winter they showed on the news various families that couldn't turn on the heat because they couldn't pay for it. Others had to spend the evening with candlelight. Some had had the gas shut off and could only eat sandwiches at home. And that's not counting the thousands that lost their homes when the banks foreclosed. For these people, who have hit the bottom rung of the economic ladder, the recuperation is still years away.
There always has been and always will be extreme poverty and extreme wealth. The problem is that the differences are obscene. And the only thing that obscenity produces is anger and hatred that erupt in violence. World peace starts with reducing the gap between rich and poor. And not turning a blind eye, or chiding the poor for wanting things to change. If the Church is truly a church of peace and the poor, then it had better have a serious talk with some of its far-removed-from-reality leaders.
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