Vatican City, Jan 14, 2017 / 04:52 am
Pope Francis Saturday warned of growing harmful trends throughout political and financial realms, pinning them on the negative effects of globalization and insisting that authentic compassion is the only thing that can really overcome indifference.
Francis opened his speech with a bang, saying "a world economic system that discards men, women and children because they are no longer considered useful or productive according to criteria drawn from the world of business or other organizations, is unacceptable, because it is inhumane."
This lack of concern for people is a sign of "regression and dehumanization in any political or economic system," he said, explaining that those who either cause or allow others to be discarded – whether they be migrants, exploited children or poor who die on the streets – become like "soulless machines."
"We need to learn 'com-passion' for those suffering from persecution, loneliness, forced displacement or separation from their families," and how to suffer alongside "those who lack access to health care, or who endure hunger, cold or heat," he said.