Economic inequality kills people: Pope Francis

For broadcast on 2CH Sydney, 29 Dec 2013.

In the first major work he has authored alone as Pontiff, published last month, Pope Francis surprised and delighted people of diverse backgrounds and interests by calling for the renewal of the Roman Catholic Church, and attacking what he saw as the “idolatry of money” and the “new tyranny” of “unfettered capitalism.”

He urged world leaders to fight poverty and growing inequality, calling for politicians to guarantee all citizens “dignified work, education and health care.”

“Just as the commandment ‘Thou shalt not kill’ sets a clear limit in order to safeguard the value of human life, today we also have to say ‘thou shalt not’ to an economy of exclusion and inequality. Such an economy kills,” Francis wrote.

“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 two points?” he said.

I’m Rod Benson for the NSW Council of Churches.