Read the Pope's book : The name of God is Mercy
A
conversation with Andrea Tornielli….published this year.
What he had to say on corruption is so topical and easy to understand. He has an answer too to the scourge. Loved hat he had to say....so human, so full of goodness and humble, talking like you and me. All of us will benefit by what he has to say on corruption, not only politicians and businessmen. And all of us can play a role in eradicating it. This is what Pope Francis says:
"Corruption is not an act but a condition, a personal and
social state in which we become accustomed to living. The corrupt man is so
closed off and contented in the complacency of his self sufficiency that he does not allow himself to be called into question by anything or anyone.The self
confidence he has built up is based on a fraudulent behavior he spends his life taking opportunistic shortcuts at the cost of his own and others’ dignity. The
corrupt man always has the gall to say: It wasn’t me. My grandmother would have
said that butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth.The corrupt man gets angry because
his wallet is stolen and so he complains about the lack of safety on the
streets, but then he is the one who cheats the state by evading taxes, or else
he fires his employees every three months so he doesn’t have to hire them with a permanent contract or else he has them
work off the books. And then he boasts
to his friends about his cunning ways. He is the one who goes to Mass every
Sunday but has no problem using his powerful position to demand kickbacks.
Corruption leads people to lose the modesty that safeguards truth, goodness and beauty. The corrupt man often
does not realize his own condition, much as
a person with bad breath does not know they have it………………
."Corruption is a
sinful hardening of the heart that replaces God with the illusion that money is
a form of power. It is a work of darkness fed by suspicion and intrigue…….If we
want to drive it out from personal and social life, we need prudence,
vigilance, loyalty, transparency together with the courage to denounce any
wrongdoing.If it is not combated openly, sooner or later everyone will become
an accomplice to it and it will end up destroying our very existence…"
