MATERIAL WEALTH MUST BE USED FOR THE COMMON GOOD

Vatican City, 30 September 2012 (VIS) - At midday today the Holy Father appeared at the balcony overlooking the inner courtyard of the Apostolic Palace at Castelgandolfo to pray the Angelus with faithful gathered there.

The Pope focused his comments on today’s reading from the Gospel of St. Mark which narrates how a man who was not one of Jesus' disciples expelled demons in His name, The Apostle John wanted to stop him but Christ would not allow it, taking "the opportunity to teach His disciples that God can bring about good and even miraculous things, even outside of their circle, and that one can cooperate with the Kingdom of God in various ways".

"Therefore, members of the Church must not feel jealous, but rejoice if someone from outside the community does good in the name of Christ, provided it is done with right intention and with respect. Even within the Church, it can sometimes happen that people find it difficult to appreciate and recognise, in a spirit of profound communion, the good done by different ecclesial elements. And yet, all of us should always be able to appreciate and respect one another, praising the Lord for the infinite 'imagination' with which He acts in the Church and the world".

Benedict XVI then turned his attention to the Letter of St. James, which inveighs "against the dishonest rich, who put their trust in riches accumulated by deceit. ... The words of the Apostle James, while they warn against the vain desire for material wealth, are also a powerful call to use it in the perspective of solidarity and the common good, always acting with fairness and morality, at all levels".