Was God issuing a warning for today’s American Catholic hierarchy condemning wealth?

-
Is this the wealth that God is condemning?

… “principles that are prominent in Catholic social teaching”

In the readings for today’s Catholic masses, God is making criticisms of people whom today’s Catholic hierarchy are often supporting. In fact, God is condemning the wealthy people in society, and in America, the hierarchy of the church appears to be always favoring the wealthy over those who have little. 

Here is what a professor of Catholic studies said about the readings,

Today’s readings build on last Sunday’s teachings on living and leading well. In the second reading and the Gospel, we continue to learn about characteristics and attitudes that are central to faith in Christ. We hear important critiques of wealth disparities and injustices that can inform our practices and policies today. 

Jaime L. Waters, “God calls out corruption in society and in ourselves,” National Catholic Reporter, August 20, 2021


James’ readings condemn the wealthy

God warns about the dangers of wealth, yet the Catholic hierarchy vote consistently for the party of the wealthy and the ones who care little about those who are suffering. 

5 Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you. 2 Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. 3 Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. 4 Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. 5 You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter.[a] 6 You have condemned and murdered the innocent one, who was not opposing you.

Book of James

That sounds exactly like the criticism that Pope Francis has made against capitalism, but it could also be a condemnation of the Catholic hierarchy who are saying that abortion is the only policy that counts. That is not what God is telling us in this gospel, 

James speaks to his community about economic issues, criticizing rich people and anticipating their downfall: “Your wealth has rotted away…. You have stored up treasure for the last days.” James’ criticisms are not based solely on their wealth; rather, they are focused on financial corruption. The wealthy have withheld wages from workers, living in luxury while people in the field cry out for a living wage. This image of wealth disparities and corresponding economic exploitation has many resonances today, when many people are unable to support themselves with a living wage. The reading must inspire us to work to end poverty and fight for economic justice, principles that are prominent in Catholic social teaching.

Jaime L. Waters, National Catholic Reporter, August 20, 2021

Corruption in the church

The Catholic Church does exert its social teaching at times. For instance, the St. Vincent de Paul Society is the only Catholic organization that I will donate money to in my native Altoona-Johnstown Diocese. They do some great work, as do Catholic Charities. 

However, the Catholic hierarchy in the U.S. is replete with corruption. Take the example of people who have continued to protect the pedophiles and other sexual abusers in the church. The American hierarchy, like Bernard Law in Boston and Thomas Dolan in New York have terrible records in that area. 

Again, they vote for Republicans who are concerned only about protecting the wealthy and warmongers and those who care little about refugees and immigrants or those who are starving. 

That is called hypocrisy, and the hierarchy will have problems trying to enter heaven with a track record like that. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

On the feast of St. Joseph, an evaluation of a “Josephite marriage”

-
Image
… Catholic view is Mary remained virginal March 19 is the feast of St. Joseph, and since we are children were taught by nuns of the St. Joseph’s order, we knew about the man.  However, many people are not aware that Joseph and Mary lived a celibate life, according to the Catholic Church.  Today, there exists within the Catholic Church what is called a Josephite Marriage. I had never heard of it, so I did some investigating.  Here is what I found. Catholic view of celibate marriage I had read about this because of a piece in the New York Times about a man whose parents, with four children, applied to the church to enter into a Josephite marriage. Today, many priests think that such a thing is abhorrent, but not all of them.  So, what is a Josephite marriage? There appear to be two forms of the Sacrament of Marriage, one that we could call the “ordinary form,” the other that one might call the “extraordinary form.”  While both are the same vocati...
Read more

Refuse to take communion from sinful priests: I turned the tables on one

-
Image
“Sixty-nine percent of all American Catholics do not believe that the host and wine that they receive is actually the body and blood of Jesus Christ”  How do Catholics know which priests are in the state of grace? If a priest or bishop is in a state of sin, should he be dispensing the body of Christ? This is a story about why I refused communion from a sinful priest. How could I know if a priest is sinful?  No one actually knows this but God himself.  However, I can know about a sinful priest in the same way that they they make the judgment about us, postulating that some of us are unworthy of receiving communion.  Important: I am in a state of grace with God, but not with the church. However, my guess is that many of those who take communion at a Catholic mass is in a state of sin.  Which is as Jesus would have wanted it. Still, how would a priest or bishop or cardinal know if someone is in a state of sin? Only God knows what is in our hearts and souls. An...
Read more

American Christian leaders have supported ex-atheist Putin over the years, praising his “morality”

-
Image
Putin’s morality is “higher than our own” … the brutal dictator is hardly a follower of Christ How times have changed. Vladimir Putin became a hero to American conservatives, particular those who call themselves “Christians.” They praised him as a leader with better morality than Americans.  Putin was an atheist for years as a member of the Communist Party in the USSR, which prosecuted anyone who followed God. He was a leader of the KGB that brutally enforced those policies and killed anyone who deviated from them.  Yet, over the past 15 years, American evangelical leaders have praised Putin, the brutal leader who is now being denigrated worldwide for his immoral and illegal invasion of and war in Ukraine.  In fact, one religious figure even praised Putin as having better morality than the American president.  And now? The worm has turned, and the snakes have started slithering away from adulation of Putin — though not all of them.  Why? Frankli...
Read more