The following are quotes from the pope’s recent visit to Luxembourg and Belgium:

Gospel: force for renewal

Speaking to politicians and civil authorities in Luxembourg, the pope said:

“I ask for constant vigilance so that the most disadvantaged nations will not be neglected and that they be helped to rise from their impoverished conditions. As the successor of the Apostle Peter, and on behalf of the Church, which is an expert in humanity, I am here to testify that the Gospel is the life source and the ever-fresh force of personal and social renewal.

“It is the Gospel of Jesus Christ alone that is capable of profoundly transforming the human soul, making it capable of doing good even in the most difficult situations, of extinguishing hatred and reconciling parties engaged in conflict. May everyone, every man and woman, in full freedom, know the Gospel of Jesus.”

God is father not overlord

On a visit to Leuven University, Belgium, he said:

“It is easy to see how a violent and arrogant wickedness is destroying people and the environment. It seems to know no limits and is most brutally expressed by war, but also by corruption and modern forms of slavery.”

He described the turning of religion into an instrument of domination as blasphemy: “This is blasphemy… God is father, not overlord; God is son and brother, not dictator; God is the spirit of love, not of domination.

“Christians must be grateful for creation because it is a gift. We are not masters but guests and pilgrims on the earth. God is the first to care for it, just as he cares for us. We are meant to safeguard its beauty and cultivate it for the good of all, especially keeping in mind those who will come after us.

“As long as markets are given pride of place, then our common home will continue to suffer injustice. The choice to be made, then, is between manipulating nature or cultivating it.”

(Compiled by Fr Joe Borg)