Letter 285

285. Without superscription, on the administration of the Church

The man who has charge of the Church and holds in hand the management of its possessions is himself the one delivering this letter to you—the beloved son So-and-so. Deign to grant him freedom of speech concerning the matters he reports to your good order, and to give heed to the things he affirms, so that from now at least the Church may be able to recover itself and be freed from this many-headed hydra. For such is the nature of the property of the poor that we are always seeking someone to take it over, since the Church spends more upon it than it has any profit from the possessions.