Pope Francis said in a homily delivered at his Vatican home that the Catholic Church shouldn’t go after wealth but rather pursue a “heart of poverty.”
A wealthy church is a dead church, he said.
“If you want to have a rich Church, then the Church ages, it has no life,” he said, as United Press International reported.
The pope has been focusing on the poor since his March selection.
“The works of the church must go forward and some are complex, but with a heart of poverty, not a heart of investment or of a businessman,” he said, adding that the Bible did not detail any bank account for St. Peter, UPI reported. “When he had to pay taxes, the Lord sent him to sea to fish a fish with a coin inside in order to pay.”
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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