VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Greed lies at the root of all evil and is the source of the current global economic crisis, Pope Benedict XVI said. “It is precisely greed that insinuates to us that having is the highest good” in life and yet it is greed that distorts the purpose of material goods and destroys the world, he said April 22 during his weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square.

The pope’s catechesis dealt with early Christian writers of the East and West, and his talk focused on a little-known, eighth-century Benedictine monk, Abbot Ambrose Autpert. This French-born abbot lived during a time marked by strong political tensions, nationalism and tribalism, which affected life within the monasteries, he said.

The pope said Abbot Autpert wrote a very popular treatise titled “Conflict Between the Vices and the Virtues” as a way to help his monks combat temptation and face their daily spiritual struggles. “For each of the 24 vices threatening the soul, he indicated the corresponding virtue that would help the Christian overcome temptation,” said the pope.