Robbing the poor to pay "hired guns": Can a "poor Church for the poor" afford the luxury of consultants?

Remarkable this commentary by John L. Allen, Jr., whom nearly everyone agrees is no reactionary "hidebound traditionalist".

    

"The pontiff who famously longs for a 'poor Church for the poor' and who rails against 'trickle-down' economics is also the Pope who's created a boom market for 'God's consultants.' Before the Francis reform is finished, there might not be a systems analyst, management expert or financial guru left on earth who doesn't have a contract in Rome... To date, no one at the Vatican has said out loud how much they're shelling out for the services of this new batch of consultants." —John Allen, Jr., Vatican correspondent for the US-based National Catholic Reporter, in an article today entitled "Thoughts on the rise of 'God's Consultants'"

Pray for our Holy Father, that his goals of caring with greater generosity for the poor and reforming the Church may be compatible and practically achievable.