Pope Francis has made a thing out of attacking capitalism and its perils in one way or another. Yesterday (July 30), in a press conference during his flight back from his visit to Poland, the pontifex went so far as to say that love of money is the root of terrorism.
Questioned about what is fueling terrorist acts, the pope pointed the finger at the global economy, saying that “terrorism grows when there is no other option, and to the extent the world economy has at its center the god of money and not the person.” The love and adoration of money is a “basic terrorism against all of humanity” he said, and has replaced love between humans.
In response to a question about Islamic violence, he rejected the term for being myopic: “I don’t like to speak of Islamic violence,” he said, noting that violence isn’t exclusive to any particular religion, including his own. “If I speak of Islamic violence,” he said, “I must speak of Catholic violence.”
“I believe that in pretty much every religion there is always a small group of fundamentalists,” he continued. When too many young people around the world are ”left empty of ideals, who do not have work,” he said, they become easy prey for extremist groups.