A
night shelter for homeless people. This is indeed a good idea.
Vatican
is planning to set up a shelter for homeless people around the area.
Why only in Vatican? This could be an idea which can be implemented
by thousands of Christian churches across the world.
Vatican
Radio says, “among the services that homeless people around the
Vatican are receiving from the charity of Pope Francis, will be
added another one – a place to sleep.” After a place for shower,
a barber’s service in the Vatican and a hot meal at Rome’s
Terminus station, the homeless will soon have a dormitory near the
Vatican, said the Pope’s Almoner or official alms-giver,
Archbishop Konrad Krajewski. If all the churches under Vatican follow
this example, you can easily bring down the miseries of homeless
people.
“We
are preparing something,” the Polish archbishop told Italian
news agency Ansa. The site on Via dei Penitenzieri close to the
Vatican, is currently being renovated. The 30-bed facility will be
used only as night shelter and will be managed by volunteers. The
date for the start of the service has not been fixed as yet. As
Archbishop Krajewski has always said, these services are meant to
give dignity to the person.
Most
churches in different countries own real estate and buildings. Many
of them can emulate the example set by Pope Francis and set up night
shelters. This will prove to be a boon to millions of homeless people
and the least a Christian community can provide to poor people.
Many
of the churches in Brazil, Argentina, S Korea, India, Italy, France,
Germany and so on are in big complexes. The parish community can
easily set up a night shelter in those complexes which will provide a
safe place to sleep, breakfast and toilet facilities. To begin with,
such homes can easily be set up in metropolitan cities which face
acute shortage of housing.
Remember
the Bible words. "And the King will say, 'I tell you the truth,
when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters,
you were doing it to me,” says Mathew 25:40.
