In the Catholic Peace Weekly a priest in his column gives the readers his thoughts on the panic situation and bankruptcy experienced in certain parts of the world from past years.
After World War I in the 1920s, the United States, the center of the world economy, was entering a time of prosperity. New home appliances such as cheap cars, washing machines and refrigerators poured into the market. The stock market continued to rise and people with great hope borrowed money to invest. Overflowing money and installment payments, moved people to spend money on expensive luxury goods from all over the world. This period, the United States had eyes only for money and consumption—called the Roaring Twenties.
At the end of the era of frenzy, the economy faced the Great Depression. Companies and banks begin to fall, their products accumulating but no one interested. The streets were full of unemployed. Those who lost their homes due to excessive debt became homeless and after the splendid parties and money all that remained was a memory. They discovered their shabby self that was hidden with luxury goods.
The deeper the darkness, the more the stars are shining. Dorothy Day, who showed a stream of light in a world when all was dark. Dorothy
Day, was a journalist in New York, and began the 'Catholic Workers'
Movement' with Peter Maurin at the peak of the Great Depression. For
workers and the poor, they created a newspaper called "Catholic
Workers", a hospitality house and a farm community, and was with
those who despaired during the Great Depression. Dorothy Day shouted in the world and church: "Let's get slightly poorer."
After the Corona crisis, the era of frenzy and the Great Depression seems to be coming back. Astronomical money was released by the corona crisis. It was called 'helicopter money' because it was overflowing as if sprinkled by helicopters floating in the sky. Asset prices have exploded due to overflowing money. The stock index soared, and the price of real estate, including apartments, seemed to change daily.
Can
the church avoid the economic recession? The church also tightened its
belt. Recently, Pope Francis abolished the free housing offered to
high-ranking priests in the Vatican. The reason is the financial
deterioration that started with Corona. According to Vatican News, you
have to pay the same rent as ordinary people to live in a Vatican-owned
house that was free or cheap. Before that, it is said that the living
expenses paid to priests were also reduced. What should we do when the
Vatican is in this kind of situation?
"The church must be a field hospital." Pope Francis, who celebrates his 10th anniversary as Pope, wants these words to be the attitude of the church that looks at the economic crisis. As Dorothy Day during the Great Depression, should we become a slightly poorer church; a church that can reach out to those who are poor and in difficulty. Shouldn't the church always be available for spiritual and practical help? So looking back we can say that the church was an 'era of grace' for these times.
