EVANGELII GAUDIUM - page 49

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balance and a more humane social order. With
this in mind, I encourage financial experts and
political leaders to ponder the words of one of
the sages of antiquity: “Not to share one’s wealth
with the poor is to steal from them and to take
away their livelihood. It is not our own goods
which we hold, but theirs”.
55
58. A financial reform open to such ethical
considerations would require a vigorous change
of approach on the part of political leaders. I
urge them to face this challenge with determi-
nation and an eye to the future, while not ignor-
ing, of course, the specifics of each case. Money
must serve, not rule! The Pope loves everyone,
rich and poor alike, but he is obliged in the name
of Christ to remind all that the rich must help,
respect and promote the poor. I exhort you to
generous solidarity and to the return of econom-
ics and finance to an ethical approach which fa-
vours human beings.
No to the inequality which spawns violence
59. Today in many places we hear a call for
greater security. But until exclusion and inequal-
ity in society and between peoples are reversed,
it will be impossible to eliminate violence. The
poor and the poorer peoples are accused of vio-
lence, yet without equal opportunities the differ-
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 S
aint
J
ohn
C
hrysostom
,
De Lazaro Concio
, II, 6: PG
48, 992D.
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