NEWS***Pope calls on the world’s governments to bring in an ‘ethical mobilisation’ to help the poor and redistribute wealth

 

Pope Francis has told the head of the United Nations that it must do more to help the poor and redistribute wealth. 

In a meeting with the U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon today, he called on the world’s governments to promote an ‘ethical mobilisation’ of solidarity with those less well-off and adopt a new spirit of generosity to address the causes of poverty and hunger.

The pontiff made his comments in an address to Mr Ban and the leaders of several U.N. agencies who were all meeting in Rome. 
 Pope Francis said: ‘In the case of global political and economic organisation, much more needs to be achieved, since an important part of humanity does not share in the benefits of progress and is in fact relegated to the status of second-class citizens.

‘I urge you to work together in promoting a true, worldwide ethical mobilization which, beyond all differences of religious or political convictions, will spread and put into practice a shared ideal of fraternity and solidarity, especially with regard to the poorest and those most excluded.’

He also told the U.N. officials that while there had been a welcome decrease in extreme poverty and improvements in education ‘the world's people deserve and expect even greater results’.

He said a contribution to equitable development could be made ‘both by international activity aimed at the integral human development of all of the world's people and by the legitimate redistribution of economic benefits by the State.’

‘An awareness of everyone's human dignity should encourage everyone to share with complete freedom the goods which God's providence has placed in our hands,’ Francis added.

Pope Francis has consistently used his meetings with world leaders, including U.S. President Barack Obama, to champion the cause of the world's poorest.

The Pope, who was known as the ‘slum bishop’ in his native Buenos Aires because of his frequent visits to shanty towns, has often said since his election that he wants the Catholic Church to be closer to the poor.

In the past 14 months since his election, Francis has issued several strong attacks on the global economic system, saying in one speech last September that it could no longer be based on ‘a god called money’.