‘We must not be slaves to any earthly power,’ Pope tells pilgrims
October 23, 2023
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CWN Editor's Note: During his October 22 Angelus address, Pope Francis reflected on Matthew 22:15-21, the Gospel reading of the day.
“Jesus wants to help us place ‘Caesar’ and ‘God’ each in their proper place,” the Pope said to pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square. “The care for earthly order belongs to Caesar – that is, to politics, to civil institutions, to social and economic processes, and we who are immersed in this reality must give back to society what it offers us, through our contribution as responsible citizens, taking care of what is entrusted to us, promoting law and justice in the world of work, paying our taxes honestly, committing ourselves to the common good, and so on.”
“At the same time, though, Jesus affirms the fundamental reality: that man belongs to God: all of man and every human being,” the Pope continued. “And this means that we do not belong to any earthly reality, to any ‘Caesar’. We are the Lord’s, and we must not be slaves to any earthly power.”
The Pope concluded, “Do we remember that we belong to the Lord, or do we let ourselves be shaped by the logic of the world and make work, politics and money our idols to be worshipped? May the Holy Virgin help us to recognize and honor our dignity and that of every human being.”
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