Francis
has been waging a campaign to root out corruption and power plays in the
Vatican's bureaucracy and to keep sight of what is essential in the church he
was elected in March to lead. His remarks in two appearances Saturday drew on
his determination to forge what he likes to call a "poor church."
Later,
he gave an off-the-cuff lecture to a Vatican auditorium full of seminarians and
novices, and to thunderous applause, told the future priests and nuns to keep
"freshness" and "joy" in their lives. He took to task
seminarians and novices who "are too serious, too sad." "Something's
not right here," Francis told his rapt audience. "There is no sadness in holiness,"
he added, saying that such clergy lack "the joy of the Lord."
He
warned against seeking "the joy of the world, the latest smartphone, the
fastest car." "It hurts my
heart when I see a priest or a nun with the latest model of car," Francis
said, then quickly joking that his audience will think "now, we'll have to
go around on bicycle." "Cars
are necessary. But take a more humble one," said Francis, who from the day
he took office declined to move out of the hotel during the conclave of
cardinals and into the ornate Apostolic Palace that is the traditional home to
pontiffs. "Think of how many children die of hunger" and dedicate the
savings to them, Francis said.
During
his remarks, Francis praised the late Mother Teresa, who cared for the most
impoverished sick of Calcutta, India, and held her up as a courageous example.
"I would like a more missionary church," the pope then told the young
people, who seemed to hang on his every word. "Not so much a tranquil
church, but a beautiful church that goes forward."
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