2.7 Is het wel christelijk dat de Kerk zo rijk is?
Veel van de ‘rijkdom’ van de Kerk is niet verkoopbaar: de grootste rijkdom is de boodschap van het Evangelie! Ook bijvoorbeeld de kunst en oude handschriften zijn bijvoorbeeld onverkoopbaar, maar moeten wel goed beheerd worden. De grond die de Kerk wereldwijd bezit wordt gebruikt voor katholieke scholen, ziekenhuizen en instellingen, kerken, etc. Zo levert de grond geen inkomsten op maar de gebouwen kosten wel veel geld om te onderhouden.
Het jaarlijkse budget van Vaticaanstad wordt gebruikt voor salarissen en het onderhouden en restaureren van kunst in het Vaticaan. Verder gaat er geld naar noodhulp en ontwikkelingshulp wereldwijd en naar de Heilige Stoel.
What is the content of the social doctrine of the Church?
The social doctrine of the Church is an organic development of the truth of the Gospel about the dignity of the human person and his social dimension offering principles for reflection, criteria for judgment, and norms and guidelines for action. [CCCC 509]
Why does the Catholic Church have her own social teaching?
Because all men, as children of God, possess a unique dignity, the Church with her social teaching is committed to defending and promoting this human dignity for all men in the social sphere. She is not trying to preempt the legitimate freedom of politics or of the economy. When human dignity is violated in politics or economic practices, however, the Church must intervene.
“The joy and hope, the grief and anguish of the men of our time, especially of those who are poor or afflicted in any way, are the joy and hope, the grief and anguish of the followers of Christ as well” (second Vatican Council, GS). In her social teaching, the Church makes this statement specific. And she asks: How can we take responsibility for the well-being and the just treatment of all, even of non-Christians? What is a just organization of human society, of political, economic, and social institutions supposed to look like? In her commitment to justice, the Church is guided by a love that emulates Christ’s love for mankind. [Youcat 438]
[Why does the Church not sell its richness?] This is an easy question. They are not the treasures of the Church, [but] the treasures of humanity... For example, if tomorrow I say that Michelangelo's Pieta is going to be auctioned, it can't be done, because it's not the property of the Church. It's inside a Church, but it belongs to humanity... [This is true] for all the treasures of the Church. [Pope Francis, Interview in Straatkrant, 6 Nov. 2015]
