(ANSA) - ROME, NOV 17 - Pope Francis marked the World Day of
the Poor Sunday by urging world governments not to forget the
poor.
"I say it to the Church, I say it to the governments of the
States and to the international organizations, I say it to each
and everyone: please, let's not forget the poor", Francis
concluded his homily in a mass in St. Peter's for the World Day
of the Poor.
The 87-year-old Argentine pontiff went on to quote late Milan
Cardinal and theologian Carlo Maria Martini.
"Dear friends, on this World Day of the Poor I like to recall a
warning from Cardinal Martini.
"He said that we must be careful to think that first comes the
Church, already solid in itself, and then the poor we choose to
care for".
In reality, "we become the Church of Jesus to the extent that we
serve the poor, because only in this way does the Church
'become' itself, that is, a house open to all, a place of God's
compassion for the life of every man." (ANSA).
Let's not forget the poor, pope tells govts (3)
Cites Martini saying we are a Church in how we serve the poor
