Pope says people lose human dignity by worshiping false idols

Published: 2004-09-01

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Anyone who worships the idols of wealth, power and success loses human dignity, said Pope John Paul II. "He who turns to the vanity of idols is transformed to become like that which he worships, becoming stone," the pope said Sept. 1 at his weekly general audience. The pope was driven from his summer residence of Castel Gandolfo to hold the audience in the Vatican's air-conditioned Paul VI hall. The Vatican hall allows for more pilgrims to attend the public audience while the smaller, outdoor courtyard in Castel Gandolfo holds just a few thousand people. In his catechesis, the pope focused on Psalm 115, which speaks of "the greatness and goodness of the true God." The psalm compares the pagan gods which "speak not ... see not ... and hear not" with the living God of the people of Israel.

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