Papal preacher says indifference is biggest sin against the poor

Published: 2007-03-23

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The biggest sin committed against the poor and the hungry is indifference, the preacher of the papal household told Pope Benedict XVI and top Vatican officials. Capuchin Father Raniero Cantalamessa, leading the traditional Friday Lenten reflection at the Vatican March 23, said Christians are called to help remedy the injustice of poverty, not turn away hoping others will resolve the problem. "The parable of the rich man and poor Lazarus is being repeated today among us on a global scale," he said, with wealthy nations representing the rich man living in splendor and the developing world representing Lazarus who longed to be fed with the crumbs that fell from the rich man's table. Just as the rich man's gate kept Lazarus at bay, "We tend to put double-paned windows up between us and the poor" that shield against and muffle the severity of the poor's plight, Father Cantalamessa said. "We see the poor on the move, writhing, screaming on the other side of our television screens, in the newspaper ... but their cries reach us as from afar. They don't reach the heart," he said.

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