Pope calls for end to economic exploitation

Nov 20, 2015

ITALY: Meeting workers and addressing a major gathering of the Catholic Church in Italy, Pope Francis demanded an end to economic exploitation, to clerics “obsessed” with power, to apathy among youth and to a cold, fearfulChurch that forgets Christ is always by its side.

“These times of ours demand that we experience problems as challenges, and not  obstacles, because the Lord is active and at work in the world,” he said Nov 10 inside Florence’s Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore — the third-largest church in Europe.

In a trip that covered a normal 8 am to 5 pm workday, the Pope rallied workers, young people and hundreds of church leaders representing the entire Italian peninsula. He met the sick, kissed babies, admired Renaissance artwork and venerated an ancient relic. He ate lunch with the poor and homeless and celebrated Mass in a city soccer stadium.

Speaking to hundreds of Italian cardinals, bishops and laypeople attending a national congress held only every 10 years, the Pope gave a lengthy, yet clear indication of where their discussions  and pastoral mission should be heading.

“We must not tame the power of the face of Jesus,” who takes on the face of the humiliated, the enslaved and “the emptied,” he said.

A divine Christ reflects a very human gaze of humility and selflessness, and he insists his disciples follow the beatitudes like he did, the Pope said.

“We must not be obsessed with power, even if it is a useful or seemingly innocuous way of getting things done. Otherwise, the Church loses its way, loses its meaning.”

He also told priests and bishops to be shepherds, “nothing more. Shepherds.” — CNS/UCAN