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| Pope Francis warns of poverty hypocrisy in Catholic church | Pope Francis warns of poverty hypocrisy in Catholic church |
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| Pope Francis warned the Roman Catholic church against hypocrisy on the issue of poverty, saying it was impossible to speak about the poor and the homeless and yet lead the “life of a pharaoh”. | Pope Francis warned the Roman Catholic church against hypocrisy on the issue of poverty, saying it was impossible to speak about the poor and the homeless and yet lead the “life of a pharaoh”. |
| The comments were made in an interview with Straatnieuws, a Dutch newspaper published by homeless people, and came as the Vatican has been forced on the defensive after the publication of two books exposing greed and financial management at the heart of the church. The remarks appear to be a not-so-subtle jibe by Francis directed at his cardinals. | |
| “The church must speak with the truth and also with testimony: the testimony of the poor. If a believer speaks about poverty or about the homeless, and leads the life of a pharaoh: this can’t be done,” he told the newspaper. | “The church must speak with the truth and also with testimony: the testimony of the poor. If a believer speaks about poverty or about the homeless, and leads the life of a pharaoh: this can’t be done,” he told the newspaper. |
| Related: 'Vatileaks' scandal a 'battle between good and evil' in the Catholic church | Related: 'Vatileaks' scandal a 'battle between good and evil' in the Catholic church |
| A separate report by Andrea Tornielli, a veteran Vatican reporter at the Italian newspaper La Stampa, who is working on a book with the pope to be released next year, said Francis was ready to take on the management of Vatican real estate, including apartments that have allegedly been undervalued by the agency that manages the properties. | A separate report by Andrea Tornielli, a veteran Vatican reporter at the Italian newspaper La Stampa, who is working on a book with the pope to be released next year, said Francis was ready to take on the management of Vatican real estate, including apartments that have allegedly been undervalued by the agency that manages the properties. |
| “It will change,” an unnamed source told Tornielli, in what could prove to be a messy new fight within the Vatican. | “It will change,” an unnamed source told Tornielli, in what could prove to be a messy new fight within the Vatican. |
| In his interview with the Dutch newspaper, Francis said in response to a question about the church’s approach to poverty that Jesus had come into the world “homeless and poor”, and that the church believed every person had the right to three things: work, a home, and land. | In his interview with the Dutch newspaper, Francis said in response to a question about the church’s approach to poverty that Jesus had come into the world “homeless and poor”, and that the church believed every person had the right to three things: work, a home, and land. |
| But just how much land, and what kind of house, seems to be up for interpretation within the church. While Francis has famously eschewed some of the perks offered to the spiritual leader of the Catholic church – he lives in a modest apartment in the Vatican residence – many of his cardinals have opted for lavish homes in the heart of Vatican City. | But just how much land, and what kind of house, seems to be up for interpretation within the church. While Francis has famously eschewed some of the perks offered to the spiritual leader of the Catholic church – he lives in a modest apartment in the Vatican residence – many of his cardinals have opted for lavish homes in the heart of Vatican City. |
| According to two books examining cardinals’ lifestyles that were published this week – by Emiliano Fittipaldi and Gianluigi Nuzzi - many live in apartments that are much larger than Francis’s 50 sq metre home. Those enjoying the largest abodes – paid for by the Vatican – include the American cardinals Raymond Burke (417 sq metres) and William Joseph Levada (524 sq metres). | |
| “I am a believer and I know that sin is always within us. And there is always human greed, the lack of solidarity, selfishness, which create poverty. For this reason, it seems to me a little difficult to imagine a world without poverty ... But we must always struggle, always, always,” Francis told Straatnieuws. | “I am a believer and I know that sin is always within us. And there is always human greed, the lack of solidarity, selfishness, which create poverty. For this reason, it seems to me a little difficult to imagine a world without poverty ... But we must always struggle, always, always,” Francis told Straatnieuws. |