{"id":856458,"date":"2026-03-28T16:57:20","date_gmt":"2026-03-28T16:57:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/856458\/"},"modified":"2026-03-28T16:57:20","modified_gmt":"2026-03-28T16:57:20","slug":"in-monaco-pope-leo-reminds-europe-to-use-wealth-responsibly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/856458\/","title":{"rendered":"In Monaco, Pope Leo reminds Europe to use wealth responsibly"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

MONACO (RNS) \u2014 In a tiny European country where 1 in 3 residents are millionaires, Pope Leo XIV called for the responsible use of wealth and condemned the \u201cidolatry of power and money,\u201d delivering a moral appeal from one of the world\u2019s richest enclaves.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery talent, every opportunity and every good placed in our hands has a universal destination; it bears an intrinsic need not to be held back, but to be shared, so that everyone\u2019s life may be better,\u201d the pope said in his first speech in Monaco on Saturday (March 28).<\/p>\n

Leo\u2019s words echoed through the square in front of the prince\u2019s palace, overlooking skyscrapers and the Monaco Grand Prix racetrack. A small but enthusiastic crowd, waving the yellow and white Vatican colors, watched his remarks. \u00a0<\/p>\n

The pope\u2019s emphasis on poverty and humility was also exemplified in the gifts he brought to Prince Albert II of Monaco and the local archdiocese: sacred images representing the medieval St. Francis of Assisi, known for renouncing his wealth to follow his faith.<\/p>\n

Monaco only extends<\/a> 0.81 square miles and counts 38,000 residents. But the city-state, the second smallest after Vatican City, exercises an outsized influence in the world. It\u2019s a major financial hub, and the country employs over 70,000 people from 150 nations.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe gift of smallness and a living spiritual heritage invite you to put your prosperity at the service of law and justice, especially at a historical moment when the display of power and the logic of oppression are harming the world and jeopardizing peace,\u201d Leo said. \u201cAs you know, in the Bible it is the little ones who make history.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n

Luxury yachts are moored in front of Sainte D\u00e9vote Church in La Condamine, Monaco, Saturday, March 28, 2026. (AP Photo\/Gregorio Borgia)<\/p>\n

The pope said faith rattles power structures \u201cthat create chasms between the poor and the rich, between the privileged and the discarded, between friends and enemies.\u201d He quoted the 1891 encyclical \u201cRerum Novarum\u201d (On New Things) by his namesake Pope Leo XIII, addressing the condition of the working class, inequality and laying the groundwork for Catholic social teaching.<\/p>\n

Among the crowd gathered to hear the pope\u2019s words was Katherine Hoyos, a Monaco resident who said she hopes the pope \u201cwill change the world or make the world a little better.\u201d She welcomed Leo\u2019s remarks on Monegasques\u2019 responsibility to employ their wealth for the betterment of society.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really think that Monaco residents could do more in sharing. Because, you know, if you see what\u2019s happening right now in the world, it\u2019s really terrible, and we live in a little bubble here, and I think we should be more conscious and more active in sharing,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Magnus Frohmann, who works and lives in Monaco, said the pope should avoid \u201clecturing\u201d the residents of the small city-state \u201cbecause that never gets through to people,\u201d and suggested that Leo should speak to their spirituality instead.<\/p>\n

Like many Monaco residents, Hoyos and Frohmann were born and raised Catholic but are not practicing. Catholicism is the state religion in the principality, but only 6% to 8% attend Mass regularly. Pope Leo visited the local Catholic community at the Our Lady of the Immaculate Cathedral, where he emboldened them to foster communion and evangelize their faith.<\/p>\n

Inside the cathedral, the pope described Christ as \u201can advocate\u201d in defense of the poor and outcasts.<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n

Pope Leo XIV meets with the local Catholic community inside Monaco Cathedral in Monaco-Ville, Monaco, Saturday, March 28, 2026. (AP Photo\/Gregorio Borgia)<\/p>\n

In a recent interview with EWTN, Abb\u00e9 Christian Venard, the episcopal vicar for communications of the Monaco Archdiocese, said that it\u2019s not uncommon for a billionaire and a housemaid to be sitting in the same pew in Monaco.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the church, such variety should never become the occasion of division into social classes,\u201d Leo said in his remarks. \u201cOn the contrary, everyone is welcomed as persons and children of God.\u201d<\/p>\n

The pope called Catholics to be advocates as well and defend life from conception to death, stemming the tide of secularism but also challenging society\u2019s financial and power structures.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs the current economic and social model truly just and marked by solidarity? Does it possess an ethic of responsibility, which assists and goes beyond the mere logic of the exchange of equivalents, of profit as an end in itself, so as to build a more equitable society?\u201d he asked, citing his predecessor Pope Benedict XVI.<\/p>\n

The pope\u2019s final stop of his nine-hour tour through Monaco was the Louis II Stadium, where he celebrated Mass in front of a large crowd. During his homily, he framed the contrast between \u201cthe revelation of God\u201d and \u201cthe hidden schemes of powerful authorities who are eager to kill without scruples.\u201d<\/p>\n

Against the \u201cplots\u201d and \u201cexcuses\u201d devised to eliminate the innocent, Leo juxtaposed the \u201cmercy that saves the world.\u201d He condemned the \u201cidolatry of power and money\u201d and made an appeal for peace amid rising conflict in Europe and the Middle East.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet us not grow accustomed to the clamor of weapons and images of war. Peace is not merely a balance of power; it is the work of purified hearts, of those who see others as brothers and sisters to be protected, not enemies to be defeated,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Leo concluded his homily with an offhand reference to the gambling reputation of Monaco, home of the famed Monte-Carlo Casino. \u201cDear friends, bring happiness to others through your faith, by manifesting authentic joy, which is not won through a wager, but shared through charity,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MONACO (RNS) \u2014 In a tiny European country where 1 in 3 residents are millionaires, Pope Leo XIV…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":856459,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5174],"tags":[2000,299,5187,244132,41442,156955,244133,81176],"class_list":{"0":"post-856458","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-eu","8":"tag-eu","9":"tag-europe","10":"tag-european","11":"tag-papal-trip-monaco","12":"tag-pope-leo-xiv","13":"tag-prince-albert-ii","14":"tag-pro-life-catholics","15":"tag-wealth-inequality"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116307863119034863","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/856458","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=856458"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/856458\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/856459"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=856458"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=856458"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=856458"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}