"The Lord says, whoever believes in me, have mercy.
Share food with the hungry, give aid to the wounded and sick, and give aid to the handicapped.
The way of salvation is also the way of self-salvation.
You who have mercy, the splendor of our Lord is always with you..."
The emeritus bishop finished his prayer, and drew the mark of holy splendor on his chest.
The crowd gathered in front of him gradually dispersed, and they lined up in a neat line towards the food distribution window in the orphanage.
The whole process was orderly, no one scrambled, and no one complained. Those disabled elderly were also supported by nurses from the orphanage. A dozen naughty children chased and played for a while, but they also lined up obediently.
Although everyone in the hospital was either old, weak, sick, disabled, or lonely, there was no look of despair on everyone's face, but a happy smile on their faces.
The emeritus bishop looked at everything in front of him with complicated eyes, sighed, and then walked out of the orphanage.
But after walking a few steps, he stopped, and hurriedly bowed and saluted:
"My lord cardinal, my lord Ajani!"
Turnans smiled and waved his hands, signaling the emeritus bishop not to be too polite, and then asked, "Bishop emeritus, do you come to the orphanage to preside over prayers every day?"
"Yes." The emeritus bishop nodded, "The people here need the glory of our Lord more than anyone else."
Tournans nodded in agreement, glanced around the orphanage with probing eyes, and saw a steward hastily greeted him, saluted with a flattering smile:
"My lord cardinal, my lord archbishop, the dean of our orphanage happened to be out on business, what can I do for you?"
"Don't bother, let's just take a look around. Go and do it yourself." Turnans dismissed the steward casually, and then visited the orphanage accompanied by Archbishop Ajani and the emeritus bishop.
"There are thousands of people in this orphanage, right?" Turnans looked around and asked with some emotion.
"Yes, Cardinal." The emeritus bishop replied immediately, "There are more than 2,500 orphans and widows here."
"I heard that there are already more than a dozen such welfare homes in the north?"
The emeritus bishop thought for a while and said, "As far as I know, the number of orphanages in the northern border has reached 23, and eight more are under construction and will be put into operation soon."
Tournans looked shocked and said, "Can the proceeds from the welfare lottery alone support the construction and operation of so many orphanages?"
The emeritus bishop explained: "My lord cardinal, I have actually studied the welfare assistance system introduced by Count Angelet.
The price of each welfare lottery ticket is not expensive, the price is only ten copper coins, but it has the chance to win thousands of times the prize, so the common people and even wealthy businessmen flock to it, and the sales are very hot. The revenue of the monthly welfare lottery can exceed 100,000 gold coins!
Twenty percent of these proceeds can offset the operating costs of the welfare lottery, thirty percent will be remitted to the bonus pool, and the other fifty percent will be able to support the daily operations of at least five orphanages, and there will even be a surplus to build new welfare hospital.
I don't know much about the situation in other cities in the north, but it must be similar. It can be seen that the number of welfare homes in the north has far reached its limit and is in a state of rapid increase.
In addition, this charitable foundation also accepts donations from nobles, wealthy businessmen, and common people. During the Winter Veil Festival last year, the Duke of St. Hilde organized a grand charity fundraising meeting. The nobles and wealthy businessmen who attended the meeting gave generously. The total amount of charitable donations that night alone reached 500,000 gold coins!
As for how many donations the charitable foundation receives on weekdays, I am not sure, but even if there are no donations on weekdays, the scale of this charitable foundation has now reached an astonishing level.
I estimate that in two or three years, the number of orphanages in the north may exceed one hundred! The number of relief will reach hundreds of thousands!
This is just my conservative estimate. In fact, the more I study this welfare system, the more amazed I am at Count Angelet's ingenuity!
Although the welfare system is still in its infancy, I am sure that this is a genius design that can change the glorious empire! "
Turnans listened silently, nodded expressionlessly, and said:
"Bishop emeritus, do you think the changes in the welfare system to the empire are good or bad?"
The emeritus bishop opened his mouth, but didn't speak, as if he didn't know how to answer.
Ajani was surprised when she heard the words: "Lord Cardinal, the welfare system will certainly make the empire better. Isn't it what the church wants to see so many orphans, old, weak, poor and helpless people get help here
I even think that His Majesty the Pope should personally commend Earl Angelet and promote him as a model lord who spreads the glory of our Lord! "
Tournans glanced at Adjani, but did not respond.
Only then did Adjani realize that something was wrong, and turned to look at the emeritus bishop, only to see that this man was also frowning.
"Bishop Emeritus, if you have anything to say, you can say it boldly." Tournans encouraged him.
The emeritus bishop's face changed for a long time, and finally he said in a deep voice: "My lord cardinal, I think the promotion of the welfare system will definitely do more harm than good to the church!"
"Why?" Ajani couldn't help asking.
"Because..." The emeritus bishop's face was ashamed, but then he became firm again, and said, "Because suffering is the best soil for cultivating faith."
As soon as these words came out, the surroundings suddenly fell silent.
Adjani's heart skipped a beat, and she immediately understood the deep meaning of what the emeritus bishop said.
As the Archbishop of the North, she is of course well aware of the fact that the poor are more devout than the rich, the sick are more devout than the healthy, the homeless are more devout than the happy...
The reason is simple—these people who have suffered so much need the mercy and redemption of the Lord of Radiance.
But now, the welfare system designed by Earl Angelet has replaced the Lord of Radiance, replaced the church, and completed the salvation of these people.
So, will these redeemed people in the orphanage still pray devoutly
Even if they pray, who will they be thankful for
An emeritus bishop who comes to pray once a day
Or Earl Angelet, the founder of this welfare system
Adjani was terrified, and only then realized that she had never seen the deep meaning of the welfare system designed by Count Angelet.
The old-fashioned Cardinal Tournance obviously saw through all this long ago.
Because of this, he could no longer suppress his fear of Count Angelet. At this moment, he finally decided to carry out the Pope's order and not give Count Angelet any chance to defend himself.
"God is merciful to the world..." Turnans said lightly, "but only God has the authority to merciful to the world!"
Adjani looked up in astonishment, and saw the undisguised killing intent in Tournance's eyes.
(end of this chapter)