Pope Leo XIV says "Many hundreds of millions of people...are immersed in extreme poverty...wealth remains in the hands of a few. This is an unjust situation"

Pope Leo XIV met on Friday with executives and employees of the Italian National Institute for Social Security (INPS), which acts as Italy’s national pension system.
ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS POPE LEO XIV
TO THE MANAGERS AND EMPLOYEES
OF THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL SECURITY (INPS)
Clementine Hall on Friday, April 10, 2026
________________________

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Peace be with you!

Good morning everyone, welcome!

I greet the President, the Directors, and all of you, employees of the National Social Security Institute, including those connected online from local offices. Yours is an important social and institutional role, which calls upon you to address the needs of many vulnerable people through mechanisms for the equitable distribution of wealth, with particular attention to critical situations. This gives you the opportunity to act effectively in promoting a social responsibility that combines economic development and community cohesion, guiding decisions toward the common good.

Overall, there is a lot of wealth in the world, yet the number of poor is growing. Many hundreds of millions of people across the planet are immersed in extreme poverty and lack food, housing, medical care, schools, electricity, clean water, and essential health services. Yet disproportionate wealth remains in the hands of a few. This is an unjust situation, one that we cannot help but question and commit to changing. There is no determinism that condemns us to inequality. The root of inequality is not a lack of resources, but the need to address solvable problems related to their more equitable distribution, to be achieved with morality and honesty.

In this context, responding to people's concrete needs has always been a central focus of the Catholic Church, both in the world of work and in helping those in need.

Pope Leo XIII , in particular, referring to the condition of workers, explicitly recalled the importance of social security and assistance, to "ensure that the worker never lacks work, and that funds are available to come to the aid of each, not only in sudden and unexpected crises of industry, but also in cases of infirmity, old age, or accident" (Encyclical Letter Rerum Novarum , 43). And with regard to support for the weakest he said: "If any family happens to find itself in such grave straits that it is completely unable to escape by itself, it is right in such times for the public authorities to intervene, since each family is part of the social body" ( ibid ., 11).

In more recent times, the Church's attention to the welfare state model can be found in the Encyclicals of Saint John XXIII, Mater et Magistra (1961) and Pacem in terris (1963), where the right to welfare is expressly elevated to the rank of a human right, as a right "to security in the case of sickness, disability, widowhood, old age, unemployment, and in every other case of loss of the means of subsistence due to circumstances beyond one's control" (Encyclical Letter Pacem in terris , 6). Along the same magisterial line are the Populorum progressio of Saint Paul VI , the Laborem exercens , the Sollicitudo rei socialis and the Centesimus annus of Saint John Paul II – in the latter we find, among other things, a criticism of welfare (cf. n. 48) –, as well as the Caritas in veritate of Benedict XVI .

The path then flows into the social teaching of Pope Francis , in particular in the Encyclical Fratelli tutti , where the Welfare State becomes a true universal right (see n. 110 ).

The proposed model is that of a system of solidarity-based security, based on the principles of subsidiarity, social responsibility and human fraternity, always with the aim of directing welfare interventions to allow everyone "a dignified life through work" (Francis, Encyclical Letter Laudato si' , 128).

The Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church expresses itself in this regard : «The principle of solidarity requires that the men of our time cultivate a greater awareness of the debt they have towards the society in which they are inserted […]. Such a debt must be honoured in the various manifestations of social action, so that the path of men is not interrupted, but remains open to present and future generations, both called together to share, in solidarity, the same gift» ( n. 195 ).

In this context, your Institute undoubtedly plays a leading role in Italy. It focuses its work in various directions, implementing generative pension policies and effective social development, starting with protecting the most vulnerable and investing in young people. Therefore, while ensuring the sustainability of the system, your commitment must always be aimed at safeguarding its solidarity and fairness, both in terms of pensions and supporting workers throughout their professional careers.

The typical work landscapes of the twentieth century have changed. The causes are multiple: the financialization of business, the outsourcing of production on a global scale, high labor costs, and, above all, the rapid technological development, with the strong impact of artificial intelligence, whose many—and partly unexplored—facets still need to be analyzed and evaluated. Career paths, which for a long time were mostly linear, with jobs often held for life, are now characterized by greater precariousness and variability, with the growth of fixed-term, part-time , agency, on-call, and often self-employment models, in the most varied and hybrid forms. This gives rise to new needs, with new responsibilities for the state and the individual (cf. Benedict XVI, Encyclical Letter Caritas in Veritate , 58), the satisfaction of which must involve social security institutions, and INPS in particular.

I would therefore like to conclude by recalling the words that Pope Francis addressed to the managers and employees of your Institute just over ten years ago: "Do not forget man: this is the imperative. Love and serve man with conscience, responsibility, and availability. Work for those who work, and not least for those who would like to but cannot. […] Support the weakest, so that no one lacks the dignity and freedom to live an authentically human life" ( Address to Managers and Employees of INPS , November 7, 2015).

Dearest ones, I wish you all the best in your work! I assure you and your families of my remembrance in prayer, and I offer you my heartfelt blessing.

Source: Translation from https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2026/04/10/0275/00584.html

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