Pope Francis: "It hurts me when I see a priest or a nun with the latest model car, you can't do this…A car is necessary to do a lot of work, but please, choose a more humble one. If you like the fancy one, just think about how many children are dying of hunger in the world," he tells priests driving fancy cars or using latest smartphones. He uses a compact Ford Focus to run around in Vatican city.
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Joseph Mathew July 12 in Almaya: What would Jesus drive? Pope tells priests to buy "humble" cars Pope Francis speaks as he leads a meeting celebrating the "Year of the faith" in Paul VI's hall at the …
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis said on Saturday it pained him to see priests driving flashy cars, and told them to pick something more "humble". As part of his drive to make the Catholic Church more austere and focus on the poor, Francis told young and trainee priests and nuns from around the world that having the latest smartphone or fashion accessory was not the route to happiness. "It hurts me when I see a priest or a nun with the latest model car, you can't do this," he said. "A car is necessary to do a lot of work, but please, choose a more humble one. If you like the fancy one, just think about how many children are dying of hunger in the world," he said.
Since succeeding Pope Benedict in March, the former cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina has eschewed some of the more ostentatious trappings of his office and has chosen to live in a Vatican guest house rather than the opulent papal apartments.The ANSA news agency said the pope's car of choice for moving around the walled Vatican City was a compact Ford Focus.(Reporting By Catherine Hornby; Editing by Robin Pomeroy. (see also my face book - jk)
What the pope is trying to instill into the heads of the big guns and priests of the church and what some of us are trying to support by our writings is not going to change much. That is my personal experience. Those once used to pompous ways of living, won't be able to take to heart the needs of fellow men. Our neighbors in India who see the needy around them do understand the importance of sharing and avoiding luxuries for that end. But for those who have not seen what need is, the situation is quite another.
ReplyDeleteMost of the first generation Malayalees in America, Canada and Europe have shared the life of the middle or lower classes in our land before they went out in search of jobs. They worked hard and saved from what they earned, both to give their kids a good future and to improve the lot of relatives back in India. Still many of them, as I have seen, forget their past and begin to make a show of their achievements and wealth. Unfortunate, but true, I have seen how some of my own relations in Canada come to belong to this group. They become shopping maniacs. They simply throw away half of the things they buy, be it utility articles or food. Many of the have back home in Kerala siblings or other relations in utterly poor financial conditions. The rich relatives in foreign countries are never bothered about them at all.
The case with the second generation is quite another. Most of them grow up in very much protected and unduly cared for situations that they never even know that there are people around them or in the native lands of their parents, who live in miserable conditions. They are simply spendthrifts who run after pomp and mode, with no thought at all about their own future. This is the case with most children of Malayalee parents. When one sees the things they buy just for fun and don't hesitate to throw away immediately thereafter. They don't even realize that they are wasting precious things nor that they have a responsibility to their likes in poor lands.
The vocation to priesthood doesn't change the situation, once exposed to riches and pomp. A change over is almost impossible. Preaching to them is simply a waste of time.
ഫ്രാന്സിസ് പാപ്പയുടെ വാക്കുകള്ക്കു മറുപടിയായി കൊളുംബിയായിലെ വൈദീകനായ ഹെര്നാണ്ട് ഫയിദ് തന്റെ കാര് വിറ്റു. കാറിന്റെ വില 63,000 ഡോളറായിരുന്നു. ആ ധനം പാവങ്ങള്ക്കുവേണ്ടി ഉപയോഗിക്കുവാനും തുടര്ന്നുള്ള ജീവിതം എളിമയുടെ മാതൃകായിരിക്കുമെന്നും പറഞ്ഞു.
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