Pope Francis delivered a fiery sermon against corruption, one of his strongest homilies since becoming Pontiff.  Francis quoted the New Testament Gospel of Luke to put the smack down on Christians who lead “a double life” by giving money to the church while stealing from the state:

“Jesus says ‘It would be better for him if a millstone were put around his neck and he be thrown into the sea’,” because he continued, “where there is deceit, the Spirit of God cannot be.”

The pontiff didn’t directly cite corruption within the Catholic Church, although that is known to be one of his priorities.  Just before meeting with a church whistleblower last month, Pope Francis told the church that it “must go forward.. with a heart of poverty, not a heart of investment or of a businessman.”  And he reminded Bishops that “Saint Peter did not have a bank account.”

Pope Francis this week also chided the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, an organization that wields considerable influence in Washington, DC, telling it not to “follow a particular ideology.”  The Conference is deeply connected to conservative Republican politics in America, and the Pope says the US church’s focus on fighting abortion, marriage equality, and contraception has been too narrow and alienating.

And here’s that Biblical passage he cited on corruption:

Jesus said to his disciples, “Occasions for stumbling are bound to come, but woe to anyone by whom they come.  It would be better for you if a millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea than for you to cause one of these little ones to stumble.

-   Luke 17:1-2

Ouch!