KingsOfKings
🌫️ 𝖇𝖊𝖑𝖔𝖜 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖍𝖊𝖆𝖛𝖊𝖓𝖘 🌫️
ASUNCIóN, Paraguay, July 12 (UPI) -- Pope Francis continued to speak against poverty and "idolatrous" capitalist economic models that "sacrifice human lives on the altar of money" during his South American visit.
"Certainly every culture needs economic growth and the creation of wealth," Francis told civic leaders on Saturday during his visit to Paraguay, but adding that "I ask [political and business leaders] not to yield to an economic model which is idolatrous, which needs to sacrifice human lives on the altar of money and profit."
The pontiff visited Paraguay after stopping by Ecuador and then Bolivia as part of his eight day, three-nation South American tour.
"As Christians, we have an additional reason to love and serve the poor; for in them we see the face and the flesh of Christ, who made himself poor so to enrich us with his poverty," the Pope said, citing the Apostle Paul.
On Friday, Francis visited the Palmasola Rehabilitation Center, Bolivia's most violent prison, where guards only secure the outside perimeter. He also spoke against "new colonialism" austerity programs that can harm the poor while in Bolivia.
"Putting bread on the table, putting a roof over the heads of one's children, giving them health and an education, these are essential for human dignity," he said.
The pope also strongly criticized corrupt governments that persecute political opponents by comparing them to Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin.
Francis' South American tour is the first time the Argentine-born pope visited three nations in a single trip.
In September, Francis will visit Cuba and then the United States for nearly a week. He will tour and give speeches at stops in Washington, D.C., New York City and Philadelphia.
