Cyber Monday: Pope Francis condemns consumerism and calls it 'virus'

As Christmas preparations are ringing in all households worldwide, Pope Francis has urged people to resist the excesses of consumerism on December 1 especially in the period leading to the festival. He also called it a 'virus' which exploits the faith and offends the needy. Pope believes that when a person lives for things, it is never enough and instead the 'greed grows' which later becomes an obstacle in a race. During a homily of a Mass, Pope said that in today's day and age, 'consumerism reigns supreme'. His statements also came between the two biggest shopping days of the year in countries such as the United States, Black Friday and Cyber Monday. 

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The online sales in US reached nearly $7.4 billion on November 29 which is nearly 20 per cent more than that of 2018. According to Pope consumerism 'corrodes faith' because it makes people forget 'the brother who knocks at your door'. He stressed the importance to resist the 'blinding lights' of consumerism which will be placed everywhere, especially in the month of December. Cyber Monday was expected to be another record-breaking sale this year. The US National Retail Federation had estimated that Americans will spend nearly $730 billion during this holiday season. 

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Pope's meeting with Hiroshima survivors

Pope recently came back from his visit to Japan and Thailand, where during his emotional meeting with the Hiroshima survivors, he called for the total elimination of nuclear arms. Pope Francis described all nuclear bombs as 'a crime' as he was appealing for an end to atomic weapons. The Pope's Hiroshima visit came after his highly symbolic visit to Nagasaki hours earlier. The atomic bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima in 1945 killed over 140,000 people and the bomb at Nagasaki killed over 74,000 three days later. Calling it a "black hole of destruction", Pope Francis described how everything was devoured and destroyed in merely an instant. 

The survivors who were there at the event shared their harrowing experience. Yoshiko Kajimoto, who was 14 at the time of the attack, described how after the blast she saw people walking side-by-side like ghosts. The survivors felt that the memory of the bombings and their experiences may disappear after their death but perhaps the Pope can preserve their experiences and memories and bring renewed attention to them. 

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(With inputs from agencies)