Pope Francis warns against 'cult of money,' urges more help for poor

UPI ^ | May 16, 2013 at 5:13 PM | UPI

[haffast]

VATICAN CITY, May 16 (UPI) -- Pope Francis Thursday blamed the global economic crisis on "the cult of money" and urged reform to promote the common good and help the poor.

Speaking to newly accredited ambassadors to the Vatican, the pope said money "has to serve, not to rule," Catholic News Service reported. He told his audience humanity has "created new idols" and said growing social and economic troubles result from "our relationship with money and our acceptance of its power over ourselves and our society."

The pope said the "golden calf of old has found a new and heartless image in the cult of money and the dictatorship of an economy which is faceless and lacking any truly humane goal."

The Rev. Federico Lombardi, a Vatican spokesman, said the speech was intended to draw the world's attention to social justice and the needs of the poor amid the financial crises.

In the speech, the pope singled out for criticism policies and based on a "gravely deficient human perspective, which reduces man to one of his needs alone, namely, consumption."

"We have begun this culture of disposal," he said, in which people themselves are "considered as consumer goods which can be used and thrown away," while a minority of people accumulate "exponentially" increasing wealth while income "is crumbling" for the majority.

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[steve86]

Yep, the pope better start auctioning those Michelangelos on eBay. And I notice his greed is causing him to requisition new classic works every day /sarc

[1010RD]

If he’s speaking about the unholy alliance between government and business aka crony capitalism, then more power to him.

[SaraJohnson]

Good to hear because socialism is not charity and should never be confused as such. Obama is putting socialism’s mentality on display right now.

[TArcher]

>>Government stands opposed to God’s purposes.

Ba’al always has.