THE POPE CALLED THE KOREAN TO REFUSE MATERIALISM AND HUMAN ECONOMIC MODELS.

The Pope Francisco was greeted with a standing ovation by the crowd waiting for him at the stadium in Daejeon, where he gave a public open-air Mass on the second day of visit to South Korea. There he called on South Koreans to reject materialism and "inhuman economic models."

During his homily at the "Purple Arena" in Daejeon, about 140 kilometers south of the capital Seoul, Francisco condemned the "materialism" and "unbridled spirit of competitiveness", featuring the word of God as "the antidote to the spirit of hopelessness
 that seems to grow like a cancer in apparently prosperous, yet often experience sadness and emptiness inside. "South Korea is one of the fastest developing economies in Asia, but the company faces rising inequality, a fierce competitiveness promoted by education and has the highest suicide rate among developed nations.
The Mass coincided with the day the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, one of the main festivals of the Catholic calendar, which coincides with the Korean Liberation Day is celebrated. "That the Christians of this nation are a generous force for spiritual renewal at all levels of society," wanted Francisco.
The stadium holds 40,000 people, but many more followed the Mass on television monitors outside the stadium built for the World Cup 2002.
After arriving in the city on the bullet train and not by helicopter as planned, the pope entered the stadium in his popemobile and stopped several times to greet people. The crowd shouted its pasogritaba "Viva il Papa" (Long live the Pope, in Italian), did the wave and unfurled a giant banner in his honor. Many wore scarves, hats and T-shirts with a cartoon of a smiling Francisco.
People began to fill the stadium from early in the morning, praying, singing and listening to performances by Insooni, a famous local singer, and soprano Sumi Jo for waiting.
Catholics represent just over ten percent of the population of South Korea 50 million, but the figure has risen sharply in recent decades, from 1.3 million in 1980 to 5.4 million in 2013.
The pope also offered words of comfort to the families of the victims of the ferry "Sewol" sinking in April in which more than 300 people died, before mass. During the recitation of the Angelus after the homily, he said: "May this tragic event that has brought pain to confirm its commitment to South Korean cooperation in solidarity for the common good."
In today's schedule lunch with young Catholics and shrine visit Solmoe, birthplace of the patron of Korea, Kim Andrew Taegon where the pontiff gave a speech and met with more young people are included.
The Pope will return to Seoul night and Saturday is scheduled to hold a mass beatification of 124 Korean martyrs of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, which is expected to attract hundreds of thousands of people.
The program of his visit, which ends on Monday, includes participation in the youth festival, a massive mass devoted to peace and reconciliation between South Korea and North Korea, as well as encounters with sex slaves exploited by the Japanese during WWII.