Bringing home 'dirty money' starves one's family of dignity, pope says

Despite the perks and high living they may bring, bribery, corruption and dishonest work are serious sins that rob people and their children of their dignity, Pope Francis said.

"Devotees of the goddess of kickbacks" bring home "dirty bread" for their children to eat, the pope said Nov. 8 during his early morning Mass in the Domus Sanctae Marthae, where he lives.

"Their children, perhaps educated in expensive colleges, perhaps raised in well-educated circles, have received filth as a meal from their father," rendering them "starved of dignity," he said in his homily, according to Vatican Radio.

The number one enemy is the devil, the pope said, because "it is he who causes harm" with his love for a worldly atmosphere, values and lifestyles.

Worldly habits, taking short cuts and choosing the easiest way to make money are part of "the habit of bribery;" a way of living that is "intensely sinful," he said.

"God commanded us to bring home bread (made) with our honest work," the pope said. But when people engage in dishonesty, they "give their children dirty bread" and "filth" to eat because they have lost their dignity. "And this is a serious sin!" he said.

"Perhaps it starts out with a small envelope (of cash), but it's like a drug," he said, and "the bribery habit becomes an addiction."

The pope asked that people pray "for the many children and young people who receive dirty bread from their parents: They too are hungry, starved of dignity."

"Pray so that the Lord brings a change of heart to these devotees of the goddess of kickbacks and that they realize dignity comes from dignified work, honest work, from working day in and day out and not from taking the easy way, which in the end, take everything from you."