Pope calls for greater justice and shared wealth during Monaco visit

ROME - Pope Leo XIV on Saturday denounced a “growing gap between rich and poor” during a one-day visit to the prosperous Principality of Monaco, calling for a more equitable sharing of wealth.

In his speech delivered in French from the balcony of the Prince’s Palace before Monaco’s Prince Albert II and senior representatives of the Principality, the pope addressed what he called unjust power relations and structures of sin.

These “open up chasms between rich and poor, between the privileged and the excluded, between friends and enemies,” said Leo, calling for a redistribution so that life might improve for everyone.

“Living here is a privilege for some and a special challenge for all to ask themselves about their place in the world,” he told the crowd in Monaco, a tiny city-state on the French Riviera that is home to many rich and famous.

Alluding to the current global crises, the pope stressed the need to “commit your prosperity to the service of justice and righteousness, especially at a moment in history when the display of power and the logic of the abuse of power are harming the world and endangering peace.”

His visit to the small state located between Italy and France on the Mediterranean is the second trip abroad for the head of the Catholic Church, who has been in office since May of last year.

Catholicism is enshrined in the constitution of Monaco as the state religion. According to the Vatican, more than 80% of the Principality’s approximately 38,000 inhabitants are Catholic.

As well as his meeting with Prince Albert II, the pope was due to hold ass at the Louis II football stadium, the home ground of AS Monaco.

This was to be followed by meetings with the Catholic community at Notre-Dame-Immaculée Cathedral and with young people at Sainte-Dévote Church before the scheduled Mass.

At around 5:45 p.m. (GMT 1645), Leo was to fly back to the Vatican by helicopter.

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