VATICAN CITY –- On Sunday Pope Francis used the parable of the feeding of the 5,000 to give a lesson of compassion and generosity in the times of pandemic, speaking in his first August Angelus

  Expanding on the famous Biblical tale, the pontiff said, “Compassion is not a purely material feeling; true compassion is to suffer alongside, to take others’ sorrow on ourselves.” He continued, asking those in attendance to ask themselves “Do I feel compassion when I read news about war, about hunger, about the pandemic?”

 Later on in his address, the pope referenced the bleak future looming over the world as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic and its effects.

 Speaking specifically about the uncertainty surrounding employment in the wake of the lockdown, he said “I hope that, with the converging commitment of all political and economic leaders, work might resume: families and society cannot continue without work.”

 Francis continued, “It is and will be a problem in the aftermath of the pandemic: poverty and lack of work. A Lot of solidarity and creativity will be needed to resolve this problem.”

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