VATICAN CITY (CNS) – People who act shocked that a priest would bless a gay couple but have no problem with him blessing a crooked businessman are hypocrites, Pope Francis said.
“The most serious sins are those that are disguised with a more ‘angelic’ appearance. No one is scandalized if I give a blessing to an entrepreneur who perhaps exploits people, which is a very serious sin. Whereas they are scandalized if I give it to a homosexual – this is hypocrisy,” he told the Italian magazine Credere.
The interview was scheduled for publication Feb. 8, but Vatican News reported on some of its content the day before when the magazine issued a press release about the interview.
Did something come up about priests blessing crooked businessmen, or is he just speaking in general terms?
Well, in the Bible, I know there were at least a few stories where Jesus didn’t take too kindly to what would be a modern day businessman.
The one where Jesus goes into a rage because a bunch of merchants set up shop in the courtyard(? Or maybe they took over the whole temple? Idk it’s been awhile) of a temple comes to mind
They aren’t merchants they’re moneychangers, ie loan sharks
Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
James 5:1-6 has a lot to say of the rich, too.
This is a warning not a condemnation. As Jesus also says “It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven”.
Basically it means when you’re wealthy, it’s very hard to find a good reason to expand beyond suffering. You can just another line of coke or throw another party or go on another vacation and so you’re never forced to find the real solution to suffering.
Basically infinite medicine for the symptoms prevents the process of digging deeper to find a cure. And the digging deeper is quite painful, so it’s not the kind of thing someone does unless they’re desperate.