Christians called to renounce wealth and serve others, pope says

Published: 2005-06-01

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Christians are called to renounce power and wealth and choose to serve others with humility as Christ did, said Pope Benedict XVI in his weekly general audience. Even though Christ was equal to God, he did not exploit his power and use it "as an instrument of triumph, sign of distance or expression of crushing supremacy," the pope said. "Rather, just the opposite, he emptied himself, immersing himself without hesitation" in the "fragile reality" of the human condition, he said. Some 23,000 pilgrims gathered June 1 in St. Peter's Square to greet Pope Benedict and hear his weekly catechesis. The pope focused his talk on the second chapter of St. Paul's Letter to the Philippians, in which the apostle invites Christians to "have among yourselves the same attitude" that Jesus Christ had, such as "humility, selflessness, detachment and generosity."

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