"Money is not ‘dishonest’ in itself, but more than anything else it can trap man into blind selfishness. Therefore economic assets should be sort of ‘converted’: instead of using them only for one’s own benefit, one should think of the needs of the poor, imitating Christ Himself who, writes Saint Paul, ‘from the rich man that He was, He made himself poor to enrich us through His own poverty’". It was said yesterday morning by Benedict XVI, before he introduced the Angelus prayer from Castel Gandolfo. "It sounds like a paradox added the Pope -: Christ did not enrich us through His wealth but through His poverty, in other words, through His love who drove Him to give Himself all up to us". The Holy Father mentioned that he had visited, also yesterday morning, the diocese of Velletri of which he had been the cardinal titular for several years. "It was like being at home, a meeting that made me relive moments of the past that had been full of spiritual and pastoral experiences", he stated. Quoting a passage from Saint Luke’s Gospel, "about the right use of worldly assets", the Pope commented: "In telling the parable of a dishonest but quite shrewd administrator, Christ teaches to His disciples what is the best way to use money and material wealth, that is to say, sharing them with the poor". (continued)
