Addressing a conference on Catholic social doctrine in Verona, Pope Francis said: “Those who work in economics and finance are certainly attracted by profit and, if they are not careful, they risk placing themselves in the service of profit itself, thus becoming slaves to money.
“The social Magisterium is a great reference point which forms a guideline, the result of reflection and virtuous practice. It is very useful to avoid disorientation. It takes courage, thought and the strength of faith to stay within the market while guided by a conscience that places at the centre the dignity of the person, not the idol of money.
“Nowadays, the young and the elderly are considered dispensable as they do not correspond to the productive logic of a functionalist vision of society, they do not respond to any useful criterion of investment.”
‘Marriage redefinition is a serious injustice’
“Marriage redefinition is a serious injustice,” said Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone of San Francisco speaking as chairman of the US bishops’ Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defence of Marriage. He was criticising the legalisation of same-sex marriage by the Illinois Legislature, and Governor Pat Quinn.
Mgr Cordileone said the enactment of this law “does not alter the natural reality that marriage is and can only be the union of one man and one woman. The law exists to safeguard the common good and protect authentic rights, especially the right of children to have a married mother and father.”
He also criticised those legislators who were ‘manipulating’ the words of Pope Francis to justify their action. Mgr Cordileone pointed out that in his first encyclical letter Lumen Fidei (The Light of Faith), Pope Francis had said family life is best supported by the “the stable union of man and woman in marriage”.
No ‘Pope Francis effect’ found by US study
A Pew Forum study conducted from March to October found that the number of Americans identifying themselves as Catholics remained stable at last year’s figure of 22 per cent. This figure has remained constant since 2007.
Even the number of people who said they attended Mass at least weekly remained practically the same as last year. The figure stands at 39 per cent.
This shows there is no statistical evidence of a ‘Pope Francis effect’ as has been recorded in some European countries, such as Italy and England.
Coptic Christians urged to stay in Egypt
Fr Rafic Greiche, head of the Catholic Church press office in Egypt, told Catholic News Service (CNS) that Egypt’s Christians should stay in their country and help it progress instead of taking “the easy way” of emigrating abroad.
Fr Greiche’s concerns are shared with many Catholic leaders in the Middle East. Many Christians are leaving these lands because of wars, strife and persecution.
A common phenomenon is that those leaving are the most educated. Fr Greiche told CNS that “We need them to invest, not only their money but also their energy, and as Christians they have the duty to be missionaries in their own country”.
He said foreign embassies in Egypt had reported that as many as 300,000 Christians had left the country so far, but that the exact number was hard to confirm because many of those leaving had second passports and did not inform the Church that they were emigrating.
(Compiled by Fr Joe Borg)