The recent unveiling or rather exposure of ostentatious and overly flamboyant living style of a German Catholic cleric and his subsequent suspension by the Papal Pope Francis has aroused some intense curiosity in the hearts of many faithful and those outside the faith.
Readers would agree, perhaps more likely if you are exposed to Christianity and their followers, that extravagance and superficiality of many leaders of the church are not entirely new observation. It has existed, remains and is growing, rapidly like a fertilized mushroom, with callous effrontery, masterfully cloaked under the wings of “prosperity teaching”. And like a potent narcotic, it ecstatically diffuses through the “body”, dulls all sense of logic and rationality, shutters and dims the remaining radiation of intuitive perceptions. Those within its grip, would but dance with irreverent abandon, unsuspectingly as sheep to the slaughter.
Now, while in the moment of revelry, it is indeed but a moment, for life in this creation is transient comparatively to time and space in the inviolable continuum called beyond; there yet remains a few, whose dose of the opium of prosperity teaching, having began to wane, they are shockingly awoken by the sincere agitation of their soul; and when they question the status quo, like a smoldering ember, they are often extinguished or better still ostracized. Dissenters, they are called! Still, many, millions and millions of pious worshippers remain trapped and in fact, voiceless.
Turning back to the impetuous adventure of the German Bishop that necessitated this write-up, I shudder with dismay at the bodacious lavish, at the blatant violation of the Church Tax law, which was permitted into law to assuage and free clerics of some existential burdens of the ordinary man, in order that they may fully serve without hindrance, the poor and all, with the redemptive message of Christ.
Ponder for a moment if you can, stripped of all possible bias, and consider deploying 2.9 million Euros as the cost of the Bishop’s private quarter with a 63 square meter dinning room, a bathtub that cost 15,000 Euros (certainly not ceramic or porcelain), a garden that walloped 783,000 Euros, 25,000 Euros for a table, 350,000 Euros for a built in wardrobes-all supported from the so called religious tax. Perhaps, there are credible justifications for this escapade. Perhaps, its permissible to indulge in what is considered God’s blessings. Perhaps, the physicality, the outward presentation of the earthbound medieval Church buildings and its modern derivations rightly deserve the tender care and nourishing just as the Church is called to care for the poor and the lost. In fact, one may attempt to raise numerous arguments in the defense and or prosecution of these actions, were it all to matter.
It is not necessary to interject the commonly paraded question, “What would Jesus do,” at least not now. I will advance to that later. But now, suffice to state that Bishop Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Eist is not solitary in the highlighted bonanza. There are perhaps, more numerous, willing partakers than one could count in modern Christendom; men wearing the ensemble of untouchable humility, lavishing in outrageous grandiosity, parading about in multiple private planes, cars, living in houses even more magnanimous than the one occupied by the German Bishop, and amassing unimaginable private wealth. The lot of their poor congregants, whose daily labor barely suffices, may have escaped their seared conscience, because “the poor you will always have among you,” which is itself always contextually overdrawn by many prosperity peddlers.
What is wrong with asking questions about the way things are? What is wrong with questioning the status quo? What is wrong with questioning human dogmas? Oh no! Dare not challenge the practices found in the Churches. You will find yourself suspended in a great pool of muck. Sad and indeed really sad! While some of the congregants in the case of the Limburg Catholic Church may have had little to say in the matter while the violation continued, being that they are indolent brought upon by the visible opium, although the larger society could see and smell the danger, hence an agitation arose and which quickly awakened the senses of the poor congregants.
Now enters Pope Francis in the matter. With a dose of objectivity, simplicity, and unfeigned candor, he examined the scandalous development; considers what message it passes on to other believers and non-believers alike, and how the behavior impacts on his reformation agenda for the Church that is called for the poor. Pope Francis rose from a humble beginning, has maintained a humble style through the ranks and when selected as the Pontiff, refused to domicile in the lavish palace of the Vatican. He chose a simpler abode, in the Casa Santa Marta quarters, which is ordinarily designated for visitors. So, when after due consideration, he suspended the Bishop, he again sends a strong message to Catholic priests and perhaps, indirectly to all clergy to examine their manner of living and distance themselves from overzealous earthly pursuits stating “worldliness is a murderer because it kills souls, kills people, kills the Church.”
To the question, “What would Jesus do”? It needs no further explanation. For Jesus himself being the embodiment of truth, wisdom and unfathomable knowledge, remains unchanging, here and above, admonishing, prodding us upward, loving and caring, yet judging all with perfect justice. The real question is what ought we to do with the blessings bequeathed to us by Christ.
Written By Dr. Edwin Ndukwe
edwin.ndukwe@gmail.com
