Where do the poor live in Italy, Archbishop Bagnasco has asked. Shame on the government for failing to supply enough low-income housing for those who need shelter. Did not the Lord Himself tell us to feed his lambs and his sheep? What sort of Good Shepherd leaves his flock out in the cold and wet?
Well, the Catholic Church, for one. The good shepherds of the Catholic faith are busy these days, evicting tenants in church-owned housing in Rome. Laws being what they are in Italy, landlords are not inclined to hand out long term leases. Rents are rising in Rome, so why extend the lease of someone paying next to nothing? That's money lost, as lost as if the tenant had reached into the landlord's pocket and picked it.
Unfortunately, the landlord in Rome is likely to be some Catholic religious organization because the Church owns a great deal of rental property in the city. The owners are blaming the estate agents, who are doing what they are supposed to do: examine the rent rolls, find out who is paying below-market rates, and boot them out so that a new tenant can be installed at a higher rate of return.
A tenant's committee has informed Archbishop Bagnasco that they were never once late in rendering unto Caesar, so that must mean that they are being evicted because the landlord, i.e. the Catholic Church, is money hungry and greedy. The leases are up but no renewals have been offered. Connect the dots and you arrive at the point of eviction.
The government responded to the initial round of evictions by barring landlords from kicking out those who were old, disabled, or poor families with children. As that particular order is set to expire, the old, disabled, and poor expect to be shown the door, but where are they to go if they can't find cheap housing in Rome? Remember, Archbishop Bagnasco, the shortage of housing for the poor?
Might the poor and downtrodden find shelter within the walls of their local church? Or is there no room at God's house?
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