Pope Leo XIV Denounces Misuse of Wealth, Calls for Resources to Serve Humanity

Vatican City, Rome — Pope Leo XIV delivered a powerful message condemning the destructive use of wealth during his homily at the Vatican’s Church of Saint Anne. The pontiff described the misuse of financial resources as "turning it into weapons that destroy peoples or monopolies that humiliate workers," praying that leaders around the globe would instead direct money and resources toward benefiting humanity and fostering the common good.

Highlighting the spiritual dimension of wealth, the pope emphasized that "whoever serves God must become free from wealth, but whoever serves wealth remains its slave." He called attention to the moral choice between using wealth to achieve justice, which transforms it into a collective good, and the pursuit of domination that converts it into an instrument of greed.

Drawing from the day’s Gospel reading in Luke 16:1-13, Pope Leo revisited Jesus Christ’s parable of the dishonest steward, underscoring Jesus’ declaration: "No servant can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and mammon."

During both the morning Mass in the intimate church within Vatican City State and his midday Angelus address before thousands gathered in St. Peter’s Square, the pope invited the faithful to reflect deeply on their relationship with money and material possessions.

He further expressed gratitude toward Catholic groups organizing prayer vigils for peace and fundraising to provide humanitarian assistance to Gaza. "I appreciate your initiative and many others throughout the Church that express closeness to our brothers and sisters who are suffering in that tormented land," Pope Leo stated.

Emphasizing the urgency of peace, he reiterated together with local church leaders: "There is no future based on violence, forced exile or revenge. The people need peace; those who truly love them work for peace."

Earlier, in his Mass at Saint Anne’s Church, the pope prayed for resilience amid a world increasingly threatened by warfare. "Entire peoples today are being crushed by violence and even more so by a shameless indifference that abandons them to a fate of misery," he told parishioners. "Faced with these tragedies, we do not want to be resigned, but to proclaim in word and deed that Jesus is the savior of the world, the one who delivers us from all evil."

In closing, Pope Leo urged the Holy Spirit to inspire transformation within hearts, so that through the nourishment of the Eucharist, considered the Church’s greatest treasure, believers might become true witnesses of charity and peace.

He left the faithful with a solemn challenge: "Jesus’ parable invites us to ask ourselves: How are we managing the material goods, the resources of the earth and our very lives that God has entrusted to us? Each person must make a choice—we can follow the way of selfishness, placing wealth above all else and thinking only of ourselves. But this isolates us from others and spreads the poison of competition, which often fuels conflict."