At Caritas Bank 10th Anniversary, Apostolic Nuncio in Kenya Urges “equitable distribution of wealth” to Curb Injustices

“As creatures of God, we are all equal in our dignity as a human person,” he said in explaining the concept of equitability, and added that despite being endowed with different talents, “we are all brothers and sisters of each other, like a family which builds up together that human family.”

Archbishop van Megen warned against greed, especially among those who “enrich themselves without limit”, and advocated for the fostering of “economic systems that provide access to essentials for all,” including “the poor who often struggle with low wages.”

The Dutch-born Vatican diplomat emphasized the need to create financial systems that foster “the dignity of work, fair wages, (and) inclusive economies that ensure that no one goes hungry while others grow fat on speculation, on hoarding, and on corruption.”

“It's all about financial justice. From predatory lending to global debt burdens, our world is filled with economic structures that imprison rather than liberate,” he lamented in his June 19 homily.

The kingdom of God, instead, is about a free world, where everyone enjoys justice, truth, and mercy regardless of financial status, Archbishop van Megen said, and added, “The kingdom of God upends our financial priorities. It makes room for the widow's coin and honors the generosity of the poor.”

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“Every loan given with compassion, every tithe shared in secret, every cooperative founded on trust is a down payment for that kingdom. Thy kingdom come,” he added.

He went on to laud the late Pope Francis for paying keen attention to the poor in society, saying, “He was very much the man of the preferential option for the poor, lifting poor out of their poverty and giving them a chance to become part of that big human, that great human community where each and every one can contribute to the further progress of humanity.”

Referring to the Lord’s Prayer, which he described as an “economic manifesto wrapped in divine intimacy” with teachings that foster the dignity, Archbishop van Megen advocated for the building of “an economy that reflects the values of heaven, trust, sufficiency, justice, and mercy.”

The Nairobi-based Vatican diplomat called upon the people of God in Kenya to get involved in realizing a world, where “daily bread is shared, debts are lifted, and no one is forgotten at the table of the Lord.”

Sabrine Amboka is a Kenyan journalist with a passion for Catholic church communication. She holds a bachelor’s degree in mass communication from St. Paul's University in Kenya.