Like every human organization the Church is constantly in danger of
corruption. As soon as power and wealth come to the Church,
manipulation, exploitation, misuse of influence, and outright corruption
are not far away.
How do we prevent corruption in the Church? The answer is
clear: by focusing on the poor. The poor make the Church faithful to its
vocation. When the Church is no longer a church for the poor, it loses
its spiritual identity. It gets caught up in disagreements, jealousy,
power games, and pettiness. Paul says, "God has composed the body so
that greater dignity is given to the parts which were without it, and so
that there may not be disagreements inside the body but each part may
be equally concerned for all the others" (1 Corinthians 12:24-25). This
is the true vision. The poor are given to the Church so that the Church
as the body of Christ can be and remain a place of mutual concern, love,
and peace.
Henri Nouwen
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