Vatican message to Hindus calls for joint action against materialism

October 28, 2013

The Vatican has proposed a “culture of relationship” as a answer to materialism, in an annual message to the world’s Hindus.

The Vatican message said that “the ability to foster respectful relationships is the measure of authentic human progress.” The rise of materialism, coupled with a disregard for religious faith, has created “a dangerous trend to accord the same value to material things as to human relationships,” the statement said. Citing the criticism that Pope Francis has leveled at a “throwaway culture,” the statement urged recognition that human relationships are the key to peace and social progress.

The Vatican message, released October 28 by the Pontifical Council for Inter-Religious Dialogue, was timed for the Hindu feast of Deepavali (or Diwali), the festival of light. It was signed by Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran and Father Miguel Angel Ayuso Guixot: the president and secretary, respectively, of that dicastery.

 

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Further information:

• Message to Hindus for the Feast of Deepavali (VIS)
• Vatican sends message to Hindus for Deepavali (Vatican Radio)