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Pope Francis called for a global economic system that puts people and not “an idol called money” at its heart during a speech on Sunday in the Sardinian capital of Cagliari.
Addressing about 20,000 people, the pontiff said that his parents had “lost everything” after they emigrated from Italy and that he understood the suffering that came from joblessness.
“Where there is no work, there is no dignity,” he said, in ad-libbed remarks after listening to three locals, including an unemployed worker who spoke of how joblessness “weakens the spirit.”
But the problem went far beyond the Italian island, said the pope, who has called for wholesale reform of the financial system.
Pope Francis put aside his prepared text and improvised for nearly 20 minutes.
“I find suffering here … It weakens you and robs you of hope,” he said, “Excuse me if I use strong words, but where there is no work there is no dignity.”
The crowd of tens of thousands of people, in a square near the city port, chanted “work, work, work” at the gathering.
“This is not just a problem of Sardinia; it is not just a problem of Italy or of some countries in Europe,” he said. “It is the consequence of a global choice, an economic system which leads to this tragedy; an economic system which has at its centre an idol called money.”
Urging people not to give up hope even in the harsh economic climate, the pontiff also called on the people to fight back against the “throwaway culture” he said was a by-product of a global economic system that cared only about profit. It was, he said, a culture that saw the most vulnerable society become marginalised.
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Image: EPA/The Guardian
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