Vatican City - Pope Benedict XVI said Monday that the current global market crash should teach humans not to value their career and success above all else and that money is ultimately worth "nothing".

"Those who build the house of their lives on sand, are those who build on things that are visible and tangible, such as success, career and money," Benedict was quoted as saying by the ANSA news agency.

"We can now see with the collapse of the great banks, how this money disappears, and becomes nothing," the pontiff added.

Benedict appeared to cite a chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, in which Jesus concludes his Sermon on the Mount by telling a parable about two builders: a wise one, whose house was founded on rock, and a foolish one, whose house was founded on sand.

The pontiff was speaking during the first session of the 12th Assembly General of the Synod of Bishops, a gathering of top Roman Catholics from around the world scheduled to last until October 26.

The Synod's Relator General, Cardinal Marc Ouellet, the Archbishop of Quebec, Canada, said Benedict's reference to the Gospel in his remarks on the world economy was "not casual" as it was linked to the synod's theme: The Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church.

"The Holy Father's words strike a chord because they cite the Holy Scriptures, that form the foundation of our lives," Ouellet told reporters at the Vatican.

While money played a role in people's lives, it, and other material concerns, was of secondary importance compared to the essence of life represented by the Bible and the teachings of Jesus, Ouellet said.