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Credit: Reuters/Max Rossi
VATICAN CITY | Sat Mar 16, 2013 6:49am EDT
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis, giving his clearest indication yet that he wants a more austere Catholic Church, said on Saturday that it should be poor and remember that its mission is to serve the poor.
The pope made his comments in an audience with journalists, explaining why he chose to take the name Francis, after St. Francis of Assisi, a symbol of peace, austerity and poverty.
He called Francis "The man who gives us this spirit of peace, the poor man," and added "How I would like a poor Church, and for the poor".
Since his shock election on Wednesday, the pope has made clear that he would be introducing a different style to the papacy following the resignation of Pope Benedict last month.
On the night he was elected he shunned the papal limousine and traveled on a bus with other cardinals who had elected him.
The next day he returned to the Church-run hotel where he had been staying before the conclave and insisted on paying the bill.
In other parts of his Italian address, much of it unscripted, he said that Catholics should remember that Jesus is the center of the Church and not the pope.
Francis is taking the helm of the 1.2 billion-member Church at a time of crisis over the worldwide sexual abuse scandal as well as scandals involving intrigue and alleged corruption in the Vatican bureaucracy.
He said the Church, like any institution, had "virtues and sins" and urged journalists to focus on "truth, goodness and beauty" in the course of their work.
(Reporting By Philip Pullella and Catherine Hornby)
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Comments (1)
He said the Church, like any institution, had “virtues and sins” and urged journalists to focus on “truth, goodness and beauty” in the course of their work.
What? The truth, goodness & beauty of choir boys being molested, massive cover ups, at best turning a blind eye to the Nazis, condemning millions to live in poverty, incarcerating young women in virtual prisons for getting pregnant when unmarried, burning people at the stake for not believing RC doctrine????…..hmmm that is a really beautiful image.
If popey is so in favour of a poor church, then maybe flog off the “bling” and put the proceeds to use…oh, that wasn’t what he meant eh?
Mar 16, 2013 7:03am EDT -- Report as abuse
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