{{Pope Francis lamented that investment losses by banks trigger more alarm in the economic crisis than the struggle of people to feed their families, as he led a huge rally Saturday to invigorate the church’s moral conscience, hours after he held talks at the Vatican about the economic crisis with Germany’s leader.}}
Some 200,000 people, from Europe, Asia and the pope’s native South America, filled St. Peter’s Square and nearby streets to join Francis in hours of prayer, music and speeches aimed at encouraging Catholics to strengthen their faith and making morality play a greater role in everyday life.
“If investments, the banks plunge, this is a tragedy, if families are hurting, if they have nothing to eat, well, this is nothing, this is our crisis today,” Francis told the crowd, insisting that the true crisis is one of morale values.
Francis said his church “opposes this mentality” and pledged that it will be dedicated to “the poor people.”
Earlier in the day, the pope met privately with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who made a brief visit to Rome, mindful of the importance of Christian voters back home ahead of an election she faces in September. She joined the pope in expressing concern about the many victims of Europe’s economic crisis.
Francis, who is Argentine, has picked up on campaigns by the two previous popes, the Polish John Paul II and German Benedict XVI, to reinvigorate what the Catholic church sees as flagging religious enthusiasm on a continent with Christian roots, including dwindling number of churchgoers in much of Western Europe, and a decline in morality.
“I see continuity in the missionary aspect, in becoming aware of the importance of Christianity for our Christian roots,” said Merkel, adding that the “simple and touching words” of Francis, who was elected pontiff two months ago, are already reaching people.
The vast cobblestone square outside St. Peter’s Basilica is traditionally the boundary for pontiffs greeting the faithful at outdoor Vatican gatherings. But Francis kept going in his pope-mobile past the edge of the square as he waved cheerfully and sometimes blew kisses to the enthusiastic crowd, which the Vatican said numbered some 200,000.
He was driven halfway down the Rome boulevard that leads from the square to the Tiber River before turning back.
Merkel’s Christian Democrat party depends heavily on support from Protestant and Catholic voters in Germany, and the 45-minute chat and photo opportunity in the Apostolic Palace could be a welcome campaign boost for a leader largely identified by Europe’s economically suffering citizens as a champion of debt reduction, including painful austerity across much of the continent.
{wirestory}
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