Thursday, February 16, 2012
POPE WARNS AGAINST THE POWER OF FINANCE AND OF THE MEDIA
Vatican City, 16 February 2012 (VIS) - Yesterday afternoon the Holy Father visited the Major Seminary of Rome for the occasion of the feast of its patroness, Our Lady of Trust, which falls on Saturday. The Holy Father visited the chapel before going on to meet with auxiliary bishops of Rome, superiors of diocesan seminaries and 190 seminarians.
Following the reading of the Gospel, Benedict XVI pronounced a "lectio divina" on the passage from the Letter of St. Paul to the Romans in which the Apostle invites the faithful not to conform to this world but to transform themselves and renew their minds in order to discern the will of God, "the good and acceptable and perfect".
"We can reflect upon the Church today", he said in his off-the-cuff remarks. "There is much talk about the Church of Rome, many things are said. Let us hope that people also talk about our faith. Let us pray to God that it may be so".
The Pope then went on to refer to the force of evil which, in today's world, also emerges "in two great powers which are good and useful in themselves but easily open to abuse: the power of finance and the power of the media. Both are necessary, both are useful, but so subject to misuse that they often go against their true goals".
Today "we see how the world of finance can dominate mankind. Possession and appearance dominate and enslave the world. ... Finance is no longer a tool to promote well being and to support the life of man, but a force that oppresses him, one which almost has to be worshipped". The Pontiff called on his audience not to conform to this power. "Be non conformists. What counts is not possession but existence", he said. Christians must not bow to this power, but use it as "as a means, with the freedom of the children of God".
Turning then to consider the question of public opinion, Benedict XVI highlighted how "we have a great need of information, knowledge about the truth of the world; but there is a power of appearance which in the end counts even more than reality itself". Appearance "overlies the truth and becomes more important. Man no longer pursues the truth but wants above all to appear". Here too "there is a Christian non conformism. ... We want not appearance but truth, and this will give us true freedom".
"Christian non conformism redeems us and restores us to truth. Let us pray to the Lord that He may help us to be free in this non conformism, which is not against the world but is authentic love for the world".
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"Be non conformists...with the freedom of the children of God""! Brilliant - Family and Media Association
ReplyDeleteSo VERY true.......
ReplyDeleteYes as our Pope says "What counts is not possession but existence". The power of finance very easily dominates human being since it give comfortable, undisturbed and luxurious appearance. Day to day invention and up gradation in communication medium lays road to both construction and destruction. The sender of message who uses media selects according to his thought of power of finance and the receiver of the message interpret it according to their surrounding opportunity and exposure. Media has interlinked with the human life more complicated than the neural system. There is a need for church to educate the people with the knowledge of media interpretation and usage.
ReplyDeleteThe basic concepts of our Lord teaching love and sharing breaks the power of finance. More and more participation of Catholics in media should emerge in mere future to convey the word of God in the way people understand about the Christ and His teachings. Before He comes again to the earth it is our responsibility to make the people KNOW about Him and prepare them for His second arrival.