Pope Francis, who has made alleviating poverty a central pillar of his papacy, criticized the “idolatry of money” in the global economy and denounced the unfettered free market as the “new tyranny.”
“How can it be that it is not a news item when an elderly homeless person dies of exposure, but it is news when the stock market loses 2 points?” Pope Francis asked in an anticipated 84-page report airing the views of the Vatican, known as the apostolic exhortation and released Tuesday.
The report aligns with — and in some cases goes further than — the Pope’s progressive and reformist positions since he was elected in March. The pontiff criticizes the unequal distribution of wealth and calls for greater action to help the poor.
“I beg the Lord to grant us more politicians who are genuinely disturbed by the state of society, the people, the lives of the poor,” he writes.
Read the full document, called the the Evangelii Gaudium (“Joy of the Gospel”), on the Vatican’s website.