Vatican City, Sep 26, 2004 / 22:00 pm
During yesterday’s Angelus, Pope John Paul II spoke of the application of charity in regard to the relationship between rich countries and poor ones as he pointed to Sunday’s Gospel parable of "the rich man who lived in opulence and did not care for the beggar lying outside his door and starving.”
“But after death, the situation was reversed,” said the Pope to the faithful gathered in the courtyard of Castelgandolfo, “Lazarus was welcomed into paradise whereas the rich men lived in torment."
The Pope decried the imbalance between the rich and poor of the world and said that "the lesson learned from this parable is clear: every person must make use of their own goods in an unselfish way, showing solidarity."
The Holy Father said that the Gospel was timely since "in recent days there was an important meeting in New York of heads of State and government for a more efficacious and united action against hunger and poverty. Cardinal Angelo Sodano, secretary of State, spoke at the meeting, expressing the Holy See's adherence to this initiative."