"Poverty" - Roman Style
When most people hear the word "poverty," images of disease, bad housing, lack of opportunity, and malnutrition come to mind. Yet, Rome has a different definition of "poverty." Didn't you ever wonder how 'Mother' Theresa could claim to have taken a vow of "poverty," but at a moments notice have airplanes available to whisk her halfway across the world to the finest medical care whenever she needed it?
The June 6 issue of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, Ohio newspaper, 'The Catholic Telegraph,' brought this little known definition to light in an article titled, "Survey Revealing About Religious Vocations." It describes the aspects of, "the vows of 'poverty,' chastity, and obedience...," in an article about the 'Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur,' a Catholic womens' religious order, but the principle is the same for all those Catholic "religious" who take a vow of "poverty." The article said:
"The vow of poverty means members of the congregation do not use or dispose of the material goods independently. In addition, any income and gifts belong to the congregation. On a day-to-day level, this means sisters' salaries are paid directly to the congregation. If their work requires a car, the congregation provides one, but individual sisters do not own the cars they use. The congregation, for its part, provides for all aspects of the sisters' support..."
This is poverty?? It sounds more like Marxist-Leninist dogma to me.
In the above quote, remove the words, "The vow of poverty" and "congregation," and instead substitute, "Communism" and "state, and you have a good defintion of the Soviet system!! A system where the individual is nothing, and the group everything.
Yes - this "poverty" that Catholic religious orders love to boast about is really nothing but a form of communism that provides all your needs for the rest of your life - provided you tow the party line! Excuse me....or....is communism nothing but a form of Catholicism? After all, the Catholic Church was around long before Marx and Lenin!
The June 6 issue of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, Ohio newspaper, 'The Catholic Telegraph,' brought this little known definition to light in an article titled, "Survey Revealing About Religious Vocations." It describes the aspects of, "the vows of 'poverty,' chastity, and obedience...," in an article about the 'Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur,' a Catholic womens' religious order, but the principle is the same for all those Catholic "religious" who take a vow of "poverty." The article said:
"The vow of poverty means members of the congregation do not use or dispose of the material goods independently. In addition, any income and gifts belong to the congregation. On a day-to-day level, this means sisters' salaries are paid directly to the congregation. If their work requires a car, the congregation provides one, but individual sisters do not own the cars they use. The congregation, for its part, provides for all aspects of the sisters' support..."
This is poverty?? It sounds more like Marxist-Leninist dogma to me.
In the above quote, remove the words, "The vow of poverty" and "congregation," and instead substitute, "Communism" and "state, and you have a good defintion of the Soviet system!! A system where the individual is nothing, and the group everything.
Yes - this "poverty" that Catholic religious orders love to boast about is really nothing but a form of communism that provides all your needs for the rest of your life - provided you tow the party line! Excuse me....or....is communism nothing but a form of Catholicism? After all, the Catholic Church was around long before Marx and Lenin!
posted by Robt. B. at 4:21 PM
<< Home