Pope Francis: Exploitation of migrants for profit 'makes one cry'
The mistreatment of refugee seekers who are escaping the atrocities of their home countries, ”makes one cry” as they are merely the “victims of injustice, of this throw-away economy” and war, Pope Francis said.
"Immigration increases competition [for jobs] but migrants should not be blamed because they are the victims of injustice, of this throw-away economy, of wars," the pontiff said at a mass in Italian city of Turin in front of 60,000 people.
"It makes one cry to see the spectacle of these days in which human beings have been treated like merchandise."
He called people to think of their own poor, elderly people and jobless and not to turn backs on them.
"We are called to say 'no' to the idolatry of money," which makes people greedy for riches, "without caring for the many getting poorer, sometimes to the point of hunger.”
Apart from “idolatry of money”, the pontiff urged people to say no to the "throwaway" economy, corruption, and "inequity that causes violence."
Francis at the #Angelus: “The #Shroud is an icon of love” #PapaTOhttp://t.co/ZH1UtrFhpLpic.twitter.com/eEwneAxzLA
— VaticanInsider (@VaticanInsider) June 21, 2015
"Work is fundamental … and it is necessary that the whole society, all its components, collaborate so that there may be work worthy of men and women for all…This requires an economic model that is not organized for the purpose of capital and of production but rather for the common good.”
READ MORE: ‘Third World War being fought piecemeal’: Pope Francis slams global ‘atmosphere of war’
Pope Francis stopped near the Shroud of Turin; an icon some believe is a burial cloth of Jesus Christ which covered his body after crucifixion. The position of the Catholic Church towards the 4.3-meter cloth is yet not clear.
#papafrancesco#benvenuTOfrancesco#papaTO#pontifexTorino#francesco#papa#torino#movida#turinforyoung2015pic.twitter.com/5BDQcON9TU
— FedericaScanderebech (@FScanderebech) June 21, 2015
"The icon of this love is the Shroud, that, even this time, has attracted so many people here to Turin,” the Pope said. “The Shroud draws [people] to the tormented face and body of Jesus and, at the same time, directs [people] toward the face of every suffering and unjustly persecuted person.”
The 78-year-old Catholic leader then said that the icon should encourage the believers to reflect not only on Jesus but also on "the face of every suffering and unjustly persecuted person."
#torino oggi con Papa Francesco @CRUDODICUNEODOP@lucianatombolin@NicoleCavazzuti@turinepipic.twitter.com/z3VDuUeHP8
— Nicole Cappa (@NicoleCappa) June 21, 2015
Pope Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Argentina, to a family of immigrants, called himself "a grandson of this land [Turin]". Pope’s grandparents Giovanni Bergoglio and Rosa Margherita Vasallo lived in Turin before moving to Buenos Aires in 1929 with their son, the Pope’s father.
READ MORE: Leaving migrants to die at sea is comparable to abortion – Pope Francis
Pope has repeatedly called upon the international community to pay more attention to migrant crisis. Earlier in June he described leaving migrants to die in the Mediterranean as an “attack against life” similar to abortion or euthanasia.
A #Torino Piazza Vittorio il piemontese #Papa#Francesco@Pontifex_it celebra la #Messa#benvenuTOfrancescopic.twitter.com/juHhGDLBj4
— Josto Maffeo (@JostoMaffeo) June 21, 2015
Pope Francis has become extremely popular for his open-minded speeches, as well as for his concern for the poor. In addition to speaking on an end to violence in the Middle East and eastern Ukraine, the Pope publicly apologized for the sexual abuse of children by Catholic clerics.
On several occasions, Pope Francis has criticized capitalism and its destructive influence of humanity. He also said he is considering embracing homosexual believers, as well as partially accepting same-sex and other religiously unsanctioned partnerships.
