Priests and poverty : A dive into the mission parish in Cuba

The 6th World Day for the Poor, instituted by Pope Francis, takes place on November 13th. How can we talk about poverty? Can we legitimately write about it? More fundamentally, can we take an interest in it from behind a screen? Is there not a certain hypocrisy in supporting a fight while being comfortably seated in a well heated room? Would it not be  sanctimonious to to leave our comfort zone by reflecting on this issue in an intellectual way? So many questions where irritationover the triviality of these considerations and powerlessness in the face of their reality are mixed together. Jesus himself seems to recognise this unpleasant dualism: “You will always have the poor with you” (Mk 14:7).

And yet, it is through poverty that Christ reaches us. “Jesus Christ […] became poor for your sake” (cf. 2 Cor 8:9), opens Pope Francis. But rather than trying to theorise about it, let us go and meet the priests in our mission in Cuba, in the parish of Placetas. We will talk Don Louis de Berny, who was sent to the island two years ago.

The first reality that we can encounter here is the universality of concern for the poor. In Cuba, poverty is part of everyday life. Here is a testimony:

“A month ago, after the passage of the cyclone in the west of the country, we suffered a national power cut for three days. It turned into a water crisis, with most of us using electric turbines.”
“What about at home in France? The war in Ukraine and the pandemic revealed the state of the issue. Poverty has become even more visible. And though, for example, there have been nice gestures of welcome towards refugees, the question of security has also been put back on the front stage, for the better or for the worse. Against whom and against what to defend them? And at what cost? Are there not ‘poor people next door’, to use the language of Pope Francis, who are neglected by security issues? The question is not naive. There is a real discernment to be made in order to integrate the “preferential option for the poor”. It is not a chimera.”

Here too, Cuba can be a source of example for us, as Don Louis described in the aftermath of the hurricane.

“It is striking to see that while time seems to be suspended, social life is re-densifying. Those who no longer had access to water were able to take advantage of their neighbours’ wells, the elderly and the sick were visited more often… It was almost everyone who generously put themselves at the service of their neighbours: crises are good indicators of the social richness and authenticity of faith.”

The second reality to be taken into account is that — in order to talk about poverty — you have to know about it. And it is not limited to what the media say. Poverty means smallness. Poverty means hiding. Here Cuba is also a glaring example. Who today cares about this small Caribbean island where, for more than 60 years, the people have been suffering from a cynical and exhausted system? A few facts among many: “We have no more fuel. The electricity is now cut off between 6 and 12 hours a day. There is less food every day, eating an egg has become a real luxury. There is rationing of basic necessities. From Tuesday, November 1st, we have to divide all the small wafers before holy mass, the bishops’ conference having warned us that with the shortage of flour we would not last until Christmas… Who cares?”

The third reality of poverty is action. As has been said, speeches are not enough if they do not lead to concrete decisions. What can we do today?

• First of all, pray. “Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.” (Ac 3,6) This is our true wealth: the name of the one who became poor for us.
• Then listen. The poor is easily overseen. And yet has many aspects, many facets. The poor are all around us. We can find them a man, on the street.. We can find them as employee in the colleague with a difficult temperament; or as a parent in the child in crisis; As a son, in the old age of his parents. As a priest, in the Eucharist. Poverty is not confined to the Third World. “Thinking about the various scandals in our French nursing homes, I said to myself that Cuba suffers from great material poverty, but that it does not have to be ashamed of its fraternal richness. Something to ponder at a time when France is approaching the debate on the end of life.”
• Finally, to give. The Pope reminds us that solidarity means sharing the little we have with those who have nothing. It is not a matter of giving away our superfluous possessions in an old-fashioned egotism. No, we must commit ourselves, give what we have in order to come closer to the poor, to come closer to Christ. Two examples to illustrate this: We can find the first example in the first Christian communities, whose mutual financial support ensured the unity of the Church in a context of persecution. The body of Christ was manifested through this material generosity. And the example is the life of St Martin’s who, the night after sharing his cloak, saw Christ clothed in it. The poor is Christ.

Don Louis reminds us that this World Day for the Poor is an opportunity for us to immerse ourselves in this mystery: “There is a risk in these days of a ‘rush’ that is as ephemeral as it is unproductive: the great resolutions of the first of the year, the fat-burning diet cure, the countless climate conferences, even the strong spiritual experiences on the occasion of a pilgrimage. All of this only makes sense if it is integrated in time as a lifestyle. Concern for the poor – solidarity – is a virtue, and it is therefore by its very nature foreign to the ephemeral, to the ‘quick’. Virtue is in fact a constant disposition, ever more natural and joyful, which makes us better by conforming to the Gospel. A simple day, well lived, can wake us up from our torpor, a “healthy provocation” to reorient our hearts by offering us the opportunity for a serious examen of conscience regarding our compassion for the poorest of our brothers and sisters (Mt 25:40).