Corporate poverty

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Corporate poverty is a practice which arose in the Middle Ages of religious communities which refused to own property, either individually or corporately. This practice developed in, among other groups, a community of wool merchants in southern France in the 11th century, known as the Humiliati (the "Humble Ones"). The members of this community were both single people and families, who lived in communes, sharing their money and goods. This pattern spread throughout France and Italy, with dozens of such communities being established.

Their inspiration for this practice was the way of life reportedly led by the early Church, as depicted in the Acts of the Apostles (4:32-37). In this passage from the Holy Scriptures, the first Christians were said to have put all their goods and money into a common fund, to be shared among the members of the Church as needed.

In the subsequent century, the members of this group came under charges of heresy, for insisting that their way of life was the only true Christian one, thus denying the right of the Church to hold property. Due to this, they were subject to excommunication and persecution, till they disappeared.

Perhaps inspired by their example, Francis of Assisi (1181-1226) also insisted upon this way of life for his followers in the Franciscan Order. Given that his father was an Italian cloth merchant, who made frequent trips to France and, according to tradition, married a Frenchwoman, it is quite possible that he heard of their way of life from his parents. Francis, however, in his complete allegiance to the Holy See, was accepted and blessed in his commitment to this radical way of life. Nevertheless, this practice proved to be among the most controversial in that order, provoking several splits.

In the 14th century, a large number of friars, especially in the region of central Italy known as the Marches, came to take the same position as had the Humiliati, claiming that following a Jesus who had owned no property meant that Christians were not to hold property. They further declared, as a result of this belief, that the Pope was not practicing true Christianity--and thus illegitimate. The response of the Church authorities was clear and draconian. Those who held this position were declared heretics and condemned by Pope John XXII. Dozens of the friars who refused to renounce their belief were arrested and burned at the stake. Those able to escape fled to other parts of Europe, principally France.