Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com).
Voice of America is funded by the US Federal Government and content it
exclusively produces is in the public domain.
September 13, 2008

Pope Condemns Love of Money, Power in Paris Mass
------------------------------------------------

http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=1E2CA9A:A6F02AD83191E1609DDBAB04A1B2111830EB2FA2E66CBB22&
 
Benedict XVI also speaks about importance of attending mass and need for
priestly vocations 
Pope Benedict led more than 250,000 followers in an open-air mass in
Paris Saturday to celebrate his first visit to France. In his message to
the faithful, the pope condemned the world's love of money and power,
comparing it to worshipping false idols. Sabina Castelfranco has this
VOA report from Paris. Pope Benedict XVI celebrates an outdoors mass on
the Esplanade des Invalides in Paris, 13 Sep 2008 Under a bright sun and
clear blue skies, tens of thousands of young and old followers waved
yellow and white flags and welcomed the pope on the Esplanade des
Invalides. The pope made his way through the crowd in his bulletproof
pope-mobile and then celebrated a large open-air mass. The turnout was
larger than expected for a country that has seen a steep decline in the
number of churchgoers. In his homily, the pope urged the faithful to
shun the false idols of power and money."An idol is a delusion, because
it turns its worshipper away from reality and places him in the kingdom!
  of mere appearances," he said. Pope Benedict also spoke to the
faithful about the importance of attending mass and the need for
priestly vocations. The pope urged the crowd not to be afraid to give
their lives to Jesus Christ. He said nothing will ever replace the
ministry of priests at the heart of the church. Like other secular
European nations, France has been suffering from a steady decline in the
number of churchgoers and priests. Recent polls indicate that while the
majority of French are born into Roman Catholic families, only about 50
percent of French consider themselves Catholic - and only about a
quarter of them are observant. The pope is on a four-day visit to Paris.
He was to travel on to the Catholic shrine of Lourdes in the south of
the France, which this year is marking the 150th anniversary of the
apparitions of the Virgin Mary.


.