Pope Francis Urges World Leaders To Do More To Help The Poor

Pope Francis has called on world leaders to put
an end to the "cult of money" and to do more to
help the poor, warning that insecurity was rising
in many regions of the world and the "joy of life"
was diminishing in developed countries.
"The worship of the golden calf of old has found
a new and heartless image in the cult of money
and the dictatorship of an economy which is
faceless and lacking any truly human goal,"
Francis said in an address to ambassadors to the
Vatican on Thursday.
Francis said that radical free-market ideologies
had created "a new, invisible, and at times
virtual, tyranny" and human beings "considered
as consumer goods" and called for global
financial reform that would benefit everyone.
"Solidarity, which is the treasure of the poor, is
often considered counterproductive, opposed to
the logic of finance and the economy. While the
income of a majority is increasing exponentially,
that of the majority is crumbling," he said.
"I encourage the financial exports and the
political leaders of your countries to consider the
words of St John Chrysostom "Not to share one's
goods with the poor is to rob them", he said.
The Argentine pope, formerly the archbishop of
Buenos Aires Jorge Mario Bergoglio, became a
powerful voice on the side of the poor during his
homeland's devastating economic crisis.