Pope in Paul VI Hall During General Audience --Copyright Vatican Media

'Without First Freeing Ourselves From Idols, There Is No True Freedom,' Says Pope

Reminds We Must Welcome Christ First and Foremost

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There is no true freedom, if we have not first freed ourselves from idols.
Pope Francis encouraged Arabic-speaking Christians, especially those from the Holy Land, Jordan, and the Middle East, to do so during today’s General Audience of Wednesday, August 8, 2018.
After continuing his catecheses on the Commandments, the Pope stressed: “In the face of Christ crucified we discover the richness of the love of God, Who made Himself poor to enrich us, whereas idols impoverish us and increasingly render us slaves.”
“No freedom is true unless we free ourselves first from the slavery of idols, so as to welcome Christ Who makes us children of the one God and brothers among ourselves,” he said.
Pope Francis concluded, saying: “May the Lord bless you all and protect you from evil!”

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Deborah Castellano Lubov

Deborah Castellano Lubov is Senior Vatican & Rome Correspondent for ZENIT; author of 'The Other Francis' ('L'Altro Francesco') featuring interviews with those closest to the Pope and preface by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Parolin (currently published in 5 languages); Deborah is also NBC & MSNBC Vatican Analyst. She often covers the Pope's travels abroad, often from the Papal Flight (including for historic trips such as to Abu Dhabi and Japan & Thailand), and has also asked him questions on the return-flight press conference on behalf of the English-speaking press present. Lubov has done much TV & radio commentary, including for NBC, Sky, EWTN, BBC, Vatican Radio, AP, Reuters and more. She also has contributed to various books on the Pope and has written for various Catholic publications. For 'The Other Francis': http://www.gracewing.co.uk/page219.html or https://www.amazon.com/Other-Francis-Everything-They-about/dp/0852449348/

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