Pope Leo XIV Addresses Increasing Disparity Between Wealthy and Underprivileged During Monaco Visit
Pope Leo XIV addresses the growing issue of wealth inequality, calling for justice, peace, and the safeguarding of the environment during his visit to Monaco.
Pope Leo XIV on Saturday criticized the growing divide between the wealthy and the impoverished, denouncing what he referred to as the expanding “chasms between the poor and the rich.”
The Pope, currently in Monaco—a playground for the wealthy—has chosen this location for his inaugural Western European trip. Speaking in French from the balcony of the Prince’s Palace, he condemned “unjust configurations of power, structures of sin that create chasms between the poor and the rich, between the privileged and the rejected, between friends and enemies.”
He stated that wealth ought to support “law and justice, particularly at a historical moment when displays of force and the logic of omnipotence harm the world and threaten peace,” clearly alluding to the increasing number of conflicts worldwide.
Bells rang out throughout the principality to announce Leo’s arrival in the small state situated on the Mediterranean between France and Italy.
Residents assembled outside the palace, many waving flags in the principality’s red and white and the Vatican’s yellow and white.
Along the route of the Popemobile on Rue Grimaldi, a prominent thoroughfare, shopkeepers adorned their windows in the colors of both statelets to commemorate the occasion.
From the palace, the Pope was set to proceed to the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception to engage with the Catholic community, followed by a visit to the square in front of the Church of Saint Devota, which is dedicated to Monaco’s patron saint.
In the small city-state, the street billboards featured the pontiff in his church regalia, creating a striking contrast against the backdrop of gleaming sports cars and bustling crowds of tourists.
An open-air mass at the Louis II Stadium is set to be the highlight, with an anticipated attendance of 15,000 people.
Pope Leo was scheduled to deliver speeches on environmental protection, a cause that resonates deeply with Prince Albert, as well as Monaco’s role in Europe and “the protection of life in all its forms,” as stated by Matteo Bruni, the director of the Vatican’s press office.
The phrase captures the stance against abortion, which is prohibited in the principality, and euthanasia, while also denouncing all forms of conflict during a time of war in the Middle East, contributing to the destabilization of the global economy.
Monaco stands out as one of the rare locations in Europe where Catholicism is upheld as the state religion, and it has maintained enduring diplomatic relations with the Holy See.
While merely about eight percent of the population identifies as practicing Catholics, church pews remain one of the rare venues where billionaires, cleaners, and construction workers come together.
“This visit is a significant indication of the Principality’s role within the Catholic Christian community,” Prince Albert stated in an interview with local daily Nice-Matin.
The prince expressed that he aligned with the Vatican on shared objectives, such as international solidarity and “the promotion of peace through sport.”
While some residents claimed to be indifferent to the papal visit, Isabel Fissore, a 62-year-old jewelry shop owner, successfully obtained invitations to attend meetings with the pontiff.
“This is a momentous occasion: the two smallest states in the world uniting to share a message of peace, light, and love across the globe.” “Though we may be a small nation, our hearts are undoubtedly large,” Fissore expressed to AFP.
Monaco Archbishop Monsignor Dominique-Marie David stated that the Pope was extending his outreach to “other cultures, other countries, other backgrounds, and other languages” within the principality, which is home to approximately 140 nationalities.
