Quotes & Sayings About Poverty Pope Francis

Let us contemplate the humility of the Son of God born into poverty. Let us imitate him by sharing with those who are weak. — Pope Francis

Poverty that is learned with the humble, the poor, the sick and all those who are on the existential peripheries of life. Theoretical poverty is of no use to us. Poverty is learned by touching the flesh of the poor Christ, in the humble, the poor, the sick, in children. — Pope Francis

The fight against poverty and hunger must be fought constantly and on many fronts, especially in its causes. — Pope Francis

There is another important point: encountering the poor. If we step outside ourselves we find poverty. Today-it sickens the heart to say so-the discovery of a tramp who has died of the cold is not news. Today what counts as news is, maybe, a scandal. A scandal: ah, that is news! Today, the thought that a great many children do not have food to eat is not news. This is serious, this is serious! We cannot put up with this! Yet that is how things are. We cannot become starched Christians, those over-educated Christians who speak of theological matters as they calmly sip their tea. — Pope Francis

While all too many people live in dire poverty, others are caught up in materialism and lifestyles which are destructive of family life and the most basic demands of Christian morality. — Pope Francis

Pope Francis emphatically does not buy the argument that poverty can be alleviated by the 'trickle down' effects of wealth creation. He is deaf to arguments that the global economy has brought a billion people out of poverty. He is convinced, in short, that the best and only way to expel poverty is fairer distribution of the world's goods. — John Cornwell

Poverty calls us to sow hope ... Poverty is the flesh of the poor Jesus, in that child who is hungry, in the one who is sick, in those unjust social structures. — Pope Francis

The measure of the greatness of a society is found in the way it treats those most in need, those who have nothing apart from their poverty! — Pope Francis

The issue of the environment as seen by Pope Francis is not a matter of purely scientific or, indeed, theological debate: it involves economic and political views on how the world's poor can be brought out of poverty while protecting the environment. — John Cornwell

We must also acknowledge that the majority of the men and women of our time continue to live daily in situations of insecurity, with dire consequences. Certain pathologies are increasing, with their psychological consequences; fear and desperation grip the hearts of many people, even in the so-called rich countries; the joy of life is diminishing; indecency and violence are on the rise; poverty is becoming more and more evident. People have to struggle to live and, frequently, to live in an undignified way. — Pope Francis

The times talk to us of so much poverty in the world and this is a scandal. Poverty in the world is a scandal. In a world where there is so much wealth, so many resources to feed everyone, it is unfathomable that there are so many hungry children, that there are so many children without an education, so many poor persons. Poverty today is a cry. — Pope Francis

When we give help to the poor, we are not doing the work of aid agencies 'in a Christian way'. Those are good, it is a decent thing to do - aid work is good and quite human - but it is not Christian poverty, which St. Paul desires of us and preaches to us. Christian poverty is that I give of my own, and not of that which is left over - I give even that, which I need for myself, to the poor person, because I know that he enriches me. Why does the poor person enrich me? Because Jesus Himself told us that He is in the poor person. — Pope Francis

When a society lacks God, even prosperity is joined by a terrible spiritual poverty. — Pope Francis

Some people want to know why I wished to be called Francis. For me, Francis of Assisi is the man of poverty, the man of peace, the man who loves and protects creation. — Pope Francis

How many kinds of moral and material poverty we face today as a result of denying God and putting so many idols in his place! — Pope Francis

Reforming the social structures which perpetuate poverty and the exclusion of the poor first requires a conversion of mind and heart. — Pope Francis

I recognize that globalization has helped many people rise out of poverty, but it has also damned many others to starve to death. It is true that global wealth is growing in absolute terms, but inequalities have also grown and new poverty arisen. — Pope Francis

There is another form of poverty! It is the spiritual poverty of our time, which afflicts the so-called richer countries particularly seriously. — Pope Francis

The tyranny of relativism is the spiritual poverty of our time — Pope Francis

Be present to those who, living in the midst of a society burdened by poverty and corruption, are broken in spirit, tempted to give up, to leave school and to live on the streets. — Pope Francis

It is not just one transforming moment of realization and "conversion," though often it begins that way. It is the habitual knowledge that informs each moment of our lives, not as a paralyzing sense of guilt or shame, but as joyous thankfulness; an ever deepening self-knowledge of one's dependency and poverty combined with a liberating wonder; the experience of the depth of our sin, but the even greater immensity of God's saving love. — Pope Francis

In imitation of our Master, we Christians are called to confront the poverty of our brothers and sisters, to touch it, to make it our own and to take practical steps to alleviate it. — Pope Francis

There is no worse material poverty than one that does not allow for earning one's bread and deprives one of the dignity of work. Youth unemployment, informality, and the lack of labor rights are not inevitable; they are the result of a previous social option, of an economic system that puts profit above man; if the profit is economic, to put it above humanity or above man, is the effect of a disposable culture that considers the human being in himself as a consumer good, which can be used and then discarded. — Pope Francis

Poverty is part of the natural condition and that is bad enough. But my task is to prevent the aggravation of this condition. — Pope Francis

Men and women are sacrificed to the idols of profit and consumption: it is the 'culture of waste.' If a computer breaks it is a tragedy, but poverty, the needs and dramas of so many people end up being considered normal ... When the stock market drops 10 points in some cities, it constitutes a tragedy. Someone who dies is not news, but lowering income by 10 points is a tragedy! In this way people are thrown aside as if they were trash. — Pope Francis

If a computer breaks it is a tragedy, but poverty, the needs and dramas of so many people end up being considered normal." -Pope Francis — Sarah Exner

If we see someone who needs help, do we stop? There is so much suffering and poverty, and a great need for good Samaritans. — Pope Francis

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. — Pope Francis

I have heard it said that families with many children and high birth rates are among the cause of poverty. It seems to me a simplistic opinion. I can say that the main cause of poverty is an economic system that has removed the person from the center. — Pope Francis

These days there is a lot of poverty in the world, and that's a scandal when we have so many riches and resources to give to everyone. We all have to think about how we can become a little poorer. — Pope Francis

Poverty is the center of the gospel. — Pope Francis

Today people are suffering from poverty, but also from lack of love — Pope Francis

We face so many challenges in life: poverty, distress, humiliation, the struggle for justice, persecutions, the difficulty of daily conversion, the effort to remain faithful to our call to holiness, and many others. But if we open the door to Jesus and allow him to be part of our lives, if we share our joys and sorrows with him, then we will experience the peace and joy that only God, who is infinite love, can give. — Pope Francis

We could also say that there is only one real kind of poverty: not living as children of God and brothers and sisters of Christ. — Pope Francis

the encyclical also deals with poverty, the destruction of biodiversity, the pollution of fresh water and the oceans, sustainable food, extractive industries, and the waste created by the global economy. — Pope Francis

Let's think of that moment when a woman washed the feet of Jesus with the nard, so expensive: it is a religious moment, a moment of gratitude, a moment of love. And he [Judas] stands apart with bitter criticism: 'But this could have been used for the poor!' This is the first reference that I have found, in the Gospel, to poverty as an ideology. The ideologue does not know what love is, because he does nt know how to give himself. — Pope Francis

There is no worse material poverty, I am keen to stress, than the poverty which prevents people from earning their bread and deprives them of the dignity of work. — Pope Francis

We cannot wait any longer to deal with the structural causes of poverty, in order to heal our society from an illness that can only lead to new crises. — Pope Francis