I HEARTILY endorse the policies and principles advocated by Productivity Commissioner Robert Fitzgerald in your headline article, “Welfare Sector Starved – Churches called to new partnerships” (CL 1/4/07).
For many years now, as an average churchgoer, I have been inwardly questioning the “returns”, both spiritual and financial, we ordinary Catholics and the wider community are getting from our colossal real estate holdings (chiefly our churches).
As our places of worship get emptier and emptier – especially of young people – are we clinging to ever diminishing, or at least under-performing assets?
God might, at this stage in our history, be reminding all Christian Churches that His Son thought this way: Remember, “If thou wilt be perfect, go sell what thou hast and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me” (Matthew 19:21).
Mr Fitzgerald is absolutely right to challenge all Christian Churches, in the spirit of Jesus, to at least borrow against the value of our embarrassingly enormous real estate holdings, and use the money to eradicate and alleviate many social ills in our society.
Grateful governments of all persuasions would welcome such actions and no doubt finance this work.
Perhaps we have unconsciously fallen into the mentality of the “Selfish Giant” as described in Oscar Wilde’s beautiful fairy tale.
The giant kept his huge garden to himself and refused to allow the village children to play there.
As a result, the garden was barren and smothered in perpetual winter.
When the giant finally relented and invited the children in, the sunshine returned and the garden flourished.
The giant eventually finds redemption and a forgiving god in the guise of a little crippled boy.
Are we missing an excellent opportunity to turn our Church properties into spiritual gold and gain ourselves some heavenly merit at the same time?
BERNARD J. MAUME
Newstead, Qld
