THE POOR - A THEOLOGICAL REFLECTION

The aim of this article is to point to the most important theological reasons why the poor occupy or should occupy a central, privileged place in the Church. This will be demonstrated on the basis of Holly Scriptures, where the poor occupy a privileged place. The centre of our reflections are not the poor as such in the Scriptures, but God's relationship towards the poor and the reason behind this kind of relationship to the poor. The central thesis of the article is that there is a threefold aspect of speaking about the poor and poverty in the Scriptures: the real poor, the poor in spirit and the evangelical counsel of poverty. Taking into account the threefold approach to the poor, the final chapter offers some concrete guidelines for the Church, especially for priests and bishops, for their service to the poor. This will again be examined in three ways: the Church for the poor, the Church of the poor, and the poor Church.