The 1968 film The Shoes of the Fisherman end with the film’s protagonist being elected pope and going out to the crows at St. Peter’s Square. The newly elected pontiff then tells the faithful his plans to sell the Church’s riches, its properties, its art, in order to feed the poor. He says:

“I am the custodian of the wealth of the Church. I pledge it now. All our money, all our holdings in land, buildings and great works of art for the relief of our hungry brothers!”

The crowd then applauds this gesture by the pope.

The whole scene comes off as some sort of fantasy of those who say the Church it too rich and needs to sell all it’s wealth and art to help the poor.

It’s one of the more common objections to the Church: It’s too wealthy. Christ was a poor carpenter who died with a crown of thorns so why does the Church need all off these lavish goods?

There are a few problems with that mentality…

First, the Church already does a tremendous amount of work for the poor. Look at Mother Teresa and the Missionaries of Charity. Look at all the Catholic hospitals throughout the world. Look at all the orphanages and Catholic schools. Every parish, every diocese has programs and drives that do so much to help the poor and the needy. Sure, we Christians aren’t perfect. There are things that can be done better. But at the end of the day, the Catholic Church is one of the most charitable organizations out there already helping those in need.

The objection can be raised that sure, we do these things, but the Church is so wealthy she can do more by selling it’s riches. Okay. Let’s say the Church does that. Let’s say Pope Francis comes out tomorrow and says, “Ok, I’m putting everything in the Vatican up on eBay to the highest bidder and every bishop needs to do the same in their Diocese.” Will that eradicate hunger forever? Will that eradicate poverty for all of eternity or will it just be a temporary solution? And if it is a temporary solution, what happens next? In the scenario put forth by The Shoes of the Fisherman, the Church sells her property too along with all of her money. So now we eradicated poverty for 50 years. 51 years later how can the Church do any good?

Let’s ignore the fact for a moment that Christ tells us there will always be poverty and while we can do things to alleviate and help those in need, we can never fully eradicate it. Let’s ignore that for a moment and say Francis comes out with this insane proposal. Let’s say we’re putting everything up for sale.

How much is the Shroud of Turin worth?

What would be the asking price for the plot of land in Lourdes?

What do you want for a painting said to be painted by the hand of St. Luke himself?

How much to turn the Sistine Chapel into a banquet hall?

These are serious questions. The art, riches, goods, land the Church took over 2000 years to acquire. Some were bought. Some were donated by families who wanted to give back to the Church and to increase the glory of God. But if we sell these things, what would be the price tag on some of the most beautiful and important artifacts and works of art in human history? Can anyone afford them?

And here’s one of the biggest problems with the “The Church needs to sell its riches” argument: It’s elitist and hurts the poor.

You might be thinking, “Wait a minute, hurts the poor? It’s helping the poor! It’s giving money to the poor!”

The thing is, when you sell these pieces of art, these relics (which is against Canon Law, but for the sake of argument let’s sell them because they’re worth money), land to the highest bidder, you’re depriving the poor of their beauties.

The poor live rough lives. Don’t they deserve some beauty too? Don’t the poor deserve to be able to go into a church or cathedral and experience, even for a short moment, beauty? Don’t the poor have the right to be able to sit and look up at amazing architecture, statues and paintings that uplift them?

When you say the Church needs to sell her things and be poor and simple, you’re ignoring that the poor benefit from the ornate things you see in churches. For those moments they are equal to everyone else, and have time to find God and their own humanity in art and in all that is beautiful.

Thing is, if the Church sells it for a buck, there’s nothing stopping the buyer from keeping it in a secure storage or in their living rooms, or charging insane amounts of money for anyone to see it.

The Church could sell her art and riches, but at the end of the day, the poor, like everyone else, need beauty too. And the Church provides that…. Along with other forms of charity.

As St. Ignatius would say, it’s part of “Cura Personalis.”

Christ, through the Church, is caring for the entire person.