By
Heather Saul
 |
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Pope
Francis
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Pope
Francis delivered an impassioned sermon yesterday, during which he quoted a
passage from the bible that said some sinners deserve to be tied to a rock and
cast into the sea.
The
Argentinian religious leader said Christians who donated money to the church
but stole from the state were leading a "double life" and were
sinners who should be punished.
Quoting
from the Gospel of St Luke in the New Testament, he said: “Jesus says 'It would
be better for him if a millstone were put around his neck and he be thrown into
the sea',” because "where there is deceit, the Spirit of God cannot
be".
Without
directly mentioning corruption within the Catholic Church, in his sermon he
described those involved in corrupt practices as “whitewashed tombs”,
explaining that “they appear beautiful from the outside, but inside they are
full of dead bones and putrefaction.” He said: "A life based on corruption
is varnished putrefaction.”
His
sermon came during his daily morning Mass inside Casa Santa Marta, the guest
house he has lived in since being elected pontiff in March.
On
Friday, he also condemned corruption, asserting parents who earned through
bribes or corrupt practices had "lost their dignity", and fed their
children "unclean bread".
He
said: "Some of you might say: 'But this man only did what everyone does!'.
But no, not everyone! Some company administrators, some public administrators,
some government administrators… perhaps there are not even very many. But it’s
that attitude of the shortcut, of the most comfortable way to earn a living.
"These
poor people who have lost their dignity in the habit of bribes take with them
not the money they have earned, but only their lack of dignity!"
He
compared receiving bribes as "like a drug" as people become
"dependent" on the habit of bribes.
The
Pope has made clear his intentions to tackle corruption within the Vatican and
held a meeting with the Church's highest ranking whistleblower
in October, after telling the Church in May that it “must go forward... with a
heart of poverty, not a heart of investment or of a businessman” reminding it
that "St Peter did not have a bank account”.
Source: http://www.independent.co.uk
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