Father Clements, who was just the second African American priest ordained in the Archdiocese of Chicago, was long involved in social justice issues affecting his hometown.
But it was the adoption of four boys—one at a time, starting in 1980—that led to his high profile on a national level. The saga—Father Clements was the first U.S. Catholic priest to adopt a child—eventually found its way to Hollywood as a made-for-TV movie.
"When, at Christmas, we place the statue of the Infant Jesus in the manger, the nativity scene suddenly comes alive. God appears as a child, for us to take into our arms," the pope said.
“Consumerism is a virus that attacks the faith at its roots, because it makes you believe that life depends only on what you have, and so you forget God," the pope said.