Dirty Money

Two of the best known Christians in the present society are Pope Francis and Mother Theresa of India. They have received respect even outside the church. However, both of them had a different understanding of donations that came from what is called black or dirty money, (money made from illegal or nefarious means). 

In an article in a bulletin for priests, the writer mentions that both of them received praise and blame for the way they looked upon dirty money.

Mother Theresa used the money for the poor and sick which makes understanding her actions easier. However, there are those that did not look benignly on the money she took from dictators and from those who seemed  to lack any moral sense in the way they made their money.

Pope Francis was reported to have returned a million dollars given to  his charity Scholas  which was an initiative he began while Archbishop of Buenos Aires.  The government of Argentina gave  the money to the  charity and the pope was not happy when he heard the charity asked the government for help because of its situation. The government  has raised the prices of the public utilities of the country and he rejected the public money because they should focus on the needs of the people. 

Pope Francis told benefactors to forget about donating money to the church if their earnings came from mistreating others. "Please, take your check back and burn it," he said in one of the general audiences. "The people of God -- that is, the church -- doesn't need dirty money. They need hearts that are open to God's mercy."

Scholas Occurrentes,  connects technology with arts and sports in order to promote social integration and the culture of encounter for peace. It is present in 190 countries through its web made up of over 430.000 schools and educational networks in five continents. Pope Francis did not appreciate the  help for he wanted the charity to be financed by personal monies and not public money.

The charity has no right to ask the government for help in developing their programs and was a good lesson to those who heard his talk. The government was quick to give a response  to the request for their own reasons and the pope returned it for the reasons given.

Dirty money is not cleaned by use in the church. To prevent any misunderstanding money received should  be vetted to see from whom and where the money is coming. The pope's message was heard loud and clear and our writer would like this to be understood by all those who are receiving donations of money.