Franciscans and the Economy:
True Treasure
by Larry Janezic, OFM
FAN Issue Advocate
October 22, 2008

If you wish to be more perfect, go, sell everything you have and give it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come follow me…  --Mt. 19:21 

A Franciscan approach to the economy is driven by love and trust not fear and suspicion. It challenges excess. In Chapter I of the earlier Rule, St. Francis cites the above Gospel passage to not just challenge excess but to challenge the very notion of possession itself. Francis’s life was a radical expression of this Gospel mandate. His ability to live it demonstrated the depth of his love and trust for Jesus.

The challenge today is to let this radical love and trust resonate with us and how we approach policy in light of the economic crisis. At this moment in our nation’s history many of us worry, speculate, and debate about the state of the economy.  Just days after the passage of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, the market was still unstable.  Major world markets continue to suffer volatility and some major lending institutions in the United States struggle to do business at all. The Federal Government plans to infuse cash in large ownership holdings in major banks. Foreign governments have pledged to do the same. Even so, economic experts refrain from using the word “recession” for fear of market reaction.

It is not yet clear how new policy will help those most vulnerable, if at all.  In our two-week concentration on the economy, the Franciscan Action Network suggests that in the coming weeks--from the election until the 111th Congress and the inauguration of a new president--we offer to the nation our witness to love and trust through humble living.

Our policy advocacy should insist on what we know most deeply:  that true stability can only occur when those who are most adversely affected by the economic crisis receive consideration and relief.   When love and trust supplants fear and suspicion, even the market has been known to respond favorably. To assure that legislation is enacted to care for those who are most adversely affected by the economic crisis, the Franciscan Action Network asks that you contact your Congressional Representative and Senators. Please click here for more information and to take action now. (Member login required.)

As Franciscans, we want our legislators to remember the common good. We want to insure that policy formed and enacted in a time of crisis does not neglect those who are at risk of losing their homes, their jobs, or their place altogether at the table of a representational democracy. We want to advocate for economic stability not by excessive cash infusions, but by an infusion of love of neighbor, particularly the poorest among us. That is true recovery, a message that Capitol Hill and Wall Street may need to hear from us Franciscans.

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For more information and other legislative recommendations that promote direct attention to those victimized by the economic crisis see also:

Catholic Charities USA    http://www.catholiccharitiesusa.org
National Policy and Advocacy Council for the Homeless http://www.npach.org