Pope: Bishops, clergy in Middle East must not fall into sin of opulence
Although the sin of war committed by nations has caused great suffering to Christians in the Middle East, the Catholic Church must bear in mind its own sins, Pope Francis said.
“There is also our sin in the Middle East: the sin of incoherence between life and faith. There are perhaps – not many – some priest, bishop, religious congregation who professes poverty yet lives like a rich person,” the pope said in off-the-cuff remarks during a meeting with a coalition of funding agencies co-ordinated by the Congregation for Eastern Churches.
“I would like these religious men and women, Christians, some bishop or some religious congregation to strip themselves more (of riches) for their brothers and their sisters,” he said.
The pope spoke on 22nd June during a meeting with members of a Vatican coordinating body, known by its Italian acronym ROACO, which operates under the auspices of the Congregation for Eastern Churches.
The Congregation for Eastern Churches and the coalition of funding agencies are responsible for assisting Eastern-rite churches around the world as well as the Latin-rite church in the Holy Land.
Picture: A displaced Iraqi boy fills a bottle with water in Jada, Iraq on 9th August 2017. (CNS photo/Suhaib Salem, Reuters).
Tags: bishops, Middle East, opulence, Pope, Pope Francis, sin