On Heaven and Earth

Today, I was reading some of the book on Pope Francis called, 'On Heaven and Earth'. I was struck by a passage within it which is detailed below on Zenit. It struck me as odd. You'll see why. I have read quite a bit of this book and would like to give some thoughts on it in a different blog post, but I disagree in principle with the idea that its bad to sell something flashy and expensive off for 'charidee'.

I always thought Our Lord told us not to sound a trumpet blast when we do a good deed and He slated the Pharisees for doing so. I guess that when you are the Pope, people are going to report on whether you sneezed, so secrecy in giving is near impossible.

Also, you might not want to give your money to Caritas, since they don't have a great reputation in terms of their Catholic identity, but that's another matter entirely. In his dialogue with same-sex marriage supporting Rabbi Abraham Skorka, the then Cardinal Bergoglio opined as below...

'Regarding care for the poor, the cardinal differentiates between genuine works of charity and “social-conscience calming activities” carried out in order that a person “feel good about oneself.” But love, he says, “requires a person to go out from himself, to truly give oneself to others.” He then gives as an example a Church charity auction in which a gold Rolex was auctioned off. “What a disgrace [and] bad use of charity,” he says. “It sought a person who would use this watch for vanity in order to feed the poor.” (Words of the then Cardinal Bergoglio, in the book, On Heaven and Earth)

From Rome Reports today we receive this news...

'Pope Francis donated one of these Harley Davidson bikes to charity. The bike will be auctioned off and the money will go to a Caritas shelter in Rome. During the summer, nearly 2,000 Harley Davidson owners made their way to the Vatican to mark the brand's 110th anniversary. As a gift, they gave Pope Francis two bikes. Now Pope Francis has decided to give the bike to charity. The funds will help Rome's 'Don Luigi di Lietro' center, which provides both shelter and food to those in need. In fact it helps over 1,000 people every day. The local director of Caritas, Bishop Enrico Feroci, said the gift shows the Pope's support and closeness with the people of his diocese of Rome.'

So, Your Holiness, is auctioning a flashy materialist item for charity right or wrong? Why is it not a "a disgrace, a bad use of charity" when you do it, but it is if others do it? What a grumpy old negative git I am, but not for the first time, I'm confused. Surely, a more humble approach is to say, 'Who am I to judge?' one who donates or sells an item for charity. These things seem like such little things, and yes, I am being critical, but this is another example of the contradictions communicated by Pope Francis.