“Classic art expected to fetch millions,” reported Times of Malta on January 30.

Imagine the millions that Pope Francis could raise for the desperate poor that he’s always preaching about if he had to hold an auction of some of the surplus art and antiques in the Vatican museums.

He could start by auctioning a few pagan sculptures of male and female nudes, such as the Apollo Belvedere, the Venus Felix, the Hermes of Praxiteles or the Laocoon.

These pagan nudes do not belong in a museum of a Christian institution, especially when one recalls God’s stern prohibition against “graven images”.

When Pope Francis went to Assisi in October, he said: “This is a good occasion to invite the Church to strip itself of worldliness.”

The Church could take the first step towards that goal by selling some of the art that it has accumulated through the centuries.

Arguments about holding on to the Church’s “patrimony” are incompatible with the teachings of Jesus, who told his disciples not to hoard treasure on earth. So far, the Pope’s commitment to the spirit of poverty has been limited to token gestures and lofty speeches.

He pontificates against greed and “the globalisation of indifference”. Meanwhile, the Vicar of Christ presides over a Church which owns immeasurable wealth in real estate, investments and art, contrary to the teachings of Jesus.