Pope Francis: Call for solidarity and the renewal of the hearts

Pope Francis: Call for solidarity and the renewal of the hearts

Petersdom, Vatikanstadt - Vatican city, 08.12.2024 - Pope Francis urgently warned of consumer thinking and the selfish lifestyle of many wealthy countries in a moving sermon in St. Peter's Basilica. "What use is the strong financial growth of the wealthy countries when half the world dies of hunger and wars and the others indifferent?" He asked around 5,500 believers. At this trade fair, the Pope also celebrated the appointment of 21 new cardinals, which had come from different parts of the world to hear his message and support him in his pastoral service, as A call to solidarity

Francis emphasized that many people in today's world cultivate fleeting relationships and lose themselves in “self -sufficiency” that leads to an inner emptiness. This annoyance towards the real values ​​of life, according to the Pope, hinders the ability to empathize and prevented people from building up real connections to others. "What is it useful to travel to the world when every encounter is reduced to the emotion of a moment?" He stated. He also emphasized Maria as a model for selfless love and asked the believers to adopt their virtues their own and actively participate in the improvement of the world. "We no longer need possession, but open hearts and hands that are ready to give," he warned, while he assigned the new cardinals a central role in the global church mandate, such as Vatican News reported .

The 87-year-old Pope looked visibly exhausted and suffering during the fair after he injured himself in the fall of the chin. He turns 88 in ten days and is already planning his traditional visit to the Maria in Rome. Despite his physical challenges, Francis remained and in his moving speech, called on to see the holidays not only as a special occasion, but as a request for social responsibility.