He Pope Francis He spoke at an event held at the Vatican to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the first meeting of the Popular Movements in the Catholic capital. There, the Supreme Pontiff warned about the growing problem of gambling in online casinos and stated: “That’s not a game, it’s an addiction“.
The Argentine admitted that on the one hand technology “does so much good” but took the opportunity to make a request to the businessmen in this sector: “They have an obligation to prevent the spread of hatred”
Francis’ request to Elon Musk and his warning about online gaming and the development of technology
At the end of his speech, Francisco took a few minutes to warn on the risks of online gambling and its proliferation in all social and age strata. In this sense, he criticized the role of certain sports in giving way to online casinos: “It makes me sad to see that Football matches and sports stars promote betting platforms“.
“This is not a game, it is an addiction,” explained the Pope, who then added: “It’s like putting your hand in people’s pockets.especially workers and the poor. It destroys entire families.”
In this regard, the Supreme Pontiff asked the social leaders present to communicate the risks that this new practice brings. “Tell people about mental illnesses, The desperation, the suicides that it causes in every house when there is a casino through the cell phone“.
In addition, Francisco assured that these online gambling websites are “One of the bad things that technology brings“, although he later admitted that on the other hand this development “does so much good.” On this, the Argentine concluded: “We must find a balance, cannot be left to the logic of profit“.
In the midst of global conflicts over the use of social media by minors and the spread of hate speech through them, Francis referred to this issue and the role of businessmen, without naming anyone in particular. “Businessmen in computer technology, social media, artificial intelligence” They have to put aside the arrogance of believing that they are above the law.“, he assured.
Along these lines, the leader of the Catholic Church demanded that the leaders of the sector “be respectful of the countries where they operate and be responsible for what happens on the platforms they control“. In addition, the Argentine assured that “They have an obligation to prevent the spread of hatred“.
“They also have an obligation to prevent networks from being used to disseminate gambling addiction, child pornography or facilitating organized crime“.
Finally, Francisco was not evasive and left a final conclusion for the big businessmen in the sector: “A little advice, pay your taxes“.
Pope Francis’s criticism of repression
The event took place at the Dicastery for Integral Human Development. There, numerous members of Popular Movements – among whom were the leaders Juan Grabois and Alejandro Gramajo – gathered to listen to the Argentinean’s words.
While Francis did not directly name government officials, Javier Mileiif he made an allusion to a repression that occurred “a week ago”, which coincides with the dates on which the attack on the retirees outside the Argentine National Congress occurred. In reference to this, the Supreme Pontiff stated: “ They made me see a repression, a week ago or a little less. Workers, people who were demanding their rights in the street. And the police were repelling them with something that is the most expensive thing there is, that top-quality pepper spray.”
Along these lines, the Argentine was blunt and said: “The Government stood firm and instead of paying for social justice, it paid for the pepper spray, it suited it. Keep that in mind.“, he said.
During the meeting, Gramajo, general secretary of the Union of Workers of the Popular Economy (UTEP) referred to the victories and demands of the Argentine movement and denounced that in the country “People are starving“. Faced with this, Francis was not evasive and asked: “Please don’t let anyone be left behindThere are so many people lying on the streets, so many people who have nothing to eat, so many people who are begging for something, who have lost their homes, who have lost their jobs. They are people who did not have the capacity to move forward.”.
Source: Ambito
