Good tidings from Vatican City. They are little more than pretty words, but they're words more people need to hear, and they come from one of the most influential human beings on earth. What's more, I think they are the words of a person willing and driven to change things that are wrong.
Pope Francis shared personal moments with 200,000 people on Saturday, telling them he sometimes nods off while praying at the end of a long day and that it "breaks my heart" that the death of a homeless person is not news.
Francis, who has made straight talk and simplicity a hallmark of his papacy, made his unscripted comments in answers to questions by four people at a huge international gathering of Catholic associations in St. Peter's Square.
If we step outside of ourselves, we will find poverty
Today, and it breaks my heart to say it, finding a homeless person who has died of cold, is not news. Today, the news is scandals, that is news, but the many children who don't have food - that's not news. This is grave. We can't rest easy while things are this way.
This is happening today. If investments in banks fall, it is a tragedy and people say 'what are we going to do?' but if people die of hunger, have nothing to eat or suffer from poor health, that's nothing. This is our crisis today.
I was raised, baptized and confirmed Catholic, but I've long since stopped going to mass. My trust in mortal representation of the Church is all but spent, sadly. For what I see as good reasons. But what I'm hearing from this man is really excellent. I would here more, on several subjects, but this is the kind of thing that powerful people need to be saying ALL THE TIME. Like the fact or not this man's words carry a mountain of weight. And these words, I think we here can all agree, are what the whole world needs to hear.
So, thank you Pope Francis. Keep it up.