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Appeal for a church friend of the poor

Prayer for PeaceDialogueEcumenismBarcelonaSpirit of Assisi

They beg, they disturb. The public fears them. But in Barcelona, during the meeting "Living together in a time of crisis", organized by Sant'Egidio, comes an appeal to regard the poor as a precious treasure for the church.
Nifon, Metropolitan of the Orthodox Patriarchate of Romania asked the question if the churches actually look at the poor like a treasure. "Looking at the poor, we realize - Nifon said - that in our time there is a spiritual poverty inside the rich men and a spiritual wealth in the poor."

Jaume Castro, from the Community of Sant'Egidio of Barcelona, said that "the presence of the poor in our cities is seen as a problem, they are pushed away and they have to live hidden, because they annoy the tourists and there is almost a fear of contagion. We must learn to see them as real people with their worries and their sorrows "
Archbishop Philip from the Orthodox Patriarchate of Moscow, remembering the lot of children who suffer from the crisis, has called Christians to the duty of alms as a personal gesture of every Christian, because "who gives alms administer wisely what was entrusted to him by God and puts his alms into the hands of Christ himself, while the receiver learns humility, because he receives what he hasn't earned, and recognizes the hand of God in those who give."