ghanaweb.com
Priests and nuns should try to live modestly,
and the Catholic Church should not be "afraid" of renewing itself, Pope
Francis said on Saturday.
His remarks came a week after the arrest of Monsignor Nunzio Scarano, a
high-ranking prelate accused of trying to smuggle millions of euros
into Italy and money laundering. He was known as "Monsignor 500" after
his habit of flashing 500-euro (640-dollar) banknotes.
"It hurts my heart when I see a priest or a nun with the latest model
of car," Francis said in off-the-cuff remarks during a lecture to
seminarians and novices, people training to become priests and nuns.
He condemned the "search for the latest model of smartphones, the
fastest scooter, the car that gets noticed" and then joked with his
audience: "Now you will be thinking 'Father, must we now ride on a
bicycle?"
Since the beginning of his papacy, Francis has made a point of shunning
pomp and protocol, choosing to stay in the Vatican's guesthouse rather
than moving into grand papal apartments, and stating that he wanted "a
poor church, for the poor."
He said cars were "necessary" forms of transport but should be humble.
"If you take a nice one, think about how many children die of hunger.
Just that. Joy does not come from material possessions," he preached.
The pontiff earlier gave another indication of his intention to push through reforms.
"In Christian life, even in the life of the Church, there are ancient
and outdated structures; we need to renew them," Francis said while
celebrating Mass in the Vatican's Santa Marta guesthouse.
Scarano's arrest has embarrassed the Institute of Religious Works, the
secretive Vatican bank where the prelate held accounts. The institute's
managers resigned Monday, and according to Italian media reports, they
would soon face trial for money laundering.
Francis was elected in March at a time of crisis after the resignation
of his predecessor Benedict XVI the first such act in 600 years and in
the wake of the VatiLeaks scandal exposing alleged cronyism and
corruption. Over the coming months, he was expected to promote a radical
shake-up of Vatican institutions, starting with the bank.
by vincent tetteh vensare
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