Pope warns love of money is root of all evil

(Vatican Radio) The love of money is the root of all evil: that stark warning contained in St Paul’s first letter to Timothy was at the heart of Pope Francis’ homily at his morning Mass in Santa Marta on Friday. 

Reflecting on the way in which greed can corrupt our hearts and weaken our faith, the Pope stressed we can never serve God and money at the same time. Money, the Pope went on, sickens our minds, poisons our thoughts, even poisons our faith, leading us down the path of jealousy, quarrels, suspicion and conflict. While money begins by offering a sense of wellbeing, if we are not careful wealth can quickly lead to vanity, self-importance and the sin of pride. 

Pope Francis noted many people may object that the Ten Commandments say nothing about the evils of money. Yet when we worship money, he said, we are sinning against the first Commandment and making money our idol in place of God. The early Fathers of the Church, he said, put it in a very blunt way, calling money the dung of the devil which corrupts and leads us away from our faith.

Instead of focusing on money, the Pope said, we should strive for justice, piety, faith and charity, as well as the gifts of patience and meekness which are the ways of the Lord. Pope Francis concluded with the wish that God will help each one of us to avoid falling into the trap of making money our idol. 

Pope Francis gives personal interview to Jesuit magazines

(Vatican Radio) In a lengthy personal interview, published in Jesuit magazines around the world on Thursday, Pope Francis talks frankly about himself, his Jesuit background and his vision for a more open, inclusive and welcoming Church.
The publication is the result of three private meetings that the Pope held with the head of the Italian Jesuit magazine La Civiltà Cattolica, Fr Antonio Spadaro, in August at the Santa Martha guesthouse in the Vatican. 

In the first part of the interview, the Pope shares personal insights and difficult moments from his past, including a fear of being seen as ‘ultraconservative’ on account of his ‘authoritarian way’ of making quick decisions. Recalling problems he encountered as a Church leader in Argentina, the Pope speaks of lessons learnt, especially the importance of consultation and a more effective form of Synodal governance. This, he says, will also bring a breath of fresh air to the ecumenical movement.
Pope Francis also discusses the importance of his Jesuit training for the challenges he faces today, especially the process of discernment and the belief that grand principles must always be ‘incarnated’ in specific times, places and people.
Speaking of his favorite image of the Church, the Pope chooses the expression found in the Vatican II document Lumen Gentium, ‘Sentire cum Ecclesia’ or ‘feeling with the Church’ – not just the hierarchy, he stresses, but the whole people of God.
Asked what the Church needs most at the moment, Pope Francis focuses on the importance of healing wounds, warming hearts and sharing the dark nights of pain that people suffer. The first reform we need, he says, is that of attitudes, to learn how to become ministers of mercy.
Even regarding the complex moral questions of homosexuality and remarriage for divorcees, the Pope says it’s vital to find a new balance between pastoral attention to the individual and the transmission of the moral teachings of the Church.
Finally the Pope returns to one of his favorite ideas – that of a constant journey towards a God of surprises. Rather than closing ourselves in to a paralyzing past, we must walk with trust, confidence and courage to find new spaces of encounter with God.


The full text of the interview with Pope Francis can be found in the U.S. publication American Magazine (www.americamagazine.org) and in the UK based online journal Thnking Faith (www.thinkingfaith.org)