Pope Francis — "The worship of the golden calf has returned."
The worship of the golden calf has returned.
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About Pope Francis (born 1936)
First Latin American and Jesuit pope (2013-), who has steered the Catholic Church toward pastoral inclusion on LGBTQ pastoral care, divorced Catholics, and climate. Closely associated with Pope John XXIII (the Vatican II reformer pope) and Cardinal Walter Kasper (his theological ally on pastoral reform). For an intellectual contrast, see Cardinal Raymond Burke, American traditionalist cardinal, former head of the Vatican Apostolic Signatura — Burke is the public face of Catholic traditionalism that views Francis's pastoral approach as doctrinally dangerous — he has formally challenged Amoris Laetitia and other Francis reforms.
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Understanding this quote
What it means
Modern society has made money and wealth into an idol — the ultimate object of devotion, sacrifice, and trust. Drawing on the biblical story of Israelites who abandoned God to worship a gold statue, Francis argues humanity has once again surrendered its moral compass to financial gain. Markets, profit, and economic growth are treated as sacred ends in themselves, while the poor and vulnerable are sacrificed on that altar.
Relevance to Pope Francis
Born in Buenos Aires and shaped by Argentina's devastating economic collapses, Francis witnessed firsthand how financial speculation destroys ordinary lives. As a Jesuit priest who chose poverty over comfort, he has made economic justice central to his papacy. His 2013 exhortation Evangelii Gaudium directly attacked trickle-down economics and financial systems that exclude the poor. He chose the name Francis after Saint Francis of Assisi, patron of the poor.
The era
Francis became pope in 2013, five years after the 2008 financial crisis exposed reckless Wall Street behavior that devastated millions globally. His tenure coincided with record wealth inequality, the rise of billionaire tech oligarchs, austerity cuts gutting social services, and spreading populist anger at economic elites. The Occupy movement had just faded; the Panama Papers were ahead. Consumer culture and social media intensified materialism, making his biblical warning feel urgently contemporary.
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