Remembering how Christ harshly expelled the merchants from the temple in Jerusalem, the pope reflected on some practices that are carried out in certain parishes.
POPE FRANCIS
“Sometimes I've seen, not here in Rome, elsewhere, I've seen a price list. 'But how is it possible? Do people have to pay for the sacraments?' No, in reality it's an offering. However, if they want to make an offering, they should do it, put it in the offertory, discreetly, let no one see how much you give. Even today there is this danger.”
The pope insisted that parishes should be places of prayer, not markets and social lounges.
